By CONNOR GRAY, Assistant Editor
After the Northwestern Lady Rangers split two games last week, weather postponed the Southwestern game. But the team was able to play Saturday.
The Lady Rangers defeated the East Central Tigers, 79-74, with the game being close throughout the contest, even though neither team played for a week.
Last week, a snowstorm affected Oklahoma, which forced most schools to close down from Wednesday to the end of the week.
This turn of events postponed the rematch between the Lady Rangers and the Bulldogs to Tuesday, head coach Tasha Diesselhorst said.
However, the weather did not prevent the team from practicing. The Rangers were able to practice all three days and had to turn their attention to East Central immediately after finding out about the postponement.
“We were preparing for Southwestern when that game got canceled,” Diesselhorst said. “I thought we did a great job forgetting about Southwestern and moving onto ECU.”
With their attention now on the Tigers, who beat the Lady Rangers 82-59 Dec. 4, the team was looking for payback.
The game was a back-and-forth affair until the Lady Rangers put together a solid effort in the fourth quarter to put themselves ahead.
The Tigers had to keep fouling in the final two minutes just to give themselves a chance, but it was to no avail as the Lady Rangers got a much-needed victory. Bailey Brown and Scout Frame were major factors in the game.
The team as a whole shot 52% from the field, with Brown and Frame having 27 and 25 points each.
The team will now put its attention on the road, as it will be in Arkansas to play Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State for Thursday and Saturday matchups.
The last time these teams played Northwestern, the Lady Rangers won.
“Ouachita had an amazing freshman guard in Aspen Thornton,” Diesselhorst said. “At home, they’ll probably play a little bit better.”