By DEVYN LANSDEN, Photo Editor
Northwestern’s seven-game winning streak came to an end Saturday as the Lady Rangers fell to Oklahoma Baptist University, 68-52, in Shawnee.
During their streak, the Lady Rangers defeated Southwestern, 79-68. It had been almost five years since the Lady Rangers had beaten the Lady Bulldogs, but the win did more than end a losing streak. For the first time since joining the NCAA, the Lady Rangers defeated a ranked opponent.
Over the past four weeks, the Lady Rangers had three honored players of the week by the Great American Conference: Kinsey Neiderer from Okarche, Scout Frame from Kinsley, Kansas, and Bailey Brown from Enid.
“It’s fun to get honored individually, but it doesn’t feel like an individual award,” Frame said. “My team is the whole reason I won that.”
Frame was the second of her team named Player of the Week after Neiderer. The third Lady Ranger in a row to earn the title was Brown. She said being the third shows how the team has been playing better.
These three Lady Rangers are the category leaders in the cumulative statistics in the 2021-2022 season.
Neiderer said the five seniors who lead the team are the big differences from last year’s team to this year’s team. She said they are successful because the team is more committed to each other than it was last year.
Jakeria Otey, an assistant coach, said having the leadership of the five seniors plays a part in the Lady Rangers’ success. Otey says the only adjustment the team had to deal with was Christmas break.
“I think everybody needed that break to come back, and now we are ready to go and get after it,” Otey said.
Frame said the team still puts in the same amount of work as it has all season, but the players have more chemistry.
“We were trying to figure each other out, and once we did, we started to “gel,” and things are going a lot smoother,” Frame said.
Neiderer said the team has more confidence in each other. She said their work is showing in the games by avoiding bad situations and getting the ball to the right people.
The Lady Rangers play their next home game on Jan. 27 when they take on Arkansas Monticello at 5:30 p.m.
