By TRAVIS HARMON-SMITH
Staff Reporter
The Ranger men’s and women’s basketball teams were on the road last weekend in Arkadelphia, Ark., facing Great American Conference opponent Henderson State University.
The women lost drastically 87-59, while the men defeated the Reddies by one, 78-77.
During the women’s matchup, the Rangers (9-14, 8-9 GAC) completely sunk against the Reddies as Henderson State jumped out to an early 11-2 run in three quick minutes of the first half. HSU kept the momentum going throughout the first half, erupting with another 16-4 run, giving the Lady Reddies a 27-10 lead with nine minutes left in the first. Northwestern shot poorly from the field, only 17 percent in the first half.
In the second half, the Lady Reddies continued their dominance as Henderson State would produce more effective offense throughout the second half, cruising to a double-digit victory over the Rangers.
Northwestern guard Jonae Isaac led the Rangers with 17 points shooting 6-of-11 from the field, while center Kamera Bozeman added 10 points and six rebounds.
In the men’s matchup, Northwestern (7-17, 6-11 GAC) controlled the first 20 minutes with multiple offensive baskets, which kept the HSU defense unstable for most of the half. In addition to Northwestern’s offensive production, the Ranger free-throw percentage was also a positive as Northwestern went 12-15 from the charity stripe going into halftime with a 38-30 lead.
HSU would come out in the second half testing the Ranger defense. Northwestern shot effectively beyond the arc, increasing the lead to 67-57. Later, HSU’s 12-1 run in three second-half minutes would chop the Ranger lead down to one, giving the Reddies a 71-70 lead.
Henderson State didn’t have the lead for long as Northwestern senior point guard Darrian Dempsey had an illustrious day for the Rangers. Dempsey hit two free throws in the last minutes of the second half, giving Northwestern a 78-77 victory over the Reddies.
Dempsey torched the HSU defense for a career-high 30 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field, while also being effective from beyond the arc going 4-of-4. The senior also contributed three rebounds and two steals.
Laakeem Henderson and T’Aries Taylor both finished with 11 points, while Adrian Motley added 10.
Both squads will be back in action at home in Percefull Fieldhouse tonight, as they face visiting GAC opponent Southern Arkansas and Saturday afternoon against Arkansas Monticello. The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. and the men will follow at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s tip-off will be 1:30 p.m. for the women, and 3:30 p.m. for the men.