By KAROLINA JURESIUTE
Senior Reporter
Northwestern Lady Rangers basketball team have started their 2024-2025 season with a win and a loss, last weekend hosting a GAC-NSIC conference challenge.
The Lady Rangers won against Winona State University, 75-66, on Friday and lost to University of Minnesota Duluth, 78-84, Saturday night. Northwestern Lady Rangers are now 1-1 in the season.
Last year’s Lady Rangers finished their season with a 24-7 overall and 16-6 in the conference. This year The Lady Rangers are playing 15 home games and 14 away games, six non-conference and 22 conference games. They brought in five new freshmen and six transfers for this season, after losing six seniors from last year.
NWOSU vs Winona State 75-66
The Lady Rangers stroke first, after Kira Bass’ offensive rebound and a put back. The Warriors answered with a free throw. Payton Jones added a two-point jumper for the Rangers and Bass another bucket from the paint.
Camille Thomas scored her first points of the game and Kennedy Hight followed up with two layups in a row. The Lady Rangers were up by 11 12-1. The Warriors could only score four points in the whole first quarter and The Lady Rangers were up 15-4 at the end of the first.
The Warriors started the second quarter with a jumper, but Thomas answered right back up with another jumper. Summya Adigun and Carly Craig added one three-pointer each. The Rangers kept the distance away from the Warriors and had the biggest lead of 14 points for the second quarter. The Rangers were still leading after the first half 32-18.
The third quarter both teams scored the same amount of points but the Rangers just kept extending the lead. Craig hit another three-pointer but this time with an and-one. The lead grew to 19 points for The Lady Rangers and the third quarter ended with a score 57-43 Rangers up.
The Warriors had won this quarter in point and shrunk the point deficit to as close as eight points. But that was not enough for them, and The Lady Rangers kept fighting and came out with a nine-point win 75-66.
The Lady Rangers were led by Bass with 20 points, Hight added 16points and six assists, Jones 15 points, Craig and Thomas both added 10 points each. Adigun had eight rebounds while Jones and Thomas added seven each.
NWOSU vs Minnesota Duluth 78-84
The Lady Rangers once again started off the first quarter by Thomas making her both free throws. The Bulldogs hit a three, but Hight answered right away with her first three of the game. The quarter was intense and close until the very end of it when the Bulldogs went on an 8-1 run and won the first quarter by seven points 22-15.
The Lady Rangers came back with some heat for the second quarter and went on an 8-0 run to shrink the Bulldogs lead to one-point. Northwestern tied the game at the end of the second 31-31.
The Northwestern Lady Rangers outscored the Bulldogs by 10 points in the quarter and was in the lead the whole quarter. The Bulldogs were trailing by 10 at the end of the third 57-47.
The last quarter of the game went back and forward when the Bulldogs came back and tied the game with a little less than four minutes left to play.
The Rangers tried to fight back but could not succeed and lost the game by six points 78-84.
Jones finished the game with 24 points, Craig and Hight added 19 points each. Thomas added 6 rebounds and Adigun 5.
