Furious comeback comes up just short in Shawnee

Shawnee, Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State woman's basketball was defeated in their final road game of the season by a final score of 77-71.

Oklahoma Baptist (8-18, 5-15 in GAC) led the entire game until a free throw from sophomore Deja Beechum at the 1:42 minute in the fourth quarter gave the Lady Rangers their first advantage of the ball game. Northwestern (7-18, 6-13 in GAC) was led on the day by junior Kalea King who totaled 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Senior Ashley Pride also had a productive afternoon in her final game in a road jersey with 15 points, six rebounds and six steals. King and Beechum controlled the glass on the afternoon with six rebounds apiece.

Northwestern actually out-shot the Lady Bison on the afternoon with a 40.4 percent (23 for 57) performance, but were out-rebounded by the home team with totals of 41 and 29 boards. Both teams took care of business from the free throw line, with the Lady Bison hitting the late ones down the stretch to put away the Lady Rangers.

Oklahoma Baptist started out quickly and jumped out to a 24-8 lead after the conclusion of the first quarter. The Lady Rangers came out in the second quarter and settled down on both sides of the ball and trailed just 39-29 at the half.

The Lady Rangers comeback truly began in the later stages of the third quarter however, where three straight free throws from Pride combined with a lay-up from King brought the lead to just 52-45 at the end of the third. The Lady Rangers defense ramped things up during this time, not allowing a Lady Bison field goal during the final four minutes of the quarter.

Both teams continued to battle into the fourth quarter, until a jump shot from freshman Destinee Robinson brought the margin to just three points at the 5:14 mark. A defensive stand and then two free throws from King brought the score to 65-64 with 4:22 remaining. Northwestern took their first lead with the aforementioned Beechum free throws, but couldn't manage a basket in the final minute of the game, allowing the Lady Bison to hit their free throws to down the Lady Rangers.

Up Next

Northwestern will return home for their final home series of the season against Henderson State on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m.

Box Score

Team 1 2 3 4 Total Records

NWOSU 8 21 16 26 71 7-19 (6-14)

OBU 24 15 13 25 77 8-18 (5-14)