Alva Review-Courier -

BETHANY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene had 2.6 seconds on the clock to make it seven straight wins, but fell in a heartbreaking 56-55 loss to Northwestern Oklahoma State inside the Sawyer Center on Thursday night.

The Crimson Storm (11-10, 10-5 GAC) were also looking to make it five straight wins on their home floor, but the Rangers (9-13, 6-9) crushed that dream as they went to the free-throw line 26 times, which proved to be the difference maker. NWOSU converted 20 of those, as SNU shot just 7-of-15 from the charity stripe.

Southern Nazarene struggled to get their offense going outside of the first quarter, as they finished the game shooting 33.9 percent from the floor, but held Northwestern to a 33 percent clip. The Rangers won the rebounding battle 40-33, but coughed the ball up 16 times compared to 11 turnovers for SNU.

Senior guard Madeline Schroepfer led the way in scoring for the Crimson Storm as she tallied 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Alexus Jones and Adrienne Berry each finished with 10 points, while Jaycee Soap also chipped in 10 points off the SNU bench. Abby Niehues totaled seven points, six rebounds, and four blocks for the Storm as well.

After a slow start from both teams in the opening four minutes, Southern Nazarene found its offense on their home floor. They knocked down four three-pointers and shot 40 percent from the floor and held the Rangers to 2-of-11 shooting (18.2%) in the opening period to take a 17-11 lead into the second.

The Storm's red-hot shooting carried over into the second quarter as they buried a couple of threes early to push their lead to 27-13. NWOSU pushed back however and went on a 6-0 run to cut it to 27-19 with 3:17 to play in the half. The Rangers went on another 8-0 run and held SNU to just two points in the final three minutes as the Storm saw their lead trimmed to 29-25 at halftime.

After holding Northwestern to a 25 percent shooting clip in the first half, the Rangers picked up their offense in the third. They shot 46 percent from the field, while SNU shot just 35.7 percent. NWOSU also went to the line 10 times in the third, as Niehues picked up her fourth foul early, and the Rangers got aggressive. They outscored SNU 20-14 in the period, as the Storm faced a 45-43 deficit heading into the final quarter.

Southern Nazarene kicked off the fourth on a 7-0 run to re-gain the lead 50-45 with 5:55 to play. NWOSU later scored five straight to re-take the lead before Soap buried a huge triple to give SNU a 53-51 lead with 2:30 to play. The two teams traded buckets and the Rangers called time with 59 seconds to play with the Storm leading 55-52. Northwestern knocked down a huge bucket with 38 seconds to play to cut it to 55-54, and later took the lead on a basket with 11 seconds left to take a 56-55 lead. The Rangers forced a turnover on the final play to seal the win and snap the Storm's six-game winning streak.