ALVA Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State University women's basketball team was ready to start their season Friday evening, as Northwestern hosted the GAC/MIAA/NSIC Challenge this year. The Lady Rangers drew the Riverhawks to open up. The Rangers were able to prevail in an early Northeastern attack and win this game 71-59 behind 27 points from senior guard Kalea King.

NWOSU got off to a slow start, falling behind 18-8 during the first quarter with 2:58 left in the opening quarter. The Lady Rangers used an 8-0 run in the final minutes of the quarter to spark their comeback. After the first quarter Rangers trailed 18-16.

The Rangers started the second quarter where they left off, evening the score at 20 on a Hillary Hurst layup at the 7:08 mark in the second. After the teams started trading baskets throughout the quarter, the Rangers finally got an advantage on a King jumper to give the Rangers a 31-30 lead late in the quarter. NWOSU carried a 32-30 lead into the break.

The Riverhawks tied the score to start the half at 32 apiece. However, that would be it as the Rangers used an 11-0 run sparked by King's six points. Northeastern tried to climb back into the game but it was short-lived as Bailey Brown added six straight points of her own to build the lead to 13 at 49-36. The Rangers outscored the Riverhawks 24-13 in the quarter behind 42 percent shooting along with 11 free throws to take a 56-43 lead into the final quarter.

NWOSU made sure there was no thought of a comeback from the Riverhawks. Opening the final frame Jakeria Otey had a layup along with a Brown 3-pointer. This gave the Rangers their largest lead of the game at 18. Northeastern got as close as five points but King ended that run with a basket to start another Ranger run. Otey put the final touches on the game with two free throws giving the Rangers a 71-59 opening night win.

The Lady Rangers overcame struggling from three (3-17) by playing stellar defense, forcing 24 turnovers including having 15 steals. They were led by Kyleigh Leverich and Otey's four steals each. Along with finding different ways to draw fouls scoring 24 points from the stripe, NWOSU finished with three scorers in double figures including King (27), Brown (15) and Otey (10). The Rangers also out-rebounded the Riverhawks 45-34 including 19-7 offensively, led by a Brown double-double getting 15 points and 10 rebounds.