Alva Review-Courier -

ALVA, Okla. – Northwestern dropped their last two games to Arkansas Monticello and Henderson State. The Lady Rangers were out to end the losing streak Saturday afternoon. The Black and Red did just that, winning 78-68 over the Lady Tigers of Ouachita Baptist. NWOSU used a strong fourth quarter showing to gain separation and eventually finish off, winning the last quarter 26-12 and a 14-0 run to open the fourth quarter to eventually win by double digits.

The Lady Rangers had a strong offensive showing Saturday with four double digit scorers. The senior guard Kalea King led all scorers with 19 along with seven rebounds. She was followed by the sophomore guard Kenzi Lamer who finished the game with 15 points, senior guard Jakeria Otey finished with 12 points and junior forward Bailey Brown finished with 11 points and a team high eight rebounds. The eight rebounds give her the milestone of 500 for her career so far.

Northwestern battled throughout the game, forcing eight ties, along with 17 lead changes. NWOSU made their move to start the fourth quarter. After the Lady Tigers took a 56-52 lead into the final quarter, King opened the frame up with two free throws to start the 14-0 run. Lamer netted five straight points of her own to give the Lady Rangers the lead, and they never trailed after that.

Each team started the game extremely well offensively from the opening tip. Otey got the scoring started from Northwestern with a mid-range jumpern. Ouachita gained an 18-15 lead, however a King layup started a fast 7-0 run for the Lady Rangers to close the quarter out. Brown would added four points on the run. The Lady Rangers had a 22-18 advantage after the opening quarter. NWOSU would shot a terrific 52% from the field in the first quarter making 10 of 19. Ouachita would tried to match that, shooting a solid 46% from the field including 4 of 7 from deep.

After opening the second quarter with a quick 6-2 run to go up 28-20, the Lady Tigers clawed their way back going on a strong 10-2 run to even the game at 30 a little more than halfway through the second quarter. Ouachita would shortly take a 34-32 lead with 30 seconds left in the half, however a King three from the corner put the Lady Rangers back in the lead at halftime. Northwestern struggled a little shooting in the quarter going 6-16 for 37% but were able to hold the Lady Tigers to just 36%. Ouachita would actually outscore Northwestern 16-13 in the quarter.

The Lady Rangers took a 35-34 lead into halftime over the Lady Tigers.

The third quarter was opened by consecutive points for the Tigers to take a 38-35 lead. Brown would had an answer though, burying a three to even the score. From there it was a pretty tight quarter as neither team could find a way to find separation as the game saw three different times where the score tied. After the Lady Tigers tried to make their move going in front by five after a quick 5-0 run, the Lady Rangers were right back in the game with a Kyleigh Leverich three bringing it down to a two point game. After a foul and some free throws from the Lady Tigers, they took a 56-52 lead to end the third quarter. Ouachita shot a strong 61% from the field on 8-13 shooting, while holding Northwestern to only 35% on 6 of 17 from the field.

Ashley Strehl

Sophomore Hillary Hurst shoots an inside shot for the Lady Rangers Saturday afternoon against Ouachita Baptist. NWOSU won 78-68.

The final quarter opened the Lady Rangers getting a little more aggressive and getting the first four points. After evening the game up at 56 a piece with eight minutes to play, Lamer hit a three to regain the lead at 59-56 which the Black-and-Red would never lose. A Lamer jumper capped a 14-0 run to open the quarter for the Lady Rangers and helping them take a 66-56 lead over the Lady Tigers. Ouachita would got six straight getting the deficit to four, but Lamer hit her third three of the game putting an end to the run and getting the lead back to seven. The lead would get to as many as 12, and would finish at 10 as Leverich free throws would officially put the game out of reach. In the fourth quarter NWOSU shot 60% on 6 of 10 shooting and added 11 points from the charity stripe to out shoot Ouachita. Northwestern's defense held Ouachita to just 4 of 12 shooting in the quarter to bring home the win.

The Lady Rangers win the Saturday afternoon game by a final of 78-68 over the Lady Tigers.

Northwestern would finished the game 28-62 good for 45% from the field, 8-18 from 3-point range, and 14-21 from the foul line. The Lady Rangers only turned the ball over nine times compared to the 18 average. The defense of Northwestern created 17 turnovers and were able to capitalize from 23 points off the turnovers. The Lady Tigers would finish 26-59 for 44%, 11-26 from deep and 5-8 from the foul line.

The win brings Northwestern to 8-6 on the season and 4-4 in Great American Conference play. The Lady Rangers will travel to Weatherford on Thursday to take on the rival Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State University.