SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball team put together a masterful first half to open up a 14-point lead, but a huge 48-point second half from the Northwestern Oklahoma State Lady Rangers gave the visitors a come-from-behind victory over OBU, 74-72, on Saturday afternoon inside the Noble Complex.
The Bison shot it well on the afternoon, going 26-of-54 (48%) from the field and 6-of-17 (35%) from deep. However, free throws were a surprise downfall for the Bison as they went 14-of-23 (61%) at the line.
Northwestern also shot it well, especially in the second half, going 23-of-51 (45%) from the field and 8-of-23 (35%) from deep. The Rangers were excellent from the line, going 20-of-23 (87%).
The Rangers held a 32-29 advantage in rebounding, while OBU won the turnover battle 16-12. The Bison got 39 points from their bench on the afternoon.
Northwestern got the scoring started early on and opened up a 7-3 lead, but a 9-1 run from OBU, including 3-pointers from
Charissa Price and
Kaylee Hurst, gave OBU a 12-8 lead.
OBU would continue to control the quarter as they closed with an 8-0 run behind four points from
Melissa Southard to take a 22-13 lead at the end of one quarter.
That run pushed to a 10-0 advantage in the second after an
Andreja Peciuraite lay in made it a double-digit lead at 24-13. The Bison would maintain that lead as
Averi Zinn knocked down a 3-pointer, followed by back-to-back lay ins from
Kalifa Ford. Price topped it off with her second 3-pointer to push the lead to 34-21 midway through the quarter.
Northwestern would cut it down to eight with three minutes to play, but six straight points to close the half from
Jaylin Stapleton and Peciuraite gave OBU a 40-26 lead at the break.
The Rangers wasted no time getting back into the contest in the second half as a 10-2 run made it a six point game in the first minutes. Northwestern continued to chip away at the deficit throughout the quarter as OBU struggled to get any rhythm going on the offensive end. The Rangers would score 30 points in the third to cut it down to a one point game going into the fourth at 57-56.
After a Ford lay in got the lead back to three to start the final quarter, Northwestern scored the next five points to take their first lead since early in the first quarter at 61-59. The Rangers would eventually extend that lead to 69-65 at the midway point of the fourth.
OBU would charge back as Ford led the way to even the game at 72 a piece. However, a foul in the final 10 seconds led to two Bailey Brown free throws while Stapleton's 3-pointer missed short at the buzzer to give the Rangers the come-from-behind 74-72 win.
Ford scored a career-high 25 points on 11 of 17 shooting to go with six boards and four steals while Stapleton added 13 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. Peciuraite scored 10 points with six rebounds while Price had six points, four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Brown was huge for the Rangers with 27 points, seven rebounds, and six steals while Scout Frame added 13 points and five assists. Lizzie Shephard and Josena Frame each scored 10.
OBU will return to action on Monday as they welcome in rival Southern Nazarene for the final time this season. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. from the Noble Complex.
