Bison Pull Away from Northwestern for Second Straight Win

ALVA, Okla. - It's almost like the pressure was completely off.

After snapping a 19-game losing streak on Monday night against Oklahoma Christian, the Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball team started a new streak on Thursday evening.

This time it's a winning streak.

The Bison outscored Northwestern Oklahoma State 22-13 in the final period to pull away and take home a 66-56 win inside Percefull Fieldhouse. 

OBU shot 22 of 57 (39%) from the field and 8 of 21 (38%) from deep while going a perfect 14 of 14 at the free throw line. OBU also limited their turnovers to 10 on the night and got a plethora of scoring from many different outlets. 

On the other end, Northwestern shot 20 of 60 (33%) from the field and 6 of 21 (29%) from behind the arc while also going perfect from the free throw line at 10 of 10. The Bison won the turnover battle on the night, forcing 18 Lady Ranger miscues.

The Bison came out red hot in the first quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers from Charissa Price and Malou Savanna, followed by a lay in from Andreja Peciuraite for a quick 8-0 lead. Northwestern got on the board, but lay ins from Jaylin Stapleton and Peciuraite pushed the lead out to 12-4. 

OBU would push the lead to 16-6 on buckets from Stapleton, and led 16-10 at the end of the first. Northwestern closed the quarter with four points and turned it into an 11-0 run in the second quarter as they took a 17-16 lead before a lay in from Stapleton push OBU back ahead.

After trading buckets, a 6-0 run thanks to points from Peciuraite and Kalifa Ford pushed the OBU lead back to five. A Stapleton 3-pointer and a jumper from Ford got the lead to 29-23, but a 3-pointer before the buzzer made it a three point advantage at the break.

After a Rangers lay in, Savanna got a lay in and Stapleton drained another 3-pointer to push the lead to six at 34-28. 

A Savanna 3-pointer kept the lead at six, but Northwestern responded with a 10-0 run to move ahead by four, their largest lead of the game.

OBU would close the quarter scoring seven of the next nine points to take a 44-43 lead going into the fourth thanks in part to a huge 3-pointer from Kaylee Hurst to stop the Northwestern run.  

Northwestern would score the first five points to take a 48-44 lead, but OBU would respond with a huge 11-0 run thanks to paint dominance from Peciuraite and Ford, while Charissa Price buried a 3-pointer. 

The Rangers would chip it back down to five late in the fourth, but Hurst responded again with another huge shot from behind the arc to make it an eight point game. OBU got it done from the free throw line and left Alva with the 10 point win.

Stapleton was outstanding, scoring a career-high 20 points to go with six boards, five assists, and four steals, while Peciuraite scored 12 points to go with seven rebounds. Ford scored 12 points to go with seven rebounds of her own and two steals, while Hurst scored eight points to go with three steals. 

Savanna added eight points on two 3-pointers, while Price had six.

Bailey Brown led Northwestern with a double-double, scoring 16 points to go with 12 rebounds, while Scout Frame scored 12 to go with four steals.

The Bison will return to action on Saturday afternoon as they will welcome in Southeastern Oklahoma State, looking to extend their winning streak to three. Tip-off from the Noble Complex is set for 2 p.m.