Box Score BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Ouachita Tigers women's basketball team opened regular-season play with a 76-74 win over the Southwest Baptist on Friday night. The win gave head coach Garry Crowder his 300^th at Ouachita.

The Lady Tigers struggled in the first half, tallying only 29 points on 38 percent shooting from the field. Southwest Baptist was able to maintain a field goal percentage of 42 percent, and the Bearcats forced 14 Ouachita turnovers. The 14 turnovers by the Lady Tigers led to 15 points for SBU, while Ouachita compiled only two points off of Southwest Baptist's turnovers.  

Ashley Johnson led the Lady Tigers with seven points in the first half, followed by Katie Kapler and Taylor Bowles who both scored five.
Southwest Baptist held its largest lead of 16 points with 15:33 to play in the second half. After that point, the Lady Tigers began their comeback. Over the next 15 minutes, the Lady Tigers outscored the Bearcats 41-23, including a 9-0 run to bring Ouachita within one point that was capped off with a layup by Bowles with 9:12 remaining in the contest.

Ouachita could not take the lead, however, and Southwest increased their lead back to 12 with less than five minutes remaining. After a Ouachita timeout, the Lady Tigers began a 16-4 run that was sparked by four consecutive points by Johnson, the senior from Sherwood, Ark. A Kapler layup with one minute to play finally tied the game at 74, and Kapler finished the old fashioned three-point play with a free-throw to give Ouachita its first lead of the game.

With a one-point lead and less than a minute of play, stellar defense from the Lady Tigers forced two Southwest Baptist turnovers, and after a free-throw by Breanna Harris, the game ended with Ouachita ahead, 76-74.

Ouachita's offense came alive in the second half, as the Lady Tigers posted a field goal percentage of 47 percent and a three-point percentage of 50 percent. The Lady Tigers also took better care of the ball in the second half, as they only committed seven turnovers.

Kapler, who grabbed 12 rebounds in the second half alone, finished the game with 15 points and 14 boards on her way to her first double-double of the season.

Bowles, a true freshman, led all scorers with 16 points, and she finished shooting 4-10 from beyond the arc.

Harris and Johnson posted 14 and 13 points, respectively, and each grabbed five rebounds.

Katherine West recorded a game-high eight assists in the contest, and she added five points.

In just his fifth game (dating back to last season) since recording his 700^th career win, Crowder earned his 300^th Ouachita win as the Lady Tigers start their season 1-0. The Lady Tigers will stay in Bolivar for a game at 6 p.m. on Saturday against Lincoln University. The first home game for Ouachita will be against Central Baptist College on Nov. 25.