Box Score ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Despite an 11-4 run that tied the game with 1:12 remaining in the game, the Ouachita Lady Tigers fell to the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers on Saturday, 66-64.
The first nine minutes of the game featured five lead changes and two ties, until a 9-2 run by the Rangers brought the score to 24-17 with less than eight minutes remaining in the half.
Northwestern (3-7, 2-3 GAC) controlled the score for the rest of the half, but the Tigers did not allow the Rangers to claim a lead of more than 10.
The Lady Tigers were able to post a field-goal percentage of 45.5 percent in the half, but Northwestern's 58.3 percent, and 71.4 percent from three-point range, gave the Rangers the 34-25 lead at the break.
Taylor Bowles led the Lady Tigers with seven points, followed by
Katie Kapler with six points and a game-high six rebounds.
Multiple runs by the Lady Tigers in the second half kept NWOSU's lead close, as the Rangers once again could not claim a lead of more than 10. After a three-pointer from
Katherine West and a two-pointer from
Kori Bullard, the Rangers received the ball with the scored tied at 64. Northwestern converted, taking a two-point lead with 45 seconds to play.
On the final possession of the game,
Breanna Harris got the call from the Lady Tigers, but a contested layup did not fall, and the Rangers escaped with the win.
The Lady Tigers finished with a shooting percentage of 47.9 percent and a free-throw percentage of 75 percent. Northwestern was dangerous from beyond the arc, as the Rangers 53.3 percent from three-point range.
Despite the loss, the Lady Tigers out-rebounded the Rangers 33-23. Ouachita also scored four more points in the paint and had four more second-chance points.
Bullard led Ouachita with a career-high 17 points, including 13 in the second half. She also grabbed seven boards. Harris followed with 14 points and three rebounds, and Kapler added 12 points, seven boards and two blocks.
The Lady Tigers (3-7, 0-4 GAC) will host Blue Mountain College on Tuesday, Dec. 30, in a game that is scheduled for 1 p.m.
