Weatherford, Okla. – The Lady Tigers were a thorn in Southwestern Oklahoma State's side but would fall 66-55 in a back-and-forth affair.
Three Lady Tigers put-up double-digit points and Madison Raney contributed with another double-double. Raney scored 17 with 12 boards; Maija Gertstone also scored 17 on 78 percent shooting. Madison Brittain added 13.
Maddie Sperle led the way for Southwestern with 13. Taber Beer scored 12 and Makyra Tramble put up 10.
Raney came out with the hot hand for Ouachita as she scored the first seven points for the Lady Tigers. Southwestern established an early full court press and stuck with it the entire first half. The press occasionally held up the Lady Tigers, but the team was still able to work the ball around to find open shots. The Lady Bulldogs were unable to get their three-point shooting going; they started the game 1-9 from deep in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs went into the second quarter with a 13-11 lead.
The second period saw much more scoring as the Lady Tigers began to light it up from downtown on 5-7 shooting from that range. Despite a high volume of turnovers from Ouachita, the Lady Tigers were able to overcome it by forcing turnovers on the defensive end. The Lady Tigers regained the lead for the first time since early in the first on a Brittain three pointer. The Lady Tigers would later surrender the lead as they fell behind 31-28 with 1:25 to play. Ouachita quickly regained control as they went into halftime up 33-31.
The Lady Tigers were unable to catch a shooting streak in the third; they shot just under 30 percent from the field. Southwestern adjusted to a half-court defense but continued to struggle offensively within the first few minutes of the second half. The Lady Bulldogs struck a spark with under three minutes to play in the third as they went on a short, but potent, 5-0 run. The Lady Tigers closed the gap in the final seconds as Gertstone scored on a blow-by layup that turned into a three-point play. The third period concluded with a Lady Bulldog's lead at 47-44.
Southwestern's starting lineup came out in the fourth quarter with fresh legs, a luxury Ouachita does not have. The Lady Bulldogs sped up the pace and began to hit big shots. The Lady Tigers fell behind by 10 on a Taber Beer three-point bucket for Southwestern. It was the shot the Lady Bulldogs needed to put the game away with 2:34 to play. The Lady Tigers fought to the end but came up short 66-55 in a much closer game than the scoreboard would indicate.
Ouachita fell to 4-9, 1-6 in conference play, while Southwestern Oklahoma State improved to 10-3, 5-2 in conference.
The Lady Tigers next game will be Saturday, Jan. 11 at 1:00 p.m. on the road against Northwestern Oklahoma State University. For all things Lady Tiger Basketball, stay tuned to obutigers.com.
