WEATHERFORD, Oklahoma – The Ouachita Baptist University women's basketball team opened the 2022 portion of the schedule on Thursday with an 89-72 road loss to No. 17 Southwestern Oklahoma State.

After 12 lead changes in the first half, SWOSU (13-2, 7-0 Great American Conference) outscored Ouachita (4-5, 2-3 GAC) 26-16 in the third quarter to create a margin that proved too large to overcome for the Tigers, who led by as much as five in the first half.

Aspen Thornton, the nation's leading scorer coming into the game, more than surpassed her average of 27 points per game with a total of 32 in Thursday's loss to SWOSU. It was her fourth game this season with hitting the 30-point mark.

Makayla Miller had a big night with her first double-double of the season, the fourth of her career, with a final total of 21 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

The Tigers look to get back to .500 this Saturday on the road against Northwestern Oklahoma State. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.