RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – After dropping Thursday's game in Searcy to Harding, the Lady Rangers traveled to Russellville to take on Arkansas Tech. The Golden Suns were able to take control early on and never let up. The Red and Black fell Saturday afternoon 70-51 on the road.
The Lady Rangers had two scorers in double figures in Kalea King and Kenzi Lamer, who finished the game with 13 points each on 4-of-10 shooting and 5-for-15 respectively. Lamer and Kyleigh Leverich combine for four rebounds each to lead the team. Bailey Brown led the team with two assists on the night.
Arkansas Tech and Northwestern were tied at 22 apiece with 2:18 left in the first half when the Golden Suns made their move in the game. Tech closed the final two minutes on a 7-0 run that was led by Lycia Peevy starting it with a foul shot and then a layup. The run was stretched to 9-0 after made basket to start the second half. After their run Northwestern was never able to find the lead again.
Northwestern finished with 20 points in the paint compared to 28 for Tech; the Lady Rangers scored four second-chance points to ATU's 12. Northwestern was out rebounded by the Golden Suns 52-22 and 19-8 on the offensive glass. The ball was turned over 16 times compared to their 24.
The opening tip-off featured an Arkansas Tech win as a foul was called on Brown. Jakeria Otey got the scoring going with a jump shot in the paint. The rest of the quarter featured back and forth scoring, the largest lead being four points, which came in the final seconds of the quarter from foul shots from Peevy. Arkansas Tech's defense held Northwestern to only 28% shooting in the quarter hitting four shots compared to a Tech team hitting six shots and going 33% from the field. The quarter featured two ties and two lead changes.
Arkansas Tech got the first four points of the second quarter and went on an 8-1 run to build a small margin of 20-12 early in the second quarter. Northwestern had an answer, going on a 10-1 run to take the lead, 22-21, with 3:45 to play in the first half. With King leading the charge. Arkansas Tech answered with a 7-0 run of their own that gave them the final lead change of the game and a seven point lead heading into the break. Northwestern slightly improved to 33% in the second quarter. The problem was, so did Tech, who went 38% from the field to win the quarter 13-10 points.
The Lady Rangers trailed the Golden Suns 29-22 at halftime.
The third quarter opened with points from the Golden Suns extending that run to 9-0 before Brown ended it with a free throw. A Lamer three had the Lady Rangers back within five and as close as four. A Golden Sun went on a 22-9 run to close the quarter and had their lead at 17 points after three quarters. Northwestern shot 4 of 11 for 36% in the quarter against their 52% from 9-for-17 shooting in the frame. The Golden Suns took a 56-39 lead into the final quarter.
The teams went back and forth for a little while trading baskets. Arkansas Tech eventually got their lead to as high as 26 points in the game. Northwestern finished the game on a 7-0 run led by Katelyn Schieber, who had a 5-0 run of her own to bring the deficit to 19. The Lady Rangers would shoot just 27% in the final quarter from 5-of-18 shots compared to the Golden Suns 66% on 6-of-9 from the field including 2-for-4 from three.
Tech used their offense in the second half to shoot a total of 57% (15-26) and 50% from three (7-14) to stretch and hold onto that lead for the win.
The Red and Black would drop this game to Arkansas Tech 70-51.
The Lady Rangers would finish the game 18-of-58 for 31% from the field, 5-of-25 from three, and 10-14 from the foul line. The game had five lead changes along with three ties.
The loss drops Northwestern's record on the year to 9-9 and 5-7 in Great American Conference play. The Lady Rangers will be home for a little while now after this road trip with three straight home games which include, Arkansas-Monticello, Southern Arkansas, and finishing the home stand with Southern Nazarene.
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