From SWOSU Sports Information
Sarah Mendoza scored 30 points and Michelle Fisher added 24 to help the Southwestern Oklahoma State women’s basketball team snap a two-game road-losing skid with a 90-81 win over Henderson State on Thursday evening (Jan. 17) in Arkadelphia, Ark. The win improves the Lady Dawgs to 10-4 (5-3 GAC) on the year.
Mendoza broke a 63-63 tied on a free throw with 64-63 with 10:44 to play, starting an 8-0 run which put SWOSU in control. HSU mounted one final push and cut the lead to 82-78 on a 3-pointer from Sheay Longstaff with 1:35 to play, but Fisher put the game away on the ensuing possession with a three of her own to put the game away. Mendoza hit three of four free throws in the game’s final minute and SaRaya Oyler added a pair as well to make the final margin of 90-81.
The 30 point output by Mendoza is the most by a SWOSU player this year, topping her own mark of 28 scored against Newman on December 5. Mendoza needed just 13 field goal attempts to reach the plateau, hitting nine of them, including her lone three point attempt. She was also effective in getting to the line, knocking down 11-of-15 attempts from the stripe.
Fisher also had another big game, scoring 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, including 3-of-8 attempts from long range. Southwestern, ranked No. 6 in NCAA II in scoring offense coming into the game, hit 55.8% (29-52) of their field goal attempts and 41.7% (5-12) of their threes.
The win snaps a two-game losing streak for SWOSU, who had also lost three of their last four contests, and helps the Dawgs keep pace in the Great American Conference standings. The Lady Dawgs will stay in Arkadelphia for their next game, a meeting with Ouachita Baptist at 2 pm on Saturday.
Doug Self is the Sports Information Director at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.