By Taylor Morris
On Thursday night, the Rangers lost their first conference home game of the season to Southern Nazarene University with a final score of 85-63.
Unfortunately, coming out on a 14-3 scoring run to begin the game didn’t seem to be enough to thwart the Crimson Storm.
Northwestern really struggled from the field making only 22-of-66 shots on the night and also were out rebounded, 51-33.
The Rangers started off strong with a 14-3 lead early in the first quarter. However, the Crimson Storm came back with a 13-2 run nearing the end of the quarter making the score 16-all after one.
The Crimson Storm gained the lead three minutes into the second quarter with a score of 20-19. The Rangers endured a five-minute scoring drought in the middle of the second, during which they held the Crimson Storm to only six points bringing the score to 26-19.
The second quarter proved to be sloppy from both teams on both sides of the ball. However, senior Ashley Pride brought the Lady Rangers scoring drought to an end with consecutive three-pointers brining the score to 32-25. The Storm hit a jump shot before half ended to bring the score to 34-25.
The Rangers unfortunately continued to struggle throughout the third quarter. They were outscored 26-9 and by the end of the quarter the score was sitting at 60-34. The Lady Rangers only shot 25 percent from the field in the quarter making just four of their 16 attempts.
The Rangers came back into the fourth quarter with a twelve point scoring run causing the Crimson Storm to call a timeout with close to four minutes remaining in the contest. However, the Crimson Storm finished out the rest of the quarter strong and won the game with a final score of 85-63.
Northwestern will be hitting the road to play their next game in Durant against Southeastern Oklahoma State.