Box Score
Box Score (html)
ALVA, Okla. – Sarah Mendoza posted a season-high 22 points, but none more important than two free throws with 18 seconds remaining, to help SWOSU defeat Northwestern Oklahoma State 71-68 on Thursday night at Percefull Fieldhouse.
The Lady Rangers tied the game at 67-67 with one minute to play before
Sarina Sayama regained the lead for SWOSU on a driving basket with 46 seconds remaining. The Lady Bulldogs then got a defensive stop and Northwestern fouled Mendoza, allowing her to push the lead back to three points at 71-68.
On the final possession, SWOSU forced a tough 3-point look from Dierra Gilmore that bounced off the iron and onto the court as time expired, allowing the Lady Bulldogs to leave Alva victorious.
Mendoza was the only Lady Bulldog to reach double figures in scoring with her 22-point effort on 8-of-14 shooting. Northwestern shaded to the SWOSU shooters all night, leaving plenty of driving lanes for Mendoza, who also pulled down six rebounds and dished out two assists.
Michelle Fisher was held to eight points in 29 minutes before fouling out, but she did move into fourth on the all-time scoring list with a 3-pointer in the second half. Fisher now has 1,387 points in her four-year career, moving past Julie Dawson, who finisher her career with 1,385 points from 2004-06.
Kylie Boggess,
Taryn Sayama and
Jaimee Cohen each had nine points for SWOSU and Cohen and
Sarina Sayama each pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs.
The victory concludes the regular season with SWOSU at 16-10 on the year and 13-7 in Great American Conference play. They move into second place of the conference standings, which is where they will finish in a tie with the winner of Saturday's East Central-Arkansas Tech game.
SWOSU now awaits their fate at the Great American Conference tournament, which will begin next Friday afternoon in Bartlesville, Okla.
