Box Score WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Led by
Chelsea Bates' 25 point outing, the Lady Bulldogs notched their first conference win of the season against Ouachita Baptist, 85-61, on Thursday night inside the friendly confines of the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
Jessica Penner recorded her team-high third double-double of the season in the victory. The junior from Cordell, Okla., went a perfect 5-5 en route to a 12 point, 16 rebound performance.
The teams traded the lead throughout the first 5:34 of the contest. A 3-point basket by
Kassy Easter, making her first start of her career, gave SWOSU the lead with 14:26 remaining in the game and the Lady Dawgs would never look back. SWOSU's lead would get up to 18 points in the first period after a pair of
Morgan Vogt free throws, but the teams would go into the half with SWOSU leading 37-25.
Despite OBU's attempts to close the gap in the second half, SWOSU fought off the comeback attempt after seeing their lead reduced to five points a quarter of the way through the second period. Bates poured in 15 points in the half, including 11 from the charity stripe. The lead ballooned to 26 points before the Lady Dawgs settled for a 24-point margin of victory.
Aside from Bates and Penner, SWOSU had two other players finish in double digits.
Jennifer Williams contributed 14 points and six rebounds, while
Jade Jones chipped in with 12-7-5. SWOSU enjoyed one of their best shooting outings of the season, going 45.0 percent from the field despite connecting on just 5-21 shots from deep.
"It definitely feels good to get the monkey off the back and get our first conference win," said Head Coach
Kelsi Musick. "We're getting better and better each game, but we still have a lot of growing up to do."
SWOSU continues conference play on Saturday, January 10 when they square off against Southern Arkansas in Weatherford. Tipoff is slated for 1 PM.
