Box Score WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The Lady Bulldogs led wire-to-wire and got great performances from several key players as they blew past Arkansas-Monticello 69-54 inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Thursday night.
Jessica Penner recorded her team-leading fifth double-double of the season with 16 points on 8-14 shooting and also added 10 rebounds, including a game-high 6 offensive rebounds. After being held below 10 points in each of the last four games, the Lady Dawgs were able to find Penner to great effect, especially in the second half where she poured in 12 points.
SWOSU took the lead early, and were up 10-2 after just three minutes of play. A cold streak seized both teams soon after, and neither team would score until UAM scored a 3-poiner at the 15:09 mark. The Lady Dawgs went back to work and would lead by as many as eight with 11:03 to play in the first half, but the Cotton Blossoms were able to whittle the lead down to two points 6:57 remaining. That was as close as UAM would get to taking the lead as the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run over the next four and a half minutes. SWOSU finished the half leading 30-24.
The Lady Dawgs poured it on in the second half, going into the bench for some additional offense.
Morgan Vogt splashed in two shots from long range and poured in all nine of her points in the second half. A layup by Penner gave SWOSU their biggest lead of the night at 65-44 with 3:57 left to play. Southwestern went scoreless over the final 2:43 of the game, but their lead was enough to come out with a crucial 69-54 victory in conference play.
Penner was far from the only Lady Dawg to have a solid game.
Korina Chapman almost had a double-double of her own. Chapman finished with a game-high 17 points and grabbed eight boards. She set the tone early, splashing in two of her three 3-pointers in the opening minute of the game to give SWOSU a 6-0 lead.
Chelsea Bates also provided a stabilizing presence, chipping in with 12 points and dishing out four assists.
"It was a huge game for us," said head coach
Kelsi Musick. "I know Penner had the double-double, but when Korina has big games for us you can tell how much of a difference it makes for our ball club. We have three more home games and we've got to start knocking them off one game at a time."
SWOSU returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 21 for another vital conference game, this time against Henderson State. Tip time is set for 1 PM.
