Box Score (html)
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Tyra Aska scored a season high 29 points as the Lady Bulldogs erased a 12-point late-third quarter deficit to beat Northeastern State 84-78 on Saturday afternoon. SWOSU was outscored in each quarter of the first half, but went on to outscore NSU 58-41 in the final two quarters to get the win.
After scoring the opening bucket in the game, SWOSU trailed the remainder of the half falling down by as many as 11 right before heading into the locker room. The Lady Bulldogs didn't retake the lead until
Katie Percival knocked down a three-point shot just inside the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter to put the Dawgs up 64-63. From there, SWOSU never relinquished the lead and closed out the game courtesy of multiple clutch shots from Aska and
Hailey Tucker to deny NSU any attempt at a comeback.
Northeastern State held a 59-47 lead with exactly one minute remaining in the third quarter before SWOSU went on an 11-0 run that spanned into the fourth quarter that got the Dawgs back into the game.
Taylor Hedrick and
Shalie McAlister each scored on layups to get the scoring run going before Aska knocked down a buzzer-beater three pointer to cut the margin to five heading into the final 10 minute session.
Starting the last quarter, SWOSU again got two layups from Hedrick and Aska to cut the deficit to just one point before the run was finally ended by a Riverhawk score. Hedrick hit one of two free throws after being fouled and Aska again converted on a layup to tie the game up at 61 all. NSU would answer with a bucket of their own before SWOSU took the lead and control of the game, going on to win in Tahlequah over Northeastern.
Aska ended the game with a career, season, and team high 29 points, edging SWOSU's previous season mark of 26 set by Tucker earlier in the season. The freshman had only four points going into the locker room at halftime, and came out with the hot hand totaling 10 in the third and 13 in the fourth quarters. After the Lady Dawgs retook the lead in the fourth quarter, every basket she scored (nine points) came immediately following an NSU score.
Along with Aska's contributions were other solid performances from the Dawgs. Tucker scored 16 in the game including nine in the final 10 minutes to go along with four assists and blocks and nine rebounds.
Hayden Priddy ended with nine points and four assists playing 38 out of the 40 minutes on the floor while Hedrick and Percival added eight points apiece coming off the bench.
As a squad, SWOSU shot 44 percent from the field and 27 percent from deep. They got to the foul line double the amount of times as NSU (26-13) and outrebounded the Riverhawks 47-35 in the game while committing three less turnovers than Northeastern State (18-21).
The non-conference win improves SWOSU to 3-2 overall on the year and 2-1 against MIAA opponents heading into more GAC games against Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas on December 1 and 3 in Weatherford. The two home games will mark the first times this season the Lady Bulldogs will play in front of their home crowd.
