WEATHERFORD – SWOSU Women's Basketball couldn't get shots to fall Thursday night against No. 23-ranked Northwestern in a 66-52 home loss. Lady Ranger senior forward Faith Simpson turned in an overpowering individual performance with 44 points and 16 rebounds to help lift the visitors from Alva to victory.  

SWOSU shot 27% from the field in the game – the second lowest percentage of the season. They trailed by just four at halftime (30-26) but got outscored by five points in both the third and fourth quarters, which did not allow for a comeback.

Entering Thursday, SWOSU's defense had not allowed a player to score more than 26 points in the game. Northwestern's Simpson had 30 entering the fourth quarter and ended with 44, a new career high. Her presence in the paint gave the Lady Dawgs fits all night defensively. NWOSU ended with 44 points in the paint and got to the foul line 20 times, nearly all attributed to getting the ball down into the painted area.

Despite the troubles down low, SWOSU's pressure defense kept them in the game well into the fourth quarter. They forced 10 first quarter turnovers and ended the game with 22 total. A Mason Jones three-point make with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter had the deficit within striking distance, trailing 56-50, but the continued cold shooting and Northwestern free throws down the stretch iced things for good.

Averi Zinn helped lead SWOSU on the night in all three main categories of the stat sheet. She finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists – all team highs.

SWOSU, now 9-8 overall and 6-5 in the GAC, hosts Oklahoma Baptist Saturday in a bounce back opportunity. Tipoff for that contest comes at 1:00 pm in Weatherford. The Lady Bulldogs defeated OBU 59-53 in Shawnee back on November 30.