WEATHERFORD – SWOSU Women's Basketball started strong against Oklahoma Baptist but had to endure a hard-fought fourth quarter before securing a 63-61 victory on Saturday.
The win gives the Lady Bulldogs a sweep of the regular season series in the first game past the halfway point of the conference season.
SWOSU started the game on a 15-0 run and enjoyed a lead as big as 18 in the game (2Q) but got outscored in both quarters in the second half which caused things to tighten up significantly down the stretch on Saturday. Despite the close finish, the Lady Dawgs did not trail at any point in the game.
Eight forced turnovers in the opening quarter and hot shooting allowed the quick start. Mason Jones and Averi Zinn both scored eight of their team high 13 points in the quarter and SWOSU led 25-9 after one.
Shooting for SWOSU went cold in the second quarter after their percentage dropped from 55% (11-20) in the first to 25% (4-16) in the second. Despite the woes, the defense continued to see success and both teams played to a 10-10 stalemate in the second quarter. At the break, SWOSU led 35-19.
SWOSU again shot 25% in the third quarter while OBU began to find success scoring the basketball. The Bison went on to outscore the Lady Bulldogs 21-10 in the third quarter which gave them new life entering the game's final 10 minutes.
With the score 46-40 to start the fourth, OBU had the deficit inside two possessions on four occasions but was continually deterred the lead change with timely answers on the other end by SWOSU's offense.
The game's closing sequence gave fans some stress inside the final minute of the ball game. The Bison connected on a three pointer with just under 20 seconds to play to get within two at 62-60. After SWOSU turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, OBU drew a shooting foul but made one-of-two from the line with just eight seconds to play to remain trailing. They did not get another shot off after that. Final, 63-61.
SWOSU forced 19 turnovers in the game, shot 39% overall and knocked down 10 three pointers. It's the fifth time this season they reached double digit makes from deep.
OBU finished at 32% shooting in the game and took just eight shots from beyond the arc.
The win moves SWOSU to 10-8 on the season and 7-5 in the GAC. They'll stay home for two more games next week against Monticello on Thursday and Southern Arkansas on Saturday.
