ALVA, Okla. – SWOSU Women's Basketball came up short Thursday night, falling 69-56 to No. 25 Northwestern Oklahoma State.
 
The Lady Bulldogs struggled to find consistency offensively, shooting 33% for the game, and were unable to fully capitalize on late opportunities despite trimming a double-digit deficit in the final quarter. SWOSU trailed by as many as 16 in the first half before cutting the margin to six with 2:01 remaining, but could not complete the comeback.
 
SWOSU got off to a strong start, leading 16-11 with 3:01 left in the first quarter. Northwestern responded with a decisive 9-0 run to close the period, regaining the lead for good. That momentum carried into the second quarter, as the Lady Rangers scored the first 10 points to extend the advantage to 30-16. SWOSU trailed 39-28 at halftime.
 
The Lady Bulldogs made their push coming out of the break, turning in their best shooting quarter of the night in the third. SWOSU narrowly outscored Northwestern 17-16 in the period, but could not gain significant ground. Despite Northwestern committing eight turnovers in the fourth quarter and scoring just once in the first five minutes, SWOSU went cold offensively, shooting just 4-of-16 in the final 10 minutes to halt the rally.
 
Northwestern finished the night shooting 41% from the field, going 5-of-18 from beyond the arc and 16-of-20 at the free-throw line. SWOSU shot 11-of-35 from three-point range and attempted just six free throws in the game — all taken by Landry Allen, who converted five.
 
Allen led all scorers with 21 points and added six rebounds, six blocks, and four assists. Elle Papahronis chipped in 11 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting effort from deep and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
 
SWOSU was outrebounded 36-25 and committed five more turnovers than Northwestern, 18-13.
 
SWOSU (6-10, 4-7 GAC) will return to action Monday, January 26, after Saturday's road matchup against Oklahoma Baptist was postponed due to expected winter weather.