3-POINT SHOOTING, LATE STEAL SECURES SWOSU A TRIP TO #theGAC SEMIFINALS
Courtesy SWOSUAthletics.com
SHAWNEE, Okla. – SWOSU women's basketball extended their season on Friday night when they took down their rival Northwestern Oklahoma State 65-61 in the opening round of the 2024 GAC Tournament. The Lady Bulldogs found their stride on the perfect night, shooting a season high 46.9% from the field while shooting 40.9% from beyond the arc.
With six seconds to go, Northwestern had the ball and a chance to send the game to overtime when Libbi Zinn came up with a game saving steal to ice the game for SWOSU. Zinn had a career night on the offensive end as her 20 points and five three-pointers led SWOSU to the win.
The first half was littered with miscues offensively to the tune of eight first quarter turnovers. The turnovers led a double-digit hole in the first period. SWOSU got back on track and rallied with a 9-0 run into the second quarter, while holding the Lady Rangers to 12 points on 31% shooting. They trailed 30-26 after one half.
The second half brought a slugfest. Five lead changes throughout the third and no one holding higher than a four-point lead in the quarter. SWOSU shot 75% in the third quarter and took a one-point lead into the fourth. They could have built on that lead, but they turned the ball over eight times over the 10 minutes. Northwestern's free throw shooting also worked to SWOSU's advantage as they went 1-7 from the line in the third.
A quick four points from the Lady Dawgs took the lead to five but Northwestern went on a 11-4 run to grab it back with 1:43 to go. Mason Jones responded with her fourth three-point shot of the night and got fouled for a four-point play to retake the lead. Another Lady Ranger bucket tied the game once again and allowed Libbi Zinn to hit another go ahead three for SWOSU giving them a 61-58 advantage, one that the Lady Bulldogs would not give up for the rest of the game.
Libbi Zinn's 20 points and five threes are both career highs. Mason Jones scored 15 points with four three-pointers and grabbed a career high seven rebounds. Hailey Grant added 12 points and eight rebounds.
SWOSU limited Northwestern to 40.4% overall and 27.3% from three. The Lady Rangers also shot just 54.5% from the free throw line.
This win avenges the two regular season losses to Northwestern and gives SWOSU at least one more game in the 2023-24 season. They will face the No. 2 seed Harding, a team SWOSU upset just two weeks ago, in the semifinals tomorrow at 8:00 pm.