STILLWATER, Okla. – It took a little time for the Oklahoma State shooters to warm up, but once they did Northwestern State was unable to keep pace in an 89-51 loss on Friday night.
After going 1-for-6 from beyond the arc to start the game, the Cowgirls finished the final 15 minutes of the first half making 6-of-8, including three straight possessions to start the first big scoring run of the night.
OSU needed the burst to create some distance from the strong start by the Lady Demons.
Bengisu Alper drained her first shot attempt of the game, a 3-pointer from the left wing, after NSU forced a turnover on the game’s opening possession. Karmelah Dean tied the game at five a couple of minutes later and Candice Parramore put NSU ahead 10-8 after turning another Cowgirl turnover directly into points.
Parramore tied the game at 10 after the media timeout but a quick answer by the Cowgirls on a layup sparked the run that the Lady Demons were unable to fully recover from.
Three straight 3-pointers turned bolstered the 18-3 OSU run to finish the quarter.
Parramore ended the lengthy run that eventually carried over into the second quarter with back-to-back jumpers, part of her 15 points on the night to lead all scorers, near the five-minute mark of the quarter. Parramore and NSU’s second leading scorer in the game, Alecia Whyte who finished with 11, accounted for all of the Lady Demons point production in the period.
Whyte also added eight rebounds, just missing her first double-double of the season.
Joelle Johnson carried the load in the third quarter, scoring on three of four possessions in a row for the Demons, the first two layups coming on assists from Jordan McLemore. The 6-0 burst by Johnson came thanks to a pair of steals during the stretch.
NSU played even with the Cowgirls over the final 10 minutes of the game, starting the period with an 8-4 lead through the first four minutes of the quarter. The Lady Demons got field goals from Whyte, Parramore and Jasmin Dixon, along with a pair of free throws from Dean.
The finished the quarter with an 8-2 run across the final four minutes, bookending the game with 3-pointers from the wing as Shelby Rayner knocked down a shot from the left wing again as time expired on the night.
The Lady Demons forced 14 turnovers on the game and finished even with the Cowgirls in offensive rebounds.
Credit: Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
