SHAWNEE, OK. - Despite getting a career-high 25 points from freshman Hailey Estes and 21 more from sophomore Brittany Branum, Henderson State fell on Thursday to Oklahoma Baptist 85-81 in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

The Bison started hot on their home floor, using strong early shooting to take an 18-8 lead on HSU with 5:06 in the first quarter. Henderson closed the gap to 20-14 at the end of one, but OKBU used a 10-5 spurt to begin the second period and regain a double-digit lead, 30-19. Again, though, the Reddies responded, by gradually chipping away at the lead, eventually cutting the 11-point deficit down to just two, 40-38, at the halftime break. 

The third period was neck and neck, as neither team could pull away from the other. OKBU opened up a 56-49 lead with 2:17 left in the quarter, but saw the Reddies trim it back down to four points at 58-54 before Tasha Edge got a lay up to go at the buzzer to put the Bison up 60-54 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

The Reddies battled in the fourth, but OKBU managed to keep Henderson at bay throughout the period. Down by six with 18 seconds remaining, HSU tried to rally, as Estes hit her seventh 3-pointer of the game to bring the Reddies within two with 12 seconds to go, but Edge hit both free throws for the Bison to extend it back to a four-point lead. Brannum went quickly to the basket on the other end, drew the foul and hit both shots to close the gap to two again with six seconds left, but this time Cameerah Graves hit two shots at the line for the Bison to ice the game and win it for OKBU, 85-81.

Estes was money all game for Henderson, hitting seven 3-pointers en route to her career-high of 25 while also snagging seven rebounds. Branum also had a good game for HSU, hitting on 6-of-12 attempts from the field for 21 points and tacking on a team-high eight boards. Freshman Pink Jones added 12 points for Henderson in defeat.

As a team, the Reddies forced 11 Bison turnovers while only turning it over eight times themselves, hit 11 3-pointers and kept the rebounding battle close despite giving up a ton of size, but OKBU shot 49.2 percent from the floor, which proved to be just enough to pull out a victory.

The loss drops HSU to 7-11 on the year and 7-5 in Great American Conference play.

Henderson's next game is Saturday at 1 p.m. against Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Oklahoma.