Henderson State had four players score in double figures and led by 16 in the first half, but Southwestern Oklahoma used a big third quarter to rally and defeat the Reddies 85-80 in the first game of 2017 for Henderson. 

The Reddies wasted no time jumping all over the Lady Bulldogs, as they got off to a red-hot start in their first game of 2017. Aided by six first quarter 3-pointers, Henderson opened up a 31-17 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.

The Lady Bulldogs slowly began to claw their way back in the second, as the Reddies' unbelievable shooting cooled. SWOSU closed a once-17 point deficit to 44-38 with 1:12 to go, but Henderson finished the quarter with two quick baskets to push the lead back to 10 and ultimately go into halftime up 48-40.

In the third quarter, SWOSU turned the tide of the game, as they used an 18-2 run over the first four minutes of the second half to seize a 58-50 advantage and all the momentum away from the Reddies. Henderson countered and tied things back up at 59-59 with an 8-1 spurt of their own, but the Lady Bulldogs closed on a 7-2 run to take a 66-61 lead into the game's final 10 minutes.

SWOSU extended their lead to 78-66 with under six minutes remaining after a 12-5 run to begin the fourth. The Reddies attempted to dig out of the hole, cutting the Lady Bulldog lead to 82-75 with just under two minutes remaining and then cutting it to just five in the game's waning seconds, but they ran out of time and fell 85-80.

The loss is Henderson's first GAC defeat of the season and drops them to 4-1 in conference play.

Pink Jones led the Reddies with 15 points, six assists and four rebounds, while Torrie Thompson put up 15 of her own. Haleigh Henson scored14 points and added five steals, and Blu Jones chipped in 10 points and five boards in defeat. Lexis Weber led Henderson with 12 rebounds.

The Reddies' next game is Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1 p.m. against Northwestern Oklahoma State in the Duke Wells Center.