ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Karrington Whaley finished with 14 points and six rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting and Lexis Weber provided a spark off of the bench to help the Reddies to a 59-53 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday night.

Blu Jones and Pink Jones combined to score 23 as Henderson State won the rebounding battle 40-30. Weber came up with her best performance of the year with eight points and five rebounds in just 15 minutes of action, which included the game-clinching steal and score in the game's final seconds.

The Reddies held NWOSU to just 31.7 percent shooting in the game, which included a mark of 5-for-24 from the 3-point line.

Henderson (11-3, 6-2) returns to action on Saturday, when it hosts the Great American Conference front-runner No. 20 Southwestern Oklahoma State.
 
1st Quarter
The first frame was marked by back and forth action as both teams struggled on offense in the early going. The Reddies committed four turnovers in the first 2:35 and trailed 7-4 after a 3-pointer from Bailey Forrell. The Reddies quickly reclaimed the lead, as an 8-4 run, capped off by a Maci Mains 3-pointer, put HSU in front, 12-11. After a 5-0 spurt from the Lady Rangers, Henderson scored the last four points of the quarter, including a buzzer-beating layup from Pink Jones which tied the score at 16-16.
 
2nd Quarter
The Reddies began the second quarter on an 8-0 run, which included six points from Whaley, to take a 24-16 lead. NWOSU got a 3-pointer from Jade Jones, but another 5-0 spurt from Henderson State put the Reddies up by double-digits for the first time, 29-19. HSU dominated the remainder of the quarter, especially on the defensive end, holding the Lady Rangers to 1-for-17 shooting in the period. The Reddies led 33-21 at the break.
 
3rd Quarter
It seemed that the Reddies were putting the contest out of reach at the beginning of the second half, as a Lani Snowden 3-pointer gave Henderson its largest lead of the evening, 38-21. However, the Lady Rangers had other plans, and used a 9-0 spurt of their own to pull within eight points, 38-30. A put-back from Weber gave the Reddies a 40-30 lead, but NWOSU ended the quarter on a 9-4 run to trim HSU's lead down to just 44-39 entering the fourth.
 
4th Quarter
An old-fashioned three-point play from Kalea King pulled the Lady Rangers within two points in the opening seconds of the fourth, but the Reddies responded with an 11-4 run that pushed the lead back out to 55-46 and forced NWOSU into a timeout. Northwestern Oklahoma refused to go away, however, and eventually cut the deficit down four points with 30 seconds left. Leading by four points and needing a stop, Henderson got one when Weber jumped a passing lane and scored on the other end to give the Reddies a six point lead with just 16 seconds left. The big steal put the game out of reach, as HSU held on for the 59-53 win.