WEATHERFORD, Okla. — Cold shooting from long distance doomed Henderson State on Saturday as the Reddies fell to Southwestern Oklahoma State 84-66 at the Pioneer Cellular Events Center.

Henderson (10-4, 5-3) entered the game shooting almost 36% from the 3-point line but was just 2-for-18 from beyond the arc (11.1%) while the Lady Bulldogs hit 11 of their 27 attempts. Maci Mains led the Reddies and tied a career-high with 20 points off of the bench, while Hailey Estes added 13 and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds.

Little separated the two sides through the first 20 minutes of play. After battling to a 15-15 tie in the first quarter, the second period was marked by runs from both squads. An 11-4 stretch from SWOSU gave the Lady Bulldogs a 33-26 advantage at the 3:23 mark, but an 8-3 run from the Reddies to close the half trimmed the deficit down to 36-34 at the break.

Things got away from Henderson in the third, as SWOSU used a 21-8 run over the first six minutes of the period to seize its largest lead, 57-42, at the 3:58 mark. Three free throws from Mains and a put-back from Estes helped Henderson trim the lead to 57-47 with a 5-0 spurt, but back-to-back 3-pointers from SWOSU once again lifted the Lady Bulldogs to their largest advantage and put them in front 63-47 with 10 minutes remaining. 

That cushion would prove to be insurmountable for the Reddies, as Southwestern never allowed HSU within single digits again and pulled away in the fourth quarter for its 36th consecutive home victory.

The Reddies shot just 21.4% from the floor and were out-scored 27-13 in the pivotal third quarter. HSU out-rebounded SWOSU 51-44 in the loss, but turned the ball over 20 times compared to just nine giveaways for the Lady Bulldogs.

Henderson returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 16 when they host rival Ouachita Baptist at 5:30 p.m. in the Duke Wells Center.