SHAWNEE, Oklahoma – Henderson State fell to Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Saturday afternoon, 79-68. The Reddies shot a respectable 40.6% from the field and 36.7% from beyond-the-arc, but OKBU held the slight edge on the day, registering on 45% of its shots from within the perimeter and 43.5% from beyond.
 
After posting three consecutive single-digit scoring outings, Ashley Farrar broke out with 23 points. Sonni Martin finished with 12 points, all of which came from long range, where she was 4-of-6.
 
Oklahoma Baptist raced out in front of its home crowd at the Noble Complex to a 7-2 head start, but four points from Farrar and back-to-back threes from Lani Snowden and Maci Mains gave HSU a 10-2 run, allowing the visiting Reddies to retake the lead, 12-9. From there, the Bison saw their own 12-5 run to go into the second quarter with the 21-17 lead.
 
Oklahoma Baptist was right on the cusp of opening up a double-digit lead five minutes into the second frame, but consistent shot making from Henderson kept it close as both teams went into the locker room with the contest still anyone's ballgame.
 
Only four points separated Henderson State and Oklahoma Baptist after 20 minutes, 38-34, as each team was shooting 43.8% on the same number of shots (14-32). The Bison held a slight advantage from beyond-the-arc, going 5-13 (38.5%) compared to HSU's 6-16 (37.5%)
 
Ashley Farrar broke out of her scoring slump early on, leading all scorers at the half with 14 points. Maci Mains had already tied her season-high with five assists while Karrington Whaley pulled down eight rebounds through the opening two periods.
 
The third quarter opened with a Gracie Raby fastbreak and-one 20 seconds into the second half. When it looked like HSU was about to retake its first lead since the first quarter, back-to-back three-pointers from the Bison's Kalifa Ford killed any kind of momentum the Reddies had gathered.
 
From that point, the home OKBU crowd fueled its team to a double-digit lead, going into the fourth quarter with the 56-43 advantage. The lead remained as such until HSU threatened with a 2-for-2 trip at the free-throw line from Farrar and a trey from Martin to cut the deficit to eight, 73-65.
 
With a comeback brewing, another dagger three, this time from Bison Mallory Lockhart, kept the Reddies at bay as Henderson dropped the second game of its Oklahoma road trip, 79-68.
 
Henderson St. (12-8, 7-7) remains away from the Duke Wells Center for one more game when it takes on Ouachita Baptist in the season's second Battle of the Ravine Thursday, Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m.