WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Red hot shooting by Henderson State pushes the Reddies past Southwestern Oklahoma State 78-71 inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center. HSU improves to 8-5 overall and 4-3 in GAC play after the win. 
 
Natalie Cardenas paced the team in scoring with 21 points, followed by Tori Gittens and Ashley Farrar with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Both Cardenas and Gittens shot 60.0 percent from beyond the arc, while the team finished the game shooting 50.0 percent from deep and 54.0 percent from the field. Bobbi Bazzle ended the night 4-of-4 from the floor with nine points and led the team with seven rebounds and two blocks.
 
A cagey start to the first period saw the Reddies leading 4-0 with 6:17 left in the quarter after Bazzle and Cardenas each made a layup. From there, points began to fall, beginning with three-pointers by Gittens and Cardenas to push HSU ahead 12-2. Farrar joined in on the scoring, knocking down her first basket from beyond the arc to stretch Henderson's advantage to 13. The Lady Bulldogs soon found their footing, closing out the frame on a 7-0 run, trimming HSU's lead to 19-13.
 
The start of the second period opened with the two sides exchanging three-pointers before Bazzle converted a three-point play to keep HSU in front 27-20. SWOSU quickly pulled it back to a one-possession game through a 5-0 run, but the Reddies retook control after back-to-back three-pointers by Gittens and Cardenas made it a ten-point game. HSU converted its second three-point play of the period just before halftime, this time by Farrar, to carry a 42-37 lead at the break.
 
Gittens opened the scoring for HSU in the second half, making her third triple of the game to keep the Reddies in front by six. Henderson and Southwestern Oklahoma State traded three-pointers with 6:07 remaining in the period, with HSU ahead 48-46. The Lady Bulldogs stayed close to the Reddies, never allowing them to grow their advantage to more than four points as Henderson State led 58-56 after three quarters.
 
The opening half of the fourth period was all Henderson, as the Reddies took a 69-58 lead with 4:50 left in the game after a 10-2 run. A 5-0 burst by SWOSU brought it back to a two-possession game, but a triple by Cardenas and a layup from Bazzle stretched HSU's advantage back out to 74-66. Cardenas would close out the game at the free-throw line to seal a 78-71 road win over SWOSU in consecutive years.  
 
Henderson State (8-5, 4-3) will conclude its first Oklahoma road trip on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 1 p.m. against No. 12 Northwestern Oklahoma State inside the Percefull Fieldhouse.