COVERAGE LINKS I
GAME NOTES
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State will face its third nationally ranked top 15 team this season when they battle No. 12 Northwestern Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, inside the Percefull Fieldhouse.
REDDIES REPORT
Henderson State is on a two-game win streak after taking down Southwestern Oklahoma State 78-71 on the road for the second time in two years. The Reddies put up their best shooting numbers of the season against SWOSU, converting 54.0 percent (27-50) from the field and 50.0 percent (10-20) from beyond the arc.
Three players finished in double-figure points, led by
Natalie Cardenas with 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. The freshman guard eclipsed 20 points for the third time this season and was the ninth time she has seen double-digit points.
Tori Gittens followed Cardenas in scoring, recording 17 points, and finished 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Joining Cardenas and Gittens,
Ashley Farrar helps lead the third highest-scoring offense (74.5) in the GAC with 18.2 points per game. Farrar recorded 12 points in the win and helped set up the offense with her team-high five assists. The Green Forest, Ark. native recently became just the third player to reach 1600 career points and ranks second all-time in scoring with 1614 points. Farrar needs just 33 points to tie the scorer's record set by Lena Womack (1647) and 34 to claim the title out right.
Bobbi Bazzle saw a season-high nine points in the victory over SWOSU and finished perfect in shooting, going 4-4 from the field. The senior forward led the Reddies with seven of the team's 30 rebounds and is seeing a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game. HSU ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding, averaging 38.5 boards per game, but have struggled to slow down opponents at the glass at times, giving up the second-most rebounds per game (40.9).
Henderson State and Northwestern Oklahoma State split the season series last year, with each side picking up a win at home. The Percefull Fieldhouse has been a difficult place to play for the Reddies, having lost four of the last three trips to Alva and just 3-7 in the previous ten meetings. HSU does hold the slight edge in the all-time series, with a 12-8 record.
SCOUTING NO. 12 NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
No. 12 Northwestern Oklahoma State is off to a flying start to the 2023-24 season, having already surpassed its win totals from last season with a 14-1 overall record. The Lady Rangers recently picked up their sixth GAC win with a 67-49 victory over Ouachita Baptist and extended their win streak to six.
NWOSU possesses the highest-scoring offense in the GAC, leading the league in points per game (82.4) and having the best scoring margin in the conference (+27.1). A large part of the Lady Ranger's offensive success comes from shot-making ability, as they lead the league in field goal percentage (47.5) and number of field goals made (459). Three-time GAC Player of the Week Faith Simpson paces Northwestern in scoring with 20.1 points per game and is shooting a league best 58.1 percent (125-215) from the floor.
The Lady Rangers also rank second in three-point field goal percentage with a 36.1 shooting mark from beyond the arc and are averaging 6.3 triples per game. Junior guard Carly Craig leads NWOSU's perimeter shooting, having made a team-high 44 three-pointers – most by any player in the GAC – on 43.6 percent shooting. In addition, the Lady Rangers are second in rebounding with 42.4 boards per game and have the best-rebounding margin in the GAC at +11.8.
