WINONA, Minn. – The Warrior women's basketball team fell short in a nail biter that come down to the final seconds against Northwestern Oklahoma State.
How it Happened:
Playing in front of 884 fans inside McCown Gymnasium, Winona State found itself locked in a defensive battle throughout the night, ultimately falling 53-52 to Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Warriors opened the game shooting efficiently inside but struggled to convert from deep, going 1-6 from three in the first quarter while keeping pace to trail just 18-15 after ten minutes.
Winona State continued to grind in the second frame, getting a lift from the bench unit as the Warriors held the Rangers to just four field goals in the period. A pair of free throws from
Megan Schuman and a late three by
Vivica Bretton helped WSU trim the Northwestern Oklahoma lead to 29-26 at halftime.
The Warriors came out of the break firing, hitting four threes in the third quarter—two of them from
Breah Golden—to quickly erase the deficit and build momentum. A scoring burst from
Lydia Lakanen and another Bretton triple pushed WSU ahead 39-37, but Northwestern Oklahoma responded late in the quarter to knot the score at 39 entering the fourth.
The final ten minutes were a defensive tug-of-war as both teams struggled to find rhythm. Golden buried her fourth three of the game with just over six minutes remaining, and Winona State battled to keep the margin within a possession. However, the Rangers capitalized at the free-throw line and held WSU without a field goal in the closing stretch. A final defensive stand by Northwestern Oklahoma sealed the narrow 53-52 loss for the Warriors.
Statistical Comparison:
- Winona State shot 17-50 (34.0%) from the field, while Northwestern Oklahoma went 21-48 (43.8%).
- WSU attempted a high volume from three, finishing 9-32 (28.1%), compared to the Rangers' 5-16 (31.3%).
- Northwestern Oklahoma controlled the boards 36-27, including 11 offensive rebounds.
- The Warriors tallied 13 assists on 17 field goals and forced 16 NWOS turnovers.
- Breah Golden led Winona State with 14 points on four made threes.
- Megan Schuman added 9 points and went seven-of-12 at the line.
- Vivica Bretton stuffed the stat sheet with six points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
- Lydia Lakanen provided five points off the bench.
- Northwestern Oklahoma was paced by Jaida Shipp's 17 points and eight rebounds, while Summya Adigun added 16 points.
The Warriors will play next, on Tuesday, November 18th at 6:00pm against the Upper Iowa Peacocks in Fayette, Iowa.
