WEATHERFORD, Okla. (Nov. 24, 2018) – Before November began, if someone had told Oklahoma Christian coach Stephanie Findley her basketball team would have a winning record after opening the season with seven straight games away from home, she'd probably have taken it.

But that didn't make Saturday afternoon any less frustrating for the Lady Eagles, who saw the work of a promising first 16 minutes swept away as Southwestern Oklahoma State – one of NCAA Division II's top squads – seized control en route to a 98-73 win over OC at the Pioneer Cellular Events Center.

OC (4-3) held its own early against Southwestern (3-1), a team that was ranked in preseason Division II top 25 polls and is likely to soon jump back into the rankings. Southwestern's 6-foot-2 All-America senior guard, Hailey Tucker, led five Bulldogs in double figures with 25 points, going 10 of 17 from the field. Hayden Priddy added 20 points while Bethany Franks had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Southwestern.

Southwestern opened the game by hitting three straight 3-pointers, but OC battled back to tie the game at 9-9. The Bulldogs then went up 27-15 with 3:15 left in the first quarter, but the Lady Eagles trimmed that margin to one point on three occasions in the second quarter, the last at 39-38 after a bucket by Addy Clift at the 5:30 mark.

OC trailed only 43-40 after two free throws by Maddison Collyer with 4:13 left in the first half, but Southwestern blew the game open with an 18-2 run and was up 61-42 after Priddy's buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the half.

The Bulldogs scored the first nine points of the second half and never looked back.

Collyer had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead OC. Katie Mayo and Clift added 13 points each, while Carolyne Lawley (10) and Hannah Bentsen (eight) each posted a career high in rebounds, helping the Lady Eagles post a 52-49 advantage on the boards. But OC shot just 31.4 percent (22 of 70) from the field and had 16 turnovers to Southwestern's seven.

OC will play its next three games at home – against Dallas Christian on Friday, Mid-America Christian on Dec. 4 and Southwestern on Dec. 6. After a game at local rival Southern Nazarene on Dec. 14, the Lady Eagles will have two more nonconference home games, hosting Kansas Christian on Dec. 15 and Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 17.

Clift raised her career scoring total to 1,523 points, tying her for eighth place on the Heartland Conference's all-time list with Jill Curry of Drury (Mo.), who played there from 2000-03. Clift also broke OC's record for career 3-point attempts, as she now has 664 in her four seasons. Ali Griffin set the previous mark of 653 from 1998 to 2002.