CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State women's basketball team took care of business Saturday afternoon, defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State 70-59 at the Claremore Expo.

RSU opening the second frame on a 15-4 run to take a 44-32 advantage. NWOSU cut the Hillcats lead to eight points with a layup by LaParis Newsom, however Leah Smith drained a shot from long distance to push the lead back to 11 points. The Lady Rangers hit back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to six points, the closest margin NWOSU registered for the remainder of the game. The Hillcats followed with 6-0 run to push the advantage to 12 points and led the rest of the contest.

The teams traded the lead six times in the first period with both squads struggling to find a rhythm offensively. The Hillcats shot just 26 percent from the field in the first frame while NWOSU connected on 33 percent of its shots from the floor. Gianna Woods converted a conventional three-point play and gave the Hillcats a one point advantage with less than two minutes to play in the half. Madison Harris added a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to three points but Audrey Richmond added a layup with three seconds on the clock to leave the Hillcats with a 29-28 advantage at intermission.

The Hillcats received a balanced scoring effort from nine different players in the contest. Sierra Cornwell led RSU with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds while Woods poured in 16 points and grabbed 17 boards.

The win marks the Hillcats third straight victory and keeps the squad in the thick of the conference race midway through the season. RSU entered the afternoon in a tie for fifth in the SAC with NWOSU but with the win and OBU suffering a loss the Hillcats take over sole possession on fourth place in the league standings.

Rogers State (12-6, 6-4) will hit the road on Thursday as the Hillcats head to West Texas to take on Lubbock Christian at 5:45 p.m. Audio will be streamed live at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.