GOODWELL, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State women's basketball team (4-12, 1-9 SAC) put a 32-game conference losing streak to rest Thursday night versus Oklahoma City (7-10, 3-8), using several individual career performances and an otherworldly rebounding advantage to win comfortably, 78-64.
 
The Aggies started strong and finished even stronger on its home court Thursday, overcoming an OCU spurt to close the third quarter by outscoring the visitors 25-12 in the fourth.
 
Standout Efforts: Included among the remarkable performances was Mar'kia Pratt's 22 points on a career-high nine made field goals. The guard also tied her career best with five assists to lead OPSU on the night. Tryssa Dowd controlled the paint with 18 points and a career-most 14 boards for her fourth double-double, while Heidi Rodriguez made all three of her three-point field goal attempts, marking the first time she's shot 100% from deep in a game. Zamari Reece also scored a season-high 15 points to keep the Aggies' offense churning, which overall shot 51.8% from the floor, representing the team's best since single-game shooting percentage since Nov. 13, 2021.
 
Most impressively, however, was the Aggies' dominance on the glass from start to finish. Holding a 13-5 rebounding edge after one quarter, the margin only ballooned throughout the night, ending up at 45-17 in favor of Panhandle State. The plus-28 advantage on the boards is the highest for the program since Nov. 11, 2019, which was a 104-33 win over Manhattan Christian College in which the Aggies outrebounded its opponent, 58-22.
 
How it happened: The Aggies and Stars went back and forth through the early minutes, knotted at 12 until free throws from Dowd and Reece gave the hosts a 15-12 lead after one period.
 
Pratt got the scoring started in the second quarter, and the OPSU offense found its stride as Reece had a scoring flurry and Rodriguez caught fire. In less than a six-minute span, Rodriguez buried a trio of triples, including two straight late in the frame, both of which came on heads-up finds from Emily Bray. Bray then went to work herself, scoring the final four Aggie points of the half as head coach Maria Belt's squad built a 34-28 lead.
 
Ball movement and pace were abundant through much of the third period for Panhandle State as it led 52-39 with just under three minutes to play in the quarter. The Stars then got hot, forcing a couple turnovers and cashing in to draw all the way to within one, 53-52 to enter the fourth frame.
 
Pratt had her game working early and often in that final quarter, knocking down clutch jumpers and layups to rack up 10 in the period. Ahead 67-64 following a made three-pointer by OCU with 3:21 to go, the Aggies broke the Stars' press with Brooklyn Aska finding Dowd for a layup. Reece, Aska and Pratt then all made their free throws down the stretch, sealing the victory.
 
Tip-ins: Defensively, Aska led OPSU with a career-high three steals. Bray and Lyric Carpenter joined Dowd with strong rebounding nights, both grabbing seven boards. Panhandle State doubled up OCU with 44 points in the paint compared to the Stars' 22.
 
What's up next: The Aggies stay at home Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tipoff versus Southwestern Christian University (8-7, 5-6 SAC)