CHICKASHA, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State women's basketball team (3-11, 0-8 SAC) started slowly and fell 79-43 Thursday night at RV Science & Arts Oklahoma (12-2, 7-1).
 
OPSU took time to shake off the rust from the winter break, finding itself behind 30-11 after one quarter.
 
The Aggies opened the second period on a 7-0 run, with Heidi Rodriguez serving as a sparkplug for a more active defense. Rodriguez also made a triple to begin the run, while Lyric Carpenter and Emily Bray added baskets in short order. The energized efforts from Panhandle State held the Drovers scoreless for nearly six consecutive minutes in the frame, and OPSU won the quarter, 11-8, overall.
 
Tryssa Dowd had it going early in the third frame, cutting the Aggie deficit to 15 at 43-28 after a trip to the charity stripe. USAO began to ran away with the contest as the quarter wore on, however.
 
Highlights in the fourth included a charge drawn by Zamari Reece and a three-pointer from Breya Beck as OPSU displayed continued fight.
 
Dowd, Mar'kia Pratt and Carpenter each tallied eight points, with Dowd also grabbing 10 rebounds and Pratt notching two steals.
 
Bray and Brooklyn Aska were also positive contributors, combining for 15 boards and four assists.
 
What's up next: Panhandle State finishes its current five-game road stretch at 2 p.m. Saturday at No. 23 Mid-America Christian (11-3, 6-2).