RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Harding captured its fifth consecutive victory, while Southwestern Oklahoma State’s eight-game winning streak was snapped to headline the Great American Conference’s women’s basketball contests this past Saturday.
HARDING 78, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 61
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – A 52 percent shooting performance on the road allowed Harding (14-5, 7-2 GAC) to capture a 78-61 win over Southern Arkansas (2-18, 2-8 GAC) on Saturday, allowing the Lady Bisons to climb to a half-game behind first place in the league standings. It was HU’s second win over SAU this season. HU shot 51.9 percent in the first half and exactly 52 percent in the second half to allow for a comfortable lead for the final five minutes of the first half and the entire second half. The Lady Bisons led by as much 15 points in the opening period and as much as 22 points in the final 20 minutes. TheLady Muleriders finished the contest shooting 34.4 percent from the field, highlighted by a 38.5 percent performance in the first half. Harding’s Kristen Celsor led all scorers with 22 points, and also added six rebounds. Shenelda Livingston led SAU with 18 points.
OUACHITA BAPTIST 88, SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 87
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Ouachita Baptist’s Nashia James made the second end of two foul shots with one second remaining in regulation to give the Lady Tigers (12-8, 4-6 GAC) an 88-87 road-win over Southwestern Oklahoma State (13-6, 8-2 GAC) on Saturday, thus snapping SWOSU’s eight-game conference win streak, which included a win over OBU earlier in the season. It also gave the Bulldogs their first loss at home this season, dropping the team’s record to 9-1 inside Rankin Williams Field House. OBU gained a one-point lead with 7:55 remaining in the first half, but SWOSU responded with a 14-0 scoring run over the next threeminutes to grab a double-digit lead. OBU’s Tamara Robinson sunk a layup in the final second of the opening period to give SWOSU a nine-point lead at halftime. The second half featured a back-and-forth battle, with OBU outscoring SWOSU55-45 in the period. The Bulldogs made a run with seven minutes remaining to grab a 10-point lead. Trailing by seven 3:14 remaining, OBU sparked a 10-3 scoring run to force the game’s first tie at 87-all with 13 seconds remaining. OBU’s James was fouled after gaining possession of a loose ball in the final second, setting up the game-winning free throw. James led all scorers with 27 points after making 11-of-17 shots from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line. SaRaya Oyler led the Bulldogs with 19 points, while teammate Sumiya Darden collected 16 points and 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season and third consecutive.
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 68, SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 57
DURANT, Okla. – Arkansas-Monticello (7-13, 3-7 GAC) created twice as many turnovers as it committed and outscored Southeastern Oklahoma State (9-11, 5-5 GAC) by 13 points in the second half to capture a 68-57 road win over the Savage Storm on Saturday. The UAM evens the season series at 1-1, followingSOSU’s win in Monticello earlier this year. After trailing by two at halftime, the Cotton Blossoms shot 51.7 percent in the second half, while holding Southeastern to 41.4 percent to outscore the Savage Storm 43-30. UAM also took advantage of 18 ball-handling errors committed by SOSU, which led to a 21-6advantage in points off turnovers. UAM committed just nine turnovers in thecontest. The first half featured six lead changes and three tie scores. After a heated back-and-forth battle in the first eight minutes of the second half, UAM gained the lead for the final time at the 11:57 mark and proceeded to outscore SOSU 22-11 throughout the remainder of the contest, growing its lead to as much as 14 points. UAM’s Catherine Puckett led all scorers with 18 points. Jessica Hesse and Ashley Hobbs led the Savage Storm with 14 points each.
EAST CENTRAL 79, HENDERSON STATE 66
ADA, Okla. – A dominant second half shooting performance was the difference in Saturday’s 79-66 win for East Central (6-14, 4-6 GAC) at home over Henderson State (11-9, 4-6 GAC). After a deadlocked first half, the Lady Tigers captured its second consecutive GAC victory by knocking down 66.7 percent of its shots in the second half to outscore the Lady Reddies 51-38. HSU has now lost sixconsecutive contests after starting the conference portion of the schedule 4-0. The ECU win evens the season series at 1-1 following HSU’s victory over the Lady Tigers earlier this year in Arkadelphia. Neither team led by more thanfive points in the first half. The Lady Reddies led for the first seven minutes of the second half before ECU’s shots started falling. The Lady Tigers never trailed throughout the final 13 minutes and held its largest lead of 13 points as the final buzzer sounded. The Lady Reddies managed to force a tie with 4:16 remaining, but ECU responded by outscoring HSU 18-5 throughout the remainder of the contest. ECU’s Jourdan Clark led all scorers with 22 points, while also adding seven rebounds. Krystal Beachum led HSU with 18 points in 28 minutes off the bench.