BOX SCORE
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The Harding Lady Bisons used a 20-3 run that spanned more than eight minutes of the second half to thwart Southeastern Oklahoma State’s upset bid and advanced in the 2013 Great American Conference Championship with a 77-63 victory from the Bruin Fieldhouse.
Arielle Saunders led the Lady Bisons (19-8) as she just missed out on registering the first triple-double in program history. She scored 10 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked nine shots. The rebound and block totals broke GAC Tournament records she set during last season’s event. In four career GAC Championship games, Saunders has averaged 13.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots.
Harding-Southeastern Oklahoma State Photo Gallery
Harding put four players in double figures, led by Shana Holmes 21 points. She scored 16 of her points and made four of her five 3-point field goals over the final 20 minutes of action. Kristen Celsor added 17 points and nine rebounds. She connected on 4-of-8 from the 3-point arc. Deshelle Isaac-Boyce added 13 points off the bench.
Second-Team All-GAC guard Bailey Welch led the Savage Storm (10-17) with 14 points and four assists. Off the bench, Emily Williams added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Harding advanced for the GAC Championship Semifinals for the second-straight year. They will face the winner of the Southwestern Oklahoma State-Henderson State game at Noon on Saturday. The Lady Bisons fell to the Lady Bulldogs in last year’s title game and split with them during the regular season. Harding won both regular-season contests with Henderson State, winning 57-56 in Arkadelphia, Ark. on Jan. 10 and 76-69, in overtime, back in Searcy, Ark.