BOX SCORE | BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Harding became the first Great American Conference women’s basketball program to advance to four consecutive semifinals as the No. 1 Lady Bisons defeated Southern Arkansas, 80-48, from the Bruin Fieldhouse on Thursday evening.
The Lady Bisons (21-5) avoided a tight quarterfinal match like they faced in 2014, a 60-57 win against Ouachita Baptist, by using a 15-3 run over the final eight minutes of the first half to spring the Lady Bisons to 31-20 lead at the break. Harding allowed SAU (9-18) to shoot just 30.4 percent over the opening 20 minutes.
The stifling defensive effort from Harding continued in the second half. The Lady Muleriders made only 7-of-25 shots and finished the game with just a 29.4 field goal percentage. Thursday’s win represented the seventh time Harding kept an opponent below the 50-point barrier, but the first time since a January 3 win against Ouachita Baptist. The Lady Bisons own a 7-0 record in those contests.
Correy Moyer led a balanced offensive attack for Harding. She came off the bench and scored 16 points with three 3-pointers. Freshman Lundon Williams connected on four of her shots, including three from the 3-point arc, and added a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line for 15 points. Arielle Saunders, the GAC Player of the Year, added 12 points and 10 rebounds for her GAC-leading 18th double-double of the season.
Rosa Bryant, an Honorable Mention All-GAC performer, led the Lady Muleriders with 11 points.
Harding will seek their third finals appearance in four seasons when they take on the winner of Arkansas-Monticello at East Central at 2:15 PM on Saturday on GACSportsNetwork.com. The Lady Bisons won both contests with the Cotton Blossoms by at least 20 points. They also took both regular-season meetings from the Tigers.