PHOTO GALLERY || BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Arkansas Tech raced out early against Southwestern Oklahoma State and never relented as the Golden Suns won 96-60 in Saturday’s second semifinal contest from Bruin Fieldhouse.
The Golden Suns (22-6) opened up a 20-3 advantage midway through the opening period and ever allowed the Lady Bulldogs (20-10) to pull to any closer than nine points. Tech maintained an 18-point cushion at halftime, having outscored SWOSU 30-8 from inside the paint.
The dominance continued in the second as Tech extended its lead to as wide at 41 points late in the fourth quarter. The 36-point win represents the largest margin of victory in GAC Championship history, topping the 35-point win by SWOSU against East Central in the 2012 quarterfinals.
Tech finished with 62 points from the paint and outscored SWOSU 23-0 on second-chance points. The Golden Suns grabbed 35 out of a possible 37 defensive rebounds and won the overall rebound battle, 53-26.
Six Golden Suns reached double figures, led by 22 points from Kelsey McClure. She hit on 10-of-12 from the floor and added 10 rebounds. Danielle Frachiseur scored 16; Anissa Pounds tallied 15 points and eight assists – against only one turnover. D’Rae Tullock and Calli White paced the reserves with 13 and 11 points, respectively, and Cheyenne North chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Tyra Aska led SWOSU as she scored 19 points. Hailey Tucker, the GAC Player of the Year, scored 13, but attempted only four shots.
The Golden Suns will attempt to become the conference’s first repeat champion when they face Harding in Sunday’s 1:00 PM title tilt. The game streams on GACSportsNetwork.com. Harding swept Arkansas Tech in the regular season and owns a 2-0 mark all-time in Bartlesville, winning a semifinal game in 2014 and the title game in 2015.