Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Harding’s exemplary defense shined in a 67-48 victory against East Central in Saturday’s opening Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Semifinal contest from Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
Up 34-28 at halfime, Harding (26-3), clamped down on East Central (14-14) as they allowed the Tigers to convert just 2-of-14 from the floor in the third quarter. At the offensive end, the Lady Bisons extended the lead to 19 points over the duration of the period.
 
A’ndrea Haney turned in her third strong performance against ECU. She made all four of her 3-point attempts in scoring a game-high 14 points. In three wins against the Tigers, she averaged 16.7 points and shot 61.5 percent from the 3-point arc.
 
For the second-straight game, Harding cleaned up on the glass. The Lady Bisons won the rebound margin by a 45-26 count, two days after they outrebounded Arkansas-Monticello, 46-25. Sydney Layrock grabbed a team-leading 10 and Caroline Hogue pulled down nine.
 
In their two victories in Bartlesville, Harding has allowed only 93 points, the best two-game performance in the six-year history of the GAC Championships. The Lady Bisons have held the opposition shoot only 32.7 percent from the floor and 23.5 percent from the 3-point arc.
 
Jalyn Jackson led East Central with 12 point, seven rebounds and three blocks. Devon Branch nailed three 3-pointers and tallied 11 points. The Tigers dropped to 0-4 all-time in GAC semifinal contests.
 
The Lady Bisons wil face the winner of the Arkansas Tech-Southwestern Oklahoma State contest in Sunday’s title clash, set for 1:00 PM on GACSportsNetwork.com. Harding swept Arkansas Tech while SWOSU handed Harding its lone conference loss, an 80-79 decision in Weatherford. The Lady Bulldogs have twice defeated the Lady Bisons in GAC title games, however, they claimed the 2015 title by defeating the Golden Suns.