FORT SMITH, Arkansas – Southeastern Oklahoma State continued its late-season winning ways and Arkansas Tech rallied against Ouachita Baptist to secure semifinals berth at the 2026 Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Championships from Northside Grizzly Arena.
The opener between the Savage Storm and Henderson State featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes and neither side ever possessed a double-digit lead. The Savage Storm scored the game’s final eight points for a 78-72 win.
Akiera Hawk connected on her second 3-pointer of the game to give the Savage Storm (17-12) a 73-72 lead with 58.1 seconds left. The defense then forced a Reddie (17-10) miss and caused two turnovers. Kenzli Warden went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to secure the win, their 12th in their last 13 games.
Warden, who averaged 21.0 points and 9.0 rebounds en route to placing on the All-Tournament Team a season ago continued to excel in Fort Smith as she scored 35 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Tori Kilburn, the GAC Freshman of the Year, produced her ninth double-double of the season - 22 points and 11 rebounds. Hawk finished with 10 points. The Reddies’ Natalie Cardenas, a First-Team All-GAC honoree, scored a team-high 22 points.
Southeastern earned a semifinal matchup with top-seeded Harding at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday. The Savage Storm defeated the Lady Bisons by 10 on their home floor on February 21. The game also represents a rematch of last year’s final, a game won by Harding, 69-52.
In the nightcap, the Golden Suns (19-8) overcame an early 12-point deficit and outscored the Tigers (14-13) by 14 points in the final quarter for an 82-73 victory.
AbbiGrace Cunningham spearheaded the comeback as she scored 19 of her team-leading 28 points in the final quarter. She scored 16 of Tech’s 18 points in a five-minute that saw Tech go from down three, 58-55 to up nine, 73-64.
Jadah Pickens and Perina Leime each scored 16 points. Pickens went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line, including 7-for-8 in the third quarter. Leime registered her first double-double of the season as she grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Four Tigers - Heidi Robinson, Madeleine Tipton, Audri Winfrey and Samantha Watson - scored double figures. Robinson led with 19. Tipton added 17 and eight rebounds. Winfrey grabbed nine rebounds and scored 13 points. Watson also scored 13.
Tech earned its first win at the GAC Championships since a semifinal win in 2022. The Golden Suns improved to 11-3 in GAC quarterfinal games. The 11 semifinal appearances rank second in GAC Women’s Championship history to Harding’s 12.
Arkansas Tech faces Northwestern Oklahoma State in Saturday’s late semifinal, scheduled for 8 p.m. The matchup features two of the Central Region’s ranked teams as the Rangers appeared in ninth position and the Golden Suns slotted in 10th. During the regular season, the Golden Suns won by one - in overtime - in Alva and the Rangers scored a six-point road victory.