Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Despite never leading during regulation, Arkansas Tech forced overtime with Southern Nazarene and pulled out an improbable 87-84 victory in Saturday’s second Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Championship semifinal from Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
Down four, 76-72, late in regulation, Lyrik Williams brought the Golden Suns (15-15) to within one possession on a jumper from just inside the 3-point arc. After Alexus Jones converted 1-of-2 free throws for the Crimson Storm (17-13), Jayana Sanders tied the score with a deep 3-pointer from in front of the Tech bench with 5.4 seconds left. Jones drove the length of the court but Williams rejected Jones’ last-second layup to force overtime.
 
In the extra period, Tech took its first lead of the contest on a basket by Sanders. The Golden Sun lead expanded to three before Sonia Sarda’s 3-pointer evened the contest at 80. Sanders answered with a jumper and Massey Beard tied the game at 82 with two free throws.
 
After Tech’s Kiara Moses went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, the Crimson Storm took their lone lead of overtime on a layup by Sarda with 50 seconds left. Sanders answered back with a driving layup. Tech forced a turnover on Southern Nazarene’s ensuing possession but Sanders could only extend the lead to 86-84 after she missed the second of two free throws. She then fouled out, the fifth Golden Sun disqualified by fouls, giving Madeline Schroepfer a chance to tie the game.
 
To that point, Schroepfer had made 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. She missed her first attempt short and her try at an intentional miss failed to draw iron. Leighton Taylor went 1-for-2 to keep the door ajar but Adrienne Berry’s desperation heave at the horn missed the target and Tech improved to 4-0 in overtime games at the GAC Championships.
 
Sanders scored a game-high 21 points; 19 of those points came after halftime. Ke’Vonshaye Stackhouse made four 3-pointers, including three in third quarter that sparked Tech’s rally from the 11-point deficit they faced at halftime. Williams registered a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Berry led five from Southern Nazarene to reach double digits with 19 points. Schroepfer tallied 17 and eight rebounds; Sarda scored 16; Jones added 11 and Abby Niehues amassed 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
With the win, the Golden Suns become the lowest seed to reach the final of the Women’s Championships. No team seeded lower than fourth had previously advanced to the title game. They will meet Southwestern Oklahoma State at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday in their fourth all-time meeting at the GAC Championships, and the third time in the final. The Golden Suns have won all three previous meetings. During the regular season, SWOSU registered two double-digit wins against the Golden Suns.