Tweet #theGAC  SHAWNEE, Okla. – No. 2 seed Harding turned a very slow start into a very strong finish Thursday in a 63-54 victory over No. 7 seed East Central in the quarterfinals of the Great American Conference Tournament.

With the victory, Harding improved to 24-6 overall and will meet the winner of the No. 3 Henderson State-No. 6 Ouachita Baptist game Saturday at 2:15 p.m. at FireLake Arena.

Harding has 24 wins for only the third time in the NCAA era (since 1997) and the fifth time in program history.

Junior Sage Hawley, the GAC Player of the Year, led Harding with 21 points and 13 rebounds. It was her 38th career double-double and her school-record tying 19th of the season. Hawley scored more than 20 points for the 23rd time in her career and 14th this season.

Sophomore Kendrick Bailey made three critical 3-pointers in the game and scored 14 points.

Both teams shot poorly in the first half, and East Central led 21-19 at the break. It was the lowest-scoring first half for the Lady Bisons this season and fewest points scored in the first half since posting 18 at Southern Nazarene on Jan. 8, 2022.

The third quarter proved crucial for the Lady Bisons. Harding scored the first seven points of the third quarter and outscored East Central 21-9 in the period to take a 40-30 lead into the final quarter. The Lady Bisons shot 8-of-17 and limited the Tigers to 3-of-15 shooting.

East Central trimmed Harding's lead to 45-43 with 5:26 left, but Bailey drained a 3-pointer from the right wing on the next trip and Harding led by at least three the rest of the way. Six late free throws pushed the Lady Bison lead to nine points twice.

Harding shot 48% from the field in the second half after shooting only 21% in the first 20 minutes.

The first quarter was a defensive struggle. Harding did not score on its first 11 possessions and made its only field goal of the first quarter on Jacie Evans' driving layup with 2:59 left in the quarter. East Central led 6-2 at that point.

East Central missed its next seven field-goal attempts and shot only 3-for-14 in the quarter, leading 7-5 after one period. Harley Harbour hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds left in the quarter to cut East Central's lead to two points.

Harding tied the game at 7-7 early in the second, but East Central scored the next seven points to take a 14-7 lead. The Lady Bisons answered with five straight, and the teams exchanged baskets down the stretch.

Hawley led HU with seven points and six rebounds at the break but picked up three first-half fouls. Evans, Rory Geer and Harbour also had four points each.