Tweet #theGAC  SHAWNEE, Okla. – It was a dominant effort from the very beginning.

Harding took an early lead, built on it and pulled away for a 78-51 victory over Ouachita Baptist in the Great American Conference Tournament semifinals Saturday at FireLake Arena.

With the victory, No. 2 seed Harding will take on No. 1 seed Southern Nazarene in the championship Sunday at 1 p.m. It will be the Lady Bisons' sixth GAC Tournament championship game in the GAC's 12 seasons and first since 2018.

Harding improved to 25-6 overall, the school's fourth season with 25 or more wins and the first since the 2016-17 Final Four team won 31 games. It was the eighth straight win for the Lady Bisons.

Ouachita Baptist had its five-game winning streak snapped and had its season end at 15-13.

Harding had three players with double-doubles. Sage Hawley led the Lady Bisons with 26 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, three assists and three blocks. Jacie Evans had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and Rory Geer had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Hawley's 26 points gave her 1,244 career points and moved her into 14th in career scoring at Harding. She also eclipsed 600 points for the season, only the sixth 600-point season ever by a Lady Bison. It was her 39th career double-double and the 20th of the 2022-23 season, a new Harding record.

It was the seventh double-double of the season for Evans and the sixth for Geer.

Harding led 19-10 after one quarter. The Lady Bisons limited the Tigers to only 2-of-13 shooting, both 3-pointers. Harding got points from all five starters in the quarter and held an 8-0 lead off turnovers and on points in the paint.

Harding pushed its lead to 33-18 at the break. The key for the Lady Bisons came on the defensive end, where they held the Tigers to only 17.2% shooting in the first half. It was the eighth time this season Harding held an opponent to fewer than 20 points in the first half.

Harding held a 16-4 lead in the paint and took its largest lead of the first half into halftime.

The Lady Bisons shot 38.7% in the first half and made 7-of-10 free throws.

Harding continued to build its advantage in the third, outscoring Ouachita 21-14 and leading 54-32 entering the fourth.

Harding shot 45.0% in the third period, including two 3-pointers from Kendrick Bailey. Ouachita shot better in the quarter, hitting 6-of-12 from the field.

Harding outrebounded Ouachita 50-30 and held a 42-18 advantage in the paint.