SWOSU PULLS OFF SECOND-STRAIGHT UPSET TO RETURN TO #theGAC TITLE GAME
Courtesy SWOSUAthletics.com
SHAWNEE, Okla. – SWOSU women's basketball claimed a spot in the 2024 GAC Women's Basketball Championship with a 79-72 victory over No. 17/23 Harding in their semifinal matchup. Tough defense against one of the best offenses in the conference and scoring a season high 79 points was the recipe to success for the Lady Bulldogs on Saturday night.
SWOSU reaches their seventh GAC Tournament Championship game in program history. The Lady Bulldogs hold a 4-2 record in championship games. They will meet No. 4 seed Henderson State for the title tomorrow at 3:30 pm.
SWOSU opened the first half with as big as a 15-point lead, causing fits for the bigger lineup that Harding put on the court. In the third quarter, HU deployed a faster five with a full court press that led to a 27-18 extended run that whittled the SWOSU lead down to three in the fourth quarter. The Lady Dawgs did not let the lead get lower than that and, with some timely free throws and stops down the stretch, held on to win.
Just like two weeks ago in Weatherford, SWOSU played suffocating defense on Harding in the first half. The Lady Dawgs limited Harding to 2-11 shooting and turned them over five times in the first quarter. The Lady Bisons opened with a three 15 seconds into the game, then made one field goal over the next 9 minutes. SWOSU ended the first quarter with an 18-10 lead.
Protecting the paint during the opening half was a key area for the Lady Bulldogs, only allowing six points in the paint. Offensively, SWOSU closed the second quarter on an 8-1 run that opened up their lead to 14 points by halftime.
Harding came out of the locker room with an edge, cutting the lead to six with a 13-5 run. Their defense took over the third quarter and caused eight SWOSU turnovers that led to better shots than they got in the first half. That equated to SWOSU giving up 21 third quarter points. Mason Jones got going though and scored 10 of the 15 Lady Bulldog points in the third.
Both offenses could not be stopped in a blistering final period. Harding scored more points in the fourth than they did in the first half in a fiery comeback attempt, but the SWOSU offense kept the pace. They scored 27 fourth quarter points that were fueled by over 60% shooting and 10 made free throws. Harding made it a three-point game with 51 seconds left when five made free throws from SWOSU and back to back smothering defensive stops on the interior in a 20-second span secured the upset.
The SWOSU offense shot 52.9% overall and 50% from three. Both these marks set new season highs. Harding finished 44.3% from the field and 33.3% from deep. SWOSU again was a benefactor of the opponent's free throw shooting as Harding made just 11 of their 24 free throw attempts.
Mason Jones led all scorers with a career high 27 points, including 19 second half points, and hit four of six three-pointers. Hailey Grant came up with a massive double-double, scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds. Grant also patrolled the paint as the Lady Bulldog rim protector and came down with three blocks in her 30 minutes. Averi Zinn totaled 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Lanie Gooch almost ended with a double-double herself, finishing with eight points and nine boards.