Box Score Box Score
SEARCY—The Harding Lady Bisons fell behind early and could not rally back, falling to the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns, 70-47 at the Rhodes Field House on Thursday night.
The Lady Bisons fell to 16-8 overall and 6-5 in Gulf South play. Harding remains in fourth place in the GSC West, one game behind Southern Arkansas (7-4) and a game ahead of Henderson State (5-6). Arkansas Tech improved to 17-7 on the season and 9-2 in the GSC.
The loss marked Harding's 20th consecutive loss to Arkansas Tech, and the all-time record against the Golden Suns dropped to 1-41. The last time the Lady Bisons defeated Arkansas Tech was Feb. 6, 1993.
Arkansas Tech opened the game with an 18-4 lead following a three-pointer by Nikki Earles. The Lady Bisons chipped away at the lead throughout the first half, and Jacque Fredendall made a free throw to cut the Golden Suns' lead to 29-23 at halftime.
Kaitlin May scored a layup early in the second half as Harding closed the lead to 29-25. That was the closest Harding would get to the lead, however, as Arkansas Tech responded with an 8-2 run.
The Golden Suns led by as many as 25 points in the second half. Katie McCormick scored all 16 of her points in the second half to lead Arkansas Tech, and Krishna Baker added 14 points.
“We've got to get better,” Harding Coach Tim Kirby said. “We've got to get better defensively, and we've got to get better mentally. We're going to get to work tomorrow and go play Henderson.”
The Lady Bisons struggled offensively all night, recording a season low in points and three point goals. Harding also shot below 30 percent from the field for the first time this season, shooting just 28 percent.
Catherine McMenamy and Fredendall each scored 11 points to lead the Lady Bisons. May collected 11 rebounds to lead Harding.
Harding will play again Saturday, February 17 against Henderson State beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Arkadelphia, Ark.
