Box score

SEARCY – The Harding Lady Bisons came close but could not complete their late rally to the No. 1 team in NCAA II, falling to the Delta State Lady Statesmen 61-56 at Rhodes Field House on Thursday night.

The Lady Bisons, who were hosting a nationally-recognized “Think Pink Night" to raise awareness about breast cancer, fell to 15-7 and 5-4 in Gulf South Conference play. Delta State continued its undefeated season by improving to 21-0 and 9-0 in the GSC; the Lady Statesmen have defeated Harding in 14 of the 16 meetings all-time.

Sharita Cooper scored a jumper to give Delta State a 57-47 lead with 3:22 remaining, but it was the last field goal the Lady Statesmen scored for the rest of the game.

Junior Stacey Owens and senior Kinsey Tucker each scored a three-pointer to close the lead to 57-53 with 1:15 left. Tucker hit a free throw on the following possession, narrowing the lead to 57-54 with 33 seconds left, but Delta State made all four of its free throw attempts over the final seconds to secure the victory.

Junior Catherine McMenamy led Harding with 13 points, and senior Kinsey Tucker added 10 points before fouling out with less than a minute remaining. Senior Kristen Donnell collected eight rebounds to lead Harding.

Delta State scored the first points on a layup by Lakira Boyd and led for the remainder of the game. Jessica Boyd hit a three-pointer to give Delta State a 24-10 lead, its largest lead of the game with less than five minutes left in the first half.

Donnell scored a free throw to narrow Delta State's lead to 28-19 at halftime. The Lady Bisons shot 5-for-20 from the field in the first half while Delta State made 11-of-19 shots.

Cooper scored 18 points to lead Delta State. Lakira Boyd and Jessica Boyd each added 13 points.

The Lady Bisons will play again on Saturday against Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Ark., beginning at 5 p.m.