Box Score

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - Harding fell 65-58 to Valdosta State in the quarterfinals of the Gulf South Conference Tournament on Thursday at the DeSoto Civic Center. The Lady Bisons, who entered the tournament as the 8th-ranked team in the NCAA II South Region, still have an outside chance at an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.

Harding (18-10) weathered 21 first-half turnovers to take a 28-24 lead into the halftime break. Valdosta State (24-4) shot only 27 percent in the first half, but hit 5-of-7 three-pointers and made 18 free throws in the second half to come from behind twice.

Senior Kinsey Tucker led Harding in scoring with 17 points. Catherine McMenamy and Kristen Donnell each had 13 points and Stacey Owens added 12. Donnell and Owens each had 10 rebounds.

Valdosta State sophomore Michelle Thompson came off the bench to lead the Lady Blazers with 21 points. Senior Carley Peterson added 16 points and six steals.

At the break, Valdosta State had only a 12-11 advantage off turnovers. In the second half, Harding had only 11 miscues, but Valdosta State scored 14 points off them.

Harding opened the second half on an 8-3 run and led 36-27 with 13:50 left. The lead grew to as many as 10, but Valdosta State went on a 13-0 run and led 42-39 at the 9:23 mark.

The Lady Bisons responded with and 9-0 run to give Harding the lead 48-42. Tucker converted two old-fashioned three-point plays and Owens connected on a three-pointer. Valdosta State answered with a pair of three-pointers to tie the game at 48-48 and took the lead for good on a Leschelle Matthews free throw with 4:10 left. Harding twice got within two points but never regained the lead.