SEARCY – The Harding women's basketball team plays their final home game of the 2009-10 season Thursday as they host Delta State in Gulf South Conference play at 5:30 p.m., in the Rhodes Field House. The Lady Bisons currently sit in the third place in the GSC West Division with a 7-5 record. The top four teams go to the GSC tournament next week.
After the game, the Lady Bisons will be recognizing three seniors, Stacey Owens, Kaitlin Skinner and Meaghen Kelleybrew.
LAST TIME: When the two teams met earlier this season in Cleveland, Miss., sophomore Sierra Rollins had 20 points and eight rebounds as Harding fell 77-51. Rollins scored 11 of her career high 20 points in the first half as she went 5-of-5 from the field. Harding hung around with Delta State in the first half, tying the game twice and took their only lead late in the first half. Delta State rallied and went on a 10-2 run in the last four minutes of the first half to take a 39-31 lead into the locker room. The Lady Bisons shot 66.3 percent from the field in the half. The Lady Statesmen scored 27 points on the Lady Bisons 21 turnovers. Harding only scored seven points on the Delta State 14 turnovers.
COACHES: Harding is coached by Tim Kirby, who enters his fifth season at the helm of the Lady Bisons. Kirby has an 84-55 career record. Kirby took over the Lady Bison program before the 2005-06 season after serving 12 seasons as the Harding's men's basketball assistant.
Delta State is coached by Sandra Rushing, who enters her ninth season as head coach of the Lady Statesmen. Rushing has compiled a 177-43 record in eight seasons at Delta State.
THE LADY BISONS: Harding is coming off a 61-53 win over North Alabama this past Monday night. The Lady Bisons extended their non-conference home winning streak to 25 games with the win. The last time the Lady Bisons lost a non-conference home game was against Gulf South Conference East Division opponent Alabama-Huntsville on Dec. 2, 2005. Senior Stacey Owens led Harding with 17 points, hitting 10-of-13 from the free throw line. Junior Bailey St. Clair led the Lady Bisons on the boards, grabbing eight on the night and finished with 14 points.
The Lady Bisons are averaging 12.9 points off second chance opportunities. Harding averages 13.4 offensive rebounds a game, ranking seventh in the GSC. Bailey St. Clair leads the Lady Bisons in rebounds, averaging 5.6 a game. Three are offensive rebounds, ranking fifth in the GSC.
Rollins is shooting 50.6 percent from the field to lead the Lady Bisons. She has really come on strong of late, averaging 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds in GSC play this season. Rollins ranks second on the team in rebounds, averaging 5.3 a game.
The Lady Bisons are averaging 12.1 steals per game, ranking them second in the GSC and 29th in the NCAA. St. Clair leads the GSC in steals per game with an average of 3.1.
St. Clair and Owens have both led the Lady Bisons in scoring. Owens leads of late, averaging 13.9 points per game and St. Clair is .3 behind Owens, averaging 13.6 points per game.
THE LADY STATESMEN: Delta State (21-2, 10-2 GSC) is coming off a 71-61 win over #5 Arkansas Tech this past Saturday. Veronica Walker led the Lady Statesmen with a double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Walker also had five blocks against ATU.
The Lady Statesmen have won their last five straight games. Their only GSC losses came against Arkansas Tech and Henderson State.
Delta State leads the GSC in scoring defense as they hold their opponents to 51.6 points per game, ranking them second in Division II. They also lead the GSC in scoring margin as they average 19.7 more points than their opponents. Delta State leads the GSC in rebounding margin as they average 11.8 more rebounds than their opponents, ranking them second in Division II. The Lady Statesmen also lead the GSC in blocked shots, averaging 4.26 a game.
Walker leads the Lady Statemen in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game, and in rebounds, 9.5 a game. She also has 65 blocks on the season. Shameka Russell also averages double-figures, scoring 10.5 points per game.
SERIES: Delta State leads the series, 2-18. Last time in Searcy, Harding fell 42-71. The last time Harding beat Delta State was 1/6/05 in Cleveland.
