SEARCY – The Harding women's basketball team travels to Florida this weekend to take part in the West Florida Holiday Classic on Dec. 30-31. The Lady Bisons will face Texas Woman's on Friday, at 12 p.m., and on Saturday, Harding will face host team West Florida at 2 p.m.
It's the fourth-straight year Harding has participated in the classic.
The Lady Bisons (6-2) are coming off a four game home stand. In Searcy, HU defeated Central Baptist (80-30), Christian Brothers (74-56), St. Edward's (66-56) and Saint Mary's (77-53). During the stint, Harding had a 25.5 point scoring margin, averaged 10.8 more rebounds than their opponent, had 17.3 assists per game and 10.8 steals per game.
The Lady Bisons are led by senior guard Sierra Rollins who averages 15.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Fellow senior guard Kallie Bartee has come off the bench for Harding and has averaged 11.7 points in the last four games, including hitting 10-of-17 3-pointers (58.8 percent).
Texas Woman's, a NCAA Division II member of the Lone Star Conference, is located in Denton, Texas. The Pioneers head into the classic with a 7-3 record. Two of their wins came against Great American Conference members, Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma State. Texas Women's is led by Jessica Hanna who averages 17.3 points and 9.2 rebounds. Two other Pioneers averaged double-figure scoring; Brittney Nuzum averages 13.6 points and Tiara Davis averages 12.6 points.
Harding leads the series 3-2. Texas Woman's has won the last two meetings.
West Florida, a NCAA Division II member of the Gulf South Conference, heads into the weekend with a 4-6 record. The Argonauts have won their last three. Earlier this season UWF fell to GAC member Henderson State 76-70. West Florida is led by Hanna Vette who averages 14.6 points. Octavia Bearden is close behind averaging 13.5 points. She also averages 8.8 rebounds for the Agronauts.
The Lady Bisons lead the series over West Florida 4-1. Last season, Harding squeaked by West Florida with a 75-74 win.
Live stats and live video will be available for both games. Links will be available on Hardingsports.com.
