Game Notes
No. 4 Harding (24-1, 16-1 GAC) vs. Arkansas-Monticello (6-17, 2-15 GAC)
Location: Searcy, Ark.
When: Saturday
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Coaches:
Harding – Tim Kirby (165-88, 9th season)
Arkansas-Monticello – Tanya Ray (3rd season)
Live Stats/Live Video – Available on a link at HardingSports.com
Harding
- Harding heads into the game with a 24-1 overall record and a 16-1 GAC record. It is only the third time in school history Harding has won 24 games. The last time Harding won 24 games in a season was in 1996-97 when the Lady Bisons won a school-record 26 games.
- Harding will be looking to extend its home winning streak to 16 games on Saturday. Harding has won 15 straight dating back to last season. It's the second longest winning streak at home in school history. Harding won 16 straight from 1995-96.
- The Lady Bisons climbed to No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches' Poll released on Tuesday. The Lady Bisons are the highest ranked team in the Central Region. It's the seventh straight week Harding has been ranked in the top 10. It was the 12th straight week Harding has been ranked.
- Harding captured the GAC regular season title on Thursday in the 67-69 win over Southern Arkansas. It is the first regular season conference title in Harding women's basketball history.
- Harding was ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Division II Central Region in the first regional rankings released on Wednesday. It is the highest the Lady Bisons have ever been ranked regionally. The last time Harding was ranked was in 2008 when the team was ranked as high as No. 7 heading into the Gulf South Conference Tournament.
- Harding is coming off a 67-39 win over Southern Arkansas on Thursday. Senior forward Kristen Celsor had 32 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first time Harding has held an opponent to scoring less than 40 points in a game since 2012 when the Lady Bisons held Southern Arkansas to 37. Harding won the game 71-37. Harding had 12 steals and forced Southern Arkansas to give the ball up 25 times. Celsor and freshman guard A'ndrea Haney each had four steals. Haney also had seven assists.
- Kristen Celsor is leading Harding in scoring, averaging 17.9 points which ranks second in the GAC. Celsor is averaging 19.5 points in GAC action which ranks second.
- Arielle Saunders needs 15 rebounds to get to 700 in her career. Kristen Celsor is the only other active Harding player to have over 700 career rebounds (733).
- Harding ranks first in the GAC in assists, averaging 17.8 per game. A'ndrea Haney ranks first in the GAC, averaging 4.2 per game. Arielle Saunders ranks fourth averaging 3.3.
- Tabitha Haney ranks second in the GAC in 3-point field goal percentage shooting 43.5 percent. Kristen Celsor ranks fifth, shooting 40.7 percent. Shana Holmes ranks tied for seventh in the GAC in 3-pointers made, averaging 2.0 per game.
- The Lady Bisons need 10 more 3-pointers to break the Harding single season record. The Lady Bisons currently have 206 and the Harding record is 216. It was done twice, first in 2006-07 and then in 2007-08.
- Deshelle Isaac-Boyce needs six rebounds to get to 200 in her career. She would join three other active players (Kristen Celsor, Montana Lewis and Arielle Saunders) with 200 or more rebounds.
- Harding ranks first in the GAC in scoring defense (59.5), scoring margin (+19.9), field goal percentage (44.4), field goal percentage defense (36.6), 3-point field goal percentage (37.7), 3-point field goal pct. Defense (27.8), assists (17.8), turnover margin (+5.28) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4).
- Celsor needs one more 30-point performance to break the Harding record for the most 30-point games in a season. Celsor currently has five and is tied with Kymm Alexander (1990-94) and Angie Dugger (1993-97) for the most in a season. Alexander holds the record for the most in a career with 11. Dugger is second with ten. Celsor has six.
Arkansas-Monticello
- Arkansas-Monticello is located in Monticello, Ark., and has an enrollment of 3,483.
- Arkansas-Monticello heads into the game with a 6-17 overall record and a 2-15 GAC record.
- The Cotton Blossoms are coming off a 58-43 loss at home against Arkansas Tech on Thursday. Tamia Grady led Arkansas-Monticello with 11 points. The game stayed close throughout the first half until Arkansas Tech took a six point lead into the locker room at halftime.
- Jordan Goforth leads the Cotton Blossoms on the season averaging 17.0 points which ranks sixth in the GAC. Tamia Grady averages 14.9 points and Nikki Mullen averages 11.1 points.
- Jordan Goforth ranks fourth in the GAC in free throw percentage shooting 83.8 percent from the line.
Series
- Arkansas-Monticello leads the series 30-27
- Harding won the meeting in Searcy last season 77-59. Kristen Celsor led Harding with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Arielle Saunders had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Shana Holmes had 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers. Jordan Goforth led Arkansas-Monticello with 18 points and nine rebounds. Harding made nine 3-pointers in the game. They also outrebounded the Cotton Blossoms 46-33.
- Earlier this season in Monticello, Harding won 73-64. Harding went on a 10-0 run in the final minutes to seal the victory. Harding was led by junior guard Shana Holmes who had 17 points, hitting three 3-pointers. Senior forward Kristen Celsor captured a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard A'ndrea Haney had 11 points, hitting 7-of-8 free throws. The Cotton Blossoms were led by sophomore forward Jordan Goforth who had 25 points, scoring nine field goals. She also led Arkansas-Monticello on the boards with nine.
