Postgame Interview with Head Coach Tim Kirby



Photo Gallery

Harding: Kristen Celsor – 16 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks
Harding: Shana Holmes – 16 points, hit 4 3-pointers
Harding: Arielle Saunders – 4 blocks and 9 rebounds
Arkansas Tech: Caroline Eubanks – 10 points

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The No. 2 ranked Harding women's basketball team defeated Arkansas Tech 81-48 in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament on Saturday. The Lady Bisons will face Southwestern Oklahoma in the finals at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday.

Harding improves to 29-1 on the season and Arkansas Tech ends its season with a 17-11 record.

"You could tell before we started that they wanted to get that poor shooting game out of their minds," Harding Head Coach Tim Kirby said. "They were ready to go get after somebody. We played faster tonight than we did last night. Our post players were running the floor really hard and that opened things up on the outside."

Harding's 81 points was the most the Lady Bisons have scored in a GAC Tournament game.

The Lady Bisons were led by senior forward Kristen Celsor who had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Celsor made 7-of-11 from the field and 12 of her rebounds were on the defensive end.

Junior guard Shana Holmes had 16 points as she hit four 3-pointers for Harding. Holmes made 6-of-9 from the field.

Harding jumped out to a 19-6 lead in the first five minutes of the game on nine points by Celsor. The Lady Bisons then went on an 11-3 run to take a 30-9 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first half. Harding held Arkansas Tech to just 17 points in the first half as the Lady Bisons scored 45. Harding shot 50 percent from the field (16-of-32) and made seven 3-pointers in the first half. The Lady Bisons also had 24 rebounds and five blocks.

Harding continued to build on its lead in the second half as they lead by as much as 39 with 6:27 left to play.

Arkansas Tech was led by Caroline Eubanks who had 10 points, making 6-of-8 free throws. Jacinda Myers-Sanders had eight rebounds for the Golden Suns.

Harding scored 28 points in the paint and got 36 points from its bench.

The Lady Bisons had 10 blocks in the game led by Celsor who had five and junior forward Arielle Saunders had four. It was the most blocks by a Harding team in the GAC Tournament.