SEARCY – Harding led for all but 34 seconds Saturday against Oklahoma Baptist but needed a late run to remain undefeated in Great American Conference play with an 81-70 victory at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
Harding led from the first basket of the game until Oklahoma Baptist's McKenzie Cooper hit a 3-pointer with 7:42 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 59-59. Harding sophomore Falan Miller answered with a 3-pointer on Harding's next trip that jumpstarted a 16-2 over the next three minutes that allowed the Lady Bisons to pull away. Harding twice led by 16 points late in the fourth.
Sophomore Sydney Layrock recorded her third double-double of the season with a team-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. Miller scored a career-high 18 points, and junior A'ndi Haney had 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Katy Custer shot 9 of 17 from the field and led Oklahoma Baptist with 23 points. Reserve guard Lexi Williams added 14.
RECORDS
Harding improved to 5-2 overall and remained unbeaten at 4-0 in GAC games. The Lady Bisons remained tied with Arkansas Tech and Henderson State atop the conference standings. Harding evened the series with Oklahoma Baptist at 2-2 with the teams playing for the first time since 1994.
Oklahoma Baptist dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in conference. The Lady Bison lost both games of their Arkansas road trip, falling 85-55 to Arkansas Tech on Thursday in Russellville.
FIRST-QUARTER NOTES
Harding made five of its first six shots and went on a 15-0 run after the game was tied at 2-2. The Lady Bisons made their first four 3-pointers. Harding led 21-8 until a 10-0 Oklahoma Baptist run cut the Lady Bison lead to three. Harding led 30-21 after the first quarter, its highest-scoring quarter of the season. Harding shot 57 percent in the quarter and made 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Oklahoma Baptist shot only 37 percent. Layrock had nine points in the period, and Miller added eight.
SECOND-QUARTER NOTES
Both teams shot poorly in the second quarter. Oklahoma Baptist hit 4 of 14 for 29 percent, and Harding made 2 of 12 for 17 percent. Harding missed its first nine 3-point attempts until Miller drained a 3-pointer from the right corner with four seconds left in the half to give the Lady Bisons a 45-40 lead at the break. Ten of Harding's 15 points in the period came at the free-throw line. Haney was 6 of 6 at the line.
THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Oklahoma Baptist outscored Harding 12-11 in the third quarter, but the Lady Bisons held a 56-52 lead entering the fourth. Layrock scored six of Harding's 11 points in the period, making three of the team's five field goals. Oklahoma Baptist shot only 23.5 percent and missed all five 3-point attempts in the quarter. Harding held a 17-10 rebound advantage in the period.
FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Harding outscored Oklahoma Baptist 25-18 in the quarter. The Lady Bisons shot 64 percent (7 of 11) and made 9 of 10 free throws. Layrock again led Harding with eight points in the quarter. Miller and Haney had five each.
TEAM STATS
Harding shot 43 percent from the field, its second-best shooting effort of the season. The Lady Bisons made 10 3-pointers, the third time this season the team has made 10 or more.
Harding shot 19 of 22 at the free-throw line (86.4 percent), its best effort from the free-throw line this season. The Lady Bisons have made 31 of 36 free throws (86.1 percent) in the last two games.
Harding scored 81 points to eclipse the 80-point barrier for the second time.
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Layrock's double-double was her third of the season. She also had 28 points and 11 rebounds at Cameron and 25 points and 15 rebounds at Southwestern Oklahoma.
Miller's career-high 18 points broke her previous high of 12 points, set against Southern Nazarene on Thursday.
Haney had more than 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in the same game for the ninth time in her career and the first time this season.
UP NEXT
Harding has 25 days off before playing a non-conference game at Christian Brothers in Memphis on Dec. 30.
