Harding (17-4, 13-2 GAC) vs. Southeastern Oklahoma (15-8, 8-7 GAC)
Location: Searcy
When: Saturday
Time: 1 p.m.
Coaches:
Harding – Tim Kirby (187-94, 10th season)
Southeastern Oklahoma – Darin Grover (136-115, 9th season)
Live Stats/Live Audio/Live Video– Available on a link at HardingSports.com
HARDING
- Harding is coming off a bye on Thursday as it prepares to face Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday at 1 p.m., at the Rhodes Field House.
- Harding sits tied for first place in the Great American Conference standings. The Lady Bisons have already sealed a spot in the GAC Tournament held in Bartlesville, Oklahoma March 5-8. Arkansas Tech is second in the standings with an 11-2 conference record.
- Harding is coming off a 78-65 loss at Southwestern Oklahoma last Saturday. It was the Lady Bisons second conference loss of the season. Sophomore forward Correy Moyer came off the bench to lead Harding with 17 points. Freshman forward Sydney Layrock captured her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
- The Lady Bisons are led on the season by senior forward Arielle Saunders who ranks sixth in the GAC in scoring, averaging 16.0 points and ranks second in the GAC in rebounds, averaging 11.2 per game. She also ranks sixth in the GAC in field goal percentage, shooting 54.3 percent from the field.
- Saunders needs eight more rebounds to become only the third player in Harding history to have 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Angie Dugger (1993-97) and Nancee Wilson (1989-93) are the only players to accomplish the feat. Saunders currently has 992 career rebounds and is in third place all time at Harding. She needs 130 rebounds to move into second place. Saunders, who is the all-time blocks leader at Harding, needs five blocks to get to 200 in her career. Saunders scored her 1,200th point last Saturday against Southwestern Oklahoma. She is currently in 10th place all-time at Harding in points. She needs 41 more points to move into ninth place.
- Montana Lewis also averages in double figures for Harding. She is second on the team in points, averaging 11.4 per game and second on the team in rebounds averaging 6.0 per game. Lewis needs eight points to become the 15th player in Harding history to score 1,000 career points. She also needs seven steals to get to 100 in her career.
- Sophomore guard A'ndrea Haney has been doing the dirty work for Harding this season. Haney is first in the GAC in assists averaging 3.9 per game and is third in the GAC in steals averaging 2.0 per game.
- Harding has hit 154 3-pointers this season which ranks fourth in the GAC. The Lady Bisons have hit at least nine 3-pointers in four of the last five games. Harding has made 10 or more in a game six times this season. Freshman guard Lundon Williams leads the Lady Bisons with 32. Montana Lewis is close behind with 27. Williams is shooting 47.8 percent from behind the 3-point line to lead the GAC. Corry Moyer ranks tied for sixth in the GAC, shooting 39.3 percent and Lewis ranks seventh, shooting 39.1 percent.
- Harding will look to continue its winning streak at home on Saturday. The Lady Bisons have won all 11 home games this season and are 8-0 in conference games. Arielle Saunders leads Harding averaging 17.5 points and 11.6 rebounds at home. Harding is averaging 77.5 points and is holding its opponents to only 57.9 points.
- In Harding's four losses, the Lady Bisons have either been tied or trailing by two at halftime in three of the four games. Its only lead at the half in a loss came against Cameron when Harding led 44-38. When Harding scores over 35 points in the second half this season, the Lady Bisons are 11-1. Their only loss came at Henderson State.
SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA
- Southeastern Oklahoma heads into the game with a 15-8 overall record and an 8-7 GAC record. The Savage Storm are currently in fifth place in the GAC standings.
- The game on Saturday will be the second straight road game for Southeastern Oklahoma. The Savage Storm are 3-6 on the road this season and 2-6 in conference.
- Southeastern Oklahoma is coming off a 65-50 loss at Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday in GAC action. Emily Williams led the Savage Storm with 12 points and five rebounds. The Cotton Blossoms held Southeastern Oklahoma to only 15 field goals and to shooting 29.4 percent.
- Southeastern Oklahoma is lead on the season by senior guard Emily Williams who averages 18.1 points to rank fourth in the GAC. She also ranks eighth in the GAC in rebounding, averaging 7.3 per game.
- Sophomore guard Olivia Potter has made 68 3-pointers this season to lead the GAC. She averages 3.0 per game and ranks second in the GAC in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 44.2 percent.
- As a team, Southeastern Oklahoma ranks first in the GAC in free throw percentage. The Savage Storm are shooting 77.6 percent from the free throw line and Emily Williams leads the team, shooting 85.3 percent.
- Southeastern Oklahoma ranks third in the GAC in points per game with an average of 72.1. They also rank third in scoring margin averaging 8.3 more points than its opponents.
- The Savage Storm is holding their opponents to shooting 29.1 percent from behind the 3-point line. No other team in the GAC has allowed its opponents to shoot more 3-pointers than Southeastern Oklahoma. The Savage Storm has allowed 485 3-pointers this season but have held their opponents to only making 141 of them.
SERIES
- Harding leads the series against Southeastern Oklahoma 9-5.
- The Lady Bisons are 5-1 in Searcy. The Savage Storm's only win at the Rhodes came in 1998 when Southeastern Oklahoma won 86-69.
- When the two teams met earlier this season in Durant, Harding won 76-67. Five different Lady Bisons scored over 10 points in the game. Harding was led by Arielle Saunders who had 18 points and 15 rebounds. Southeastern Oklahoma was led by Shelby Hill who made seven 3-pointers and finished with 21 points. The Lady Bisons held the Savage Storm to only shooting 32.4 percent from the field.
