Postgame Interview with Arielle Saunders



BETHANY, Okla. – Senior forward Arielle Saunders hit two free throws with .04 seconds left to lift the Harding women's basketball team to a 74-73 Great American Conference win over Southern Nazarene on Thursday.

Harding, ranked No. 6 in the NCAA II Central Region Rankings, snapped a two-game skid and improved to 18-5 overall and 14-3 in the GAC. The Lady Bisons also moved into a tie for first place in the GAC standings with Arkansas Tech as the Golden Suns fell at East Central on Thursday.

Saunders finished with a game-high 29 points, hitting 11 field goals and making 7-of-10 from the free throw line. She also picked up her 15^th double-double of the season, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.

Sophomore guard A'ndrea Haney hit a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left to give Harding a 72-71 lead. Southern Nazarene answered back with a layup with 10 seconds left to take a one-point lead. On the next Lady Bison possession, Haney missed a layup with five seconds left but Saunders grabbed the offensive board and put up a shot. It missed, but she was able to get the rebound and then was fouled to setup the winning free throws.

A'ndrea Haney made three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Senior forward Montana Lewis went 6-of-11 from the field and scored with 14 points.

Southern Nazarene (7-17, 4-14 GAC) was led by Abby Boyd who made eight 3-pointers and scored 24 points. Aminata Fall, who leads the GAC in scoring averaging 21.4 points, had 18 points, making 8-of-19 shots.

The Crimson Storm led for 32 minutes of the game and led by as many as 13 in the first half. Harding climbed back to lead by six with 4:53 left in the second half. Southern Nazarene then went on a 14-9 run to regain the lead until the finals seconds.

Harding forced 17 Crimson Storm turnovers and turned them into 21 points.