SEARCY – Janae Coffee made a layup for the Lady Bulldogs as time expired as the Harding women's basketball team fell to Southwestern Oklahoma 79-77 in Great American Conference action at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore forward Sydney Layrock led Harding with 20 points. Sophomore guard Lundon Williams made four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Sophomore guard Falan Miller captured a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard A'ndrea Haney made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.
Freshman guard Hailey Tucker led Southwestern Oklahoma with 24 points. She made nine buckets and three 3-pointers.
RECORDS
Harding falls to 11-6 overall and 9-4 in the GAC. Southwestern Oklahoma improves to 12-7 overall and 8-5 in the GAC. Despite the loss, Lady Bisons stay in sole possession of second place in the GAC standings. Arkansas Tech sits in first place with a perfect 13-0 GAC record.
FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Harding trailed 29-21 after the first quarter. Sydney Layrock had 13 of the Lady Bison points, making 4-of-5 from the field and four free throws. Hailey Tucker made 13 points in the quarter as well for Southwestern Oklahoma. She made five buckets, two being behind the arc.
SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
The Lady Bisons battled back as they trailed 40-39 at halftime. Harding outscored the Lady Bulldogs 18-11 in the second quarter. A'ndrea Haney led the Lady Bisons with seven points, hitting two 3-pointers.
THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Harding led 60-56 after the third quarter. The Lady Bisons outscored the Lady Bulldogs 21-16 in the quarter. A'ndrea Haney had five points and Falan Miller had four points and four rebounds for Harding.
FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
With 48 second left in the game, Kylie Franz hit a 3-pointer to pull Southwestern Oklahoma within one 76-75. After a Harding turnover on its next possession, Hailey Tucker made a jumper to give the Lady Bulldogs a 77-76 lead. Harding's A'ndrea Haney was fouled with six seconds left. She tied the game making 1-of-2 free throws. Southwestern Oklahoma drove down and moved the ball around which got Harding's defense in array as the Lady Bulldogs found a wide open Janae Coffee who had the easy layup for the win.
TEAM/INDIVIDUAL STATS
Harding was held to shooting 30.6 percent from the field (22-of-72). The Lady Bisons made 12-of-37 3-pointers in the game. It tied for the second most 3-pointers attempted in a game for Harding. It was also the seventh time the Lady Bisons had made 10 or more 3-pointers in a contest this season but it was the first Harding has lost.
Harding had a season-high 52 rebounds. Along with Miller, senior guard Kaylee Wiedower grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. The Lady Bisons also had a season-high 19 offensive rebounds as they turned them into 18 points.
It was the sixth time this season Sydney Layrock has scored 20 or more points for Harding.
Southwestern Oklahoma shot 42 percent from the field (29-of-69), including 11 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Morgan Vogt had 17 points, making two 3-pointers. Junior guard Kylie Franz made five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points. Senior forward Janae Coffee added 10 points.
UP NEXT
Harding will play the next four games on the road. The Lady Bisons will open the road trip at Southern Nazarene on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
