SEARCY – Despite scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter, the Harding women's basketball team fell 71-70 to Southern Arkansas on Thursday in Great American Conference action at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House. The Lady Bisons wore pink uniforms in the game to bring awareness to breast cancer.
Sophomore forward Sydney Layrock scored 26 points to lead the Lady Bisons. She went 7-of-14 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free throw line. It was the fourth straight game Layrock has scored over 20 points. Sophomore guard Lundon Williams made three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and junior guard A'ndrea Haney made four buckets and went 3-for-4 from the free throw line to end with 11 points. Sophomore forward Mackenzie McNamara came off the bench to lead the Harding on the boards with seven.
Southern Arkansas was led by senior forward Rosa Bryant who had 24 points. She made 12-of-14 field goals and grabbed 11 rebounds. Senior guard Tierra Tucker also captured a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. She went 7-of-17 from the field and made 8-of-12 free throws.
RECORDS
Harding falls to 15-8 overall and 13-6 in the GAC. Southern Arkansas improves to 16-7 overall and 12-7 in the GAC. Lady Bisons fall into a tie with Southwestern Oklahoma for second place in the GAC standings. Arkansas Tech sits in first place and won the conference regular season championship after win on Thursday. The top eight teams in the standings advance to the GAC Tournament held March 3-6, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Harding led 15-10 after the first quarter. Southern Arkansas held the Lady Bisons to shooting 33.3 percent in the quarter, making 6-of-18 shots.
SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Southern Arkansas battled back to take a 28-25 lead into the locker room after outscoring Harding 18-10. The Lady Muleriders made 7-of-14 shots and grabbed 12 rebounds. The Lady Bisons were held to only three field goals and two rebounds.
THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Southern Arkansas outscored Harding 24-12 in the third quarter to take a 52-37 lead. Tierra Tucker had nine points in the quarter for the Lady Muleriders and Rosa Bryant had eight points. Southern Arkansas shot 58.8 percent in the quarter and made 10 field goals.
FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Harding fought back and outscored Southern Arkansas 33-19 in the fourth quarter. The Lady Bisons shot 68.8 percent making 11-of-16 field goals, including four 3-pointers. Lundon Williams had 13 points, making three 3-pointers for Harding and Sydney Layrock had 11 points. The Lady Bisons had a chance to take the lead after two Southern Arkansas missed free throws with 21 seconds left but a 3-pointer came up short. Tierra Tucker made two straight free throws with three seconds left to seal the victory for the Lady Muleriders.
TEAM/INDIVIDUAL STATS
Southern Arkansas shot 51.8 percent from the field, making 29-of-56 field goals. The Lady Muleriders made five 3-pointers and went 8-of-15 from the free throw line.
Harding shot 40.4 percent, making 23-of-57 field goals. The Lady Bisons shot a season-high 90 percent from the free throw line, making 18-of-20. Harding also had 16 assists in the game, led by Lundon Williams who had seven.
Southern Arkansas scored 42 of its 71 points in the paint.
UP NEXT
Harding will play its final regular season road game on Saturday when it travels to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to take on Henderson State at 1 p.m., in GAC action.
