ADA, Okla. – Harding made 15 free throws in the fourth quarter to overcome a tough shooting effort and defeat East Central 64-55 Saturday in Great American Conference action at the Kerr Center.

The win was Harding's sixth straight and moved the Lady Bisons into a four-way tie for first place atop the GAC. Harding moved to 13-7 overall and 10-4 in the GAC. East Central lost its fourth straight home game and fell to 4-16 overall and 2-12 in conference.

Harding made its last field goal with 5:26 left in the game, a jumper from Kennedy Cooper, but continued to go to the free-throw line down the stretch.

The lead changed hands 19 times during the game, but Harding took the lead for good on a pair of Cheyenne Brown free throws with 2:09 left. The Lady Bisons closed the game on a 7-0 run, all at the free-throw line.

Harding shot just 32% but held East Central to only 28%. The Tigers missed 23 of 27 3-point attempts.

Overall, Harding was 27 of 35 from the free-throw line and outscored East Central by 14 points at the stripe.

Carissa Caples led Harding with 19 points, hitting 8 of 10 free throws. Brown had 13 points.

Madison Rehl scored 16 points to lead East Central.

Harding led 24-23 at halftime. The Lady Bisons trailed 13-10, but went on a 12-0 run to take a 22-13 lead. East Central closed the half on a 10-2 run to pull within a point.

Harding shot only 32% in the half with East Central at 27%.

Neither team shot well in the first quarter. Harding shot 33%, and East Central shot only 28% and the game was tied 10-10.

Harding is back at home Thursday against Arkansas-Monticello.