ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The Harding University women's golf team finished the MWSU Women's Holiday Inn Express Invitational in second place overall, carding a two-day total of 627 (+51) after shooting a 319 (+31) in the final round at St. Joseph Country Club. It was Harding's third straight top-three finish.

The Lady Bisons began the day tied for the lead with Southwestern Oklahoma, but were ultimately overtaken by SWOSU, which posted the low round of the day (308, +20) to secure the tournament victory with a total score of 616 (+40). Harding finished 12 strokes back in second place, holding off a final-round surge by Central Oklahoma (628, +52) which finished third.

The challenging St. Joseph Country Club course played at 5,822 yards in Round 1 and 5,992 yards in Round 2. The average score for the 19-team field over the 36 holes was 82.74.

Harding's impressive team finish was spearheaded by junior Madeleine Wilson, who posted the team's best individual score. Wilson followed her opening 77 (+5) with a final-round 76 (+4) to finish at 153 (+9) for the tournament, vaulting her into a tie for fifth place individually. Wilson finished tied with Carley Button of Southeastern Oklahoma, recording her highest finish ever in a tournament of 36 holes or more.

Freshman Sydney Kincade provided Harding's second top-10 finish. Kincade posted a stellar 76 (+4) in Round 1 and followed it up with a solid 80 (+8) in the final round, finishing at 156 (+12) and earning a tie for ninth place overall.

Cooper Meyer was consistent over both days, combining an opening 79 with a final round 79 to finish at 158 (+14) and tie for 17th.

Pilar Martinez (76-88—164, +20, T42nd) and Vivian Volion (84-84—168, +24, T64th) rounded out the Lady Bisons' scoring.

The MWSU Women's Holiday Inn Express Invitational was hosted by Missouri Western. Harding will conclude its fall schedule in a week at the Tulsa Cup, a 54-hole event hosted by Rogers State on Oct. 27-28 at The Club at Forest Ridge in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.