SEARCY — The Harding women's soccer team secured a vital victory Saturday morning at the Stevens Soccer Complex, defeating Northwestern Oklahoma 3-1 to cement its lead atop the Great American Conference standings.

Harding improves to 9-5-2 overall and 7-2-1 in the GAC, giving the Lady Bisons 22 points. They now lead second-place Ouachita Baptist by three points with two matches remaining on the regular-season schedule.

The Lady Bisons faced an early deficit when Northwestern Oklahoma capitalized at the 15:31 mark, taking a 1-0 lead after an unfortunate own goal.

Harding responded forcefully in the second half, evening the score just seven minutes after the break. At 52:49, Whitney Thomas successfully converted a penalty kick to knot the match at 1-1.

Just over three minutes later, Harding took the lead for good. Regan Thompson found the back of the net at 56:18 off assists from Gabie Eddins and Maddie Adams, pushing the score to 2-1. The Lady Bisons sealed the victory in the 73rd minute when Calle Citty scored, assisted by Kloey Fullerton, bringing the final score to 3-1.

Statistically, Harding dominated the contest, outshooting the Rangers 34-12 overall. The Lady Bisons also earned 16 corner kicks compared to Northwestern's nine. Ranger goalkeeper Taylor Annen was busy, tallying 14 saves in the match.

Harding will close out its GAC schedule next week, first traveling to East Central on Wednesday before returning home to host a crucial matchup against rival Ouachita Baptist next Saturday.