Alva Review-Courier -

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – A poor offensive shooting night for the Ouachita Baptist Lady Tigers proved to be the difference in a 67-56 loss to cross-town rival Henderson State on Tuesday evening inside Vining Arena.

"We are very disappointed in the loss to our rival tonight," Ouachita Baptist women's basketball coach Garry Crowder said. "We did not execute well on either side of the ball tonight and you can't win many games scoring 56 points."

Henderson State (12-5, 8-3 GAC) scored the first five points of the contest, before Ouachita (9-8, 5-6 GAC) countered with an 8-0 run of their own. Both teams went ice cold shooting in the final five minutes of the opening quarter, with Henderson State holding a 16-12 advantage over Ouachita.

With about five minutes remaining in the second quarter Henderson State guard, Pink Jones knocked down a free throw to give the Reddies an 11 point lead. Moments later freshman guard Maija Gertsone (Liepaja, Latvia) hit three-point bucket that ignited a 9-2 Lady Tigers run.

The two squads battled closely down the stretch with Henderson State holding a 40-34 advantage going into halftime. Morgan Miller(Siloam Springs, Ark.) had 9 points and 7 rebounds in the first half for the Lady Tigers. While, Jones led the Reddies with 15 points in the opening half of play.

Once again both team's offenses disappeared during the third quarter. Jones laid the ball in with 8:46 to go in the third quarter to put the Reddies up 11 points. Neither team was able to put the ball in the basket for almost four minutes of game time.

Kori Bullard (Hot Springs, Ark.) broke the scoring drought for both teams with a three-point basket that brought the Lady Tigers to within 8 points of Henderson State. With 3:40 remaining in the third quarter Shakyla Begnaud (McGehee, Ark.) hit a three-pointer that started a quick four point spurt that brought the Lady Tigers within three points.

From that point forward Henderson State never looked back as they stretched their lead to as many as 15-points in the final quarter of play.

The difference in the game between the two schools was points in the paint and second chance points. Henderson State outscored Ouachita 34-14 in the paint and 11-2 on second chance points.

Jones lead all scorers with 25 points and 6 rebounds in the game. Bree Bossier added 10 points and 8 rebounds of her own for the Reddies. Miller was the leading scorer for the Lady Tigers with 12 points and 8 boards, while Chasidee Owens (Springdale, Ark.) and Begnaud each added 10 points in the loss.

The Lady Tigers look to snap their two game losing streak on Thursday evening inside Bill Vining Arena against Northwestern Oklahoma State at 5:30 p.m.