Late Harding Burst Sends Lady Bisons Past Oklahoma Baptist
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January 11, 2019
SEARCY – Following the 12th tie of the game, Harding scored the final three points of the third quarter and first six of the fourth to pull away from Oklahoma Baptist in a 75-65 Great American Conference victory Thursday at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
Harding won its 12th straight at home dating to last season and improved to 8-4 overall and 4-3 in the GAC. Oklahoma Baptist lost for the fifth straight time in Searcy and fell to 6-7 overall and 2-5 in conference games.
Junior forward Cheyenne Brown returned to Harding's lineup after missing the last four games with an injured hand and led the Lady Bisons with 17 points. Kennedy Cooper had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Kellie Lampo added 13 points.
Autumn Avina, who had 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Oklahoma Baptist, made a 3-pointer with 1:03 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 47-47. Harding closed the period with an Amanda Kearney free throw and a Peyton Padgett putback layup at the buzzer to take a 50-47 lead after three quarters.
Layups by Kearney and Lampo sandwiched around two Brown free throws gave Harding a 56-47 advantage with 8:01 left in the game. Oklahoma Baptist got within five on a Mikayla Shulanberger layup with just over six minutes left, but a three-point play from Brown built Harding's lead back up to eight at 61-53. The Lady Bisons led by as many as 12 late in the quarter.
Harding shot 53 percent (9 of 17) in its 25-point fourth quarter and shot 43 percent (28 of 65) for the game. Oklahoma Baptist shot just 36 percent (24 of 67). Only one Harding opponent this season has shot over 40 percent in a game.
Shulanberger led Oklahoma Baptist with 15 points and made 7-of-8 free throws.
Cooper scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting to lead Harding to a 31-28 halftime lead. Both teams relied on their inside games in the first half, scoring 16 points each in the lane. Harding made three 3-pointers to Oklahoma Baptist's two.
Harding's next action is Saturday at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House. The Lady Bisons will host Southern Nazarene, a 68-54 winner over Arkansas Tech on Thursday, with tipoff at 1 p.m.
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