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BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Southwestern Oklahoma State's
Hailey Tucker, a Bartlesville native, made a triumphant return to her hometown as she paced the Lady Bulldogs to a 90-78 win against Southeastern Oklahoma State in the opening quarterfinal contest of the 2016 GAC Women's Basketball Championship on Friday from Bruin Fieldhouse.
Tucker scored a game-high 27 points and matched the team high with eight rebounds as the Bulldogs (19-10) advanced to the semifinals of the GAC Championships for the fourth time in five seasons. Fellow Bulldog freshman
Hayden Priddy played all 40 minutes and tallied 15 points and eight assists. In the two regular-season games against Southeastern (13-16), Priddy totaled just 14 points and three assists.
The Bulldogs trailed the Savage Storm (13-16) by a point entering the fourth quarter, but they outscored the Storm 29-16 to earn the win. The Lady Bulldogs, two-time champions of the event, improved to 9-2 all-time in GAC Championship play - the best Championship record in the league.
Olivia Potter paced the Savage Storm with 20 points and four 3-pointers. Three others from the Storm went for double figures. Rachel Wallace, who tallied 48 points against the Lady Bulldogs on February 18 – the high mark in Division II this season, finished with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Southwestern Oklahoma State will take on the East Central in Saturday's first women's semifinal, set for 5:45 PM on GACSportsNetwork.com. ECU upset No. 2-seed Harding 62-48 on Friday to advance and SWOSU will now look for their third win over the Tigers this season.
