Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The top two teams in the Great American Conference standings met at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Saturday, with No. 10/9-ranked SWOSU outscoring Arkansas Tech 21-10 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 74-62 victory.
After the game was tied at 35-all at the break, SWOSU pulled ahead by just one point and took a 53-52 lead into the final 10 minutes of play. The depth of the Lady Dawgs prevailed in the end, with SWOSU hitting 8-of-19 field goal attempts in the fourth quarter while limiting ATU to just 10 points on 2-of-15 shooting from the field.
Pressed into action due to foul trouble, SWOSU freshman
Alexa Harvey hit her third three-pointer to open up the fourth quarter before
Tyra Aska got into the paint and scored to put SWOSU up six, 58-52, just two minutes into the quarter. SWOSU would push the lead to eight on a lay-in from
Bethany Franks that made it 63-55 with 5:13 to play, but they were unable to put the Golden Suns away as Tech pulled back within three on a pair of free throws with 2:22 to play.
Those would be the final points for Arkansas Tech as SWOSU ended the game on a 9-0 run, started by Franks on another basket in the paint before
Hailey Tucker knocked down a dagger three-pointer with 1:27 to play to put SWOSU back on top by eight. Aska added a bucked on a drive to the basket and
Hayden Priddy finished things off with a pair of free throws that gave the Lady Bulldogs their final margin of 74-62.
As has been the story all season with SWOSU, the Lady Dawgs used a balanced effort to fend off the Golden Suns.
Hailey Tucker and
Tyra Aska led the way with 16 points apiece, while both also made their present felt in many areas. Tucker also pulled down seven rebounds with three assists and two blocked shots while Aska played through foul trouble to also dish out four assists and grab three rebounds in 35 minutes of work.
Hayden Priddy played all 40 minutes and scored 14 points along with seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block and
Bethany Franks posted her sixth double-double – third in the past four games – with 10 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
Alexa Harvey chipped in nine points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range and
Penina Faumui added four points and seven rebounds in just 12 minutes of play.
The victory not only keeps the Lady Bulldogs unblemished in Great American Conference play at 15-0, but also improves SWOSU to 20-1 on the year for the program's third consecutive 20-win season and fifth under the direction of ninth-year head coach
Kelsi Musick. SWOSU also continues to put space between themselves and the rest of the teams in the GAC as they now lead Arkansas Tech by three games in the standings with seven games to play in the regular season.
Next up for the Lady Bulldogs is the final Arkansas road trip of the season, beginning next Thursday evening in Magnolia against Southern Arkansas.
