HAYS, Kansas -- The Lady Hornets and Fort Hays State each made 25 of 71 shots from the field but Emporia State could not overcome a 19-6 deficit at the free-throw line in a 72-57 loss on Thursday. The Tigers outrebounded the Lady Hornets 59-42 and enjoyed a 25-7 advantage on second-chance points.
Emporia State led 4-2 before Fort Hays State took the lead for good with a 9-0 run. The Lady Hornets would cut a 13-point lead down to five at 26-21 with 2:38 left in the half. FHSU then closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a 34-23 lead to the locker rooms.
A 15-6 run to start the second half gave Fort Hays State a 20-point lead at 49-29 with 15:53 left in the game.The Lady Hornets would not get closer than 15 points the rest of the night.
Merissa Quick had 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Lady Hornets. Desiree Wylie and Amber Vandiver both added 10 points off the bench.
No. 8 Harding 94, Southern Nazarene 57
SEARCY, Ark. -- Eighth-ranked Harding defeated Southern Nazarene 94-57 on Thursday in Great American Conference action at the Rhodes Field House. The Lady Bisons improved to 19-1 overall and 11-1 in the GAC.
Harding extended its home winning streak to 12 games which dates back to last season. It's the second longest winning streak in school history. Harding won 16 in a row from 1995-96.
"This is fun playing back at home and they had a good time tonight," Harding head coach Tim Kirby said. "We did some good things defensively early. We stayed focused and right the whole game.We got some easy look because of the post touches we got."
The Lady Bisons were led by junior guard Montana Lewis who had 13 points. Junior forward Arielle Saunders had 11 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Seniors Kristen Celsor and Lauren Crenshaw both had 10 points in only 15 minutes of action.
The game was close in the first 10 minutes of action. Harding broke the game open over the next five minutes as they went on a 13-0 run to lead 34-19. The Lady Bisons continued to build on their lead in the last five minutes as they took a 24 point lead into halftime, 51-27. It was the most points Harding has scored in the first half this season.
The Lady Bisons led by as much as 39 in the second half. Harding hit six of their 10 3-pointers in the half.
Harding had a season-high 25 assists led by the Haney sisters, A'ndrea and Tabitha, who each had six.
Southern Nazarene fell to 8-9 overall and 5-6 in the GAC. The Crimson Storm was led by junior guard Callie Cox who had 23 points, hitting five 3-pointers.
Harding's career blocks lead junior Arielle Saunders had four in the game to give her 129 in her career. Kristen Celsor had one block which put her in sole possession of second place in Harding history with a total of 104.
Southern Nazarene outrebounded Harding 41-38.
Harding held the Crimson Storm to shooting on 29.9 percent from the field with only 20 made field goals.
