Box Score

Henderson State put forth a valiant effort but in the end, Southwestern Oklahoma was able to pull away and escape with a 66-60 win over the Lady Reddies, Friday at the Great American Conference Tournament in Bartlesville, Okla.

After leading 26-24 at the half, Henderson State tried to keep pace with the Bulldogs as the Lady Reddies held a 48-45 lead midway through the second half.

However, SWOSU went on a 17-4 run that spanned more than five-and-a-half minutes with the help of 8-for-12 shooting down the stretch including four 3-point field goals.

Southwestern Oklahoma, 17-10 on the year, hit on 6-of-12 3-point field goals in the half with Sarina Sayama hitting two key treys to spark the Bulldog run.

Sayama scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the half to lead the Lady Bulldogs while finishing the game making 6-of-13 long-range jumpers.

Henderson State, 13-14 on the year, got a strong performance from Vanessa Pieper who recorded her first double-double of her career. Pieper finished the game with 14 points and had a career-high 12 rebounds.

GAC Defensive Player of the Year Aungelique Sledge led the Lady Reddies with 18 points and five steals. Sledge, who ended the season with 530 points, hit on 7-of-17 attempts from the field including three 3-point field goals.

Krystal Beachum, who has been playing injured for the past two weeks, scored seven points and became the fourth member of the 1,000-point club in GAC history.

The senior from Mexia, Texas entered the game needing just four points to reach the 1000 point plateau. After being held scoreless in the first-half, Beachum hit the mark with 6:07 left in the game with a layup.

Also scoring in double-figures for Henderson was Jasmine Settles who scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

Henderson State finished the game shooting 39 percent from the field, converting on 25-of-65 attempts. SWOSU was 26-of-65 from the field for 40 percent shooting.

Turnovers were a big factor in the game as the Lady Reddies committed 17 while the Bulldogs totaled 16 miscues. SWOSU took advantage of Henderson's mistakes scoring 24 points off of Lady Reddie errors, while Henderson managed 15 points off turnovers.