ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Defense was the story for Henderson State on Tuesday night, as the Reddies held Ouachita Baptist to just 22 points and 27.3 percent shooting from the field in the second half to pull away from their rival 67-56 at Bill Vining Arena.

After leading by six at halftime, Henderson (12-5, 8-3) ran into some foul trouble early in the third quarter, as starters Hailey Estes and Bree Bossier each picked up their fourth fouls in the opening moments of the second half, leaving the Reddies with three or more starters off the floor for much of the period. With starters sitting, the Henderson bench helped weather the tide, as Brittany Branum, Karrington Whaley, Lani Snowden and Madi Nichols each gave the Reddies crucial minutes in the third to not only maintain the six-point halftime advantage, but add onto it, 54-47, entering the final quarter.

In the fourth, the Reddies took control. Leading 59-52 with 7:44 to play after a Lady Tiger 3-pointer from guard Morgan Miller, Henderson went on an 8-0 run over the next five minutes, led by back-to-back buckets from Pink Jones, to seize a 67-52 advantage with just over two minutes left. OBU (9-8, 5-6) had no answer, as the 3-pointer from Miller proved to be Ouachita's second-to-last basket from the field in the game. With victory in hand after holding the Lady Tigers to just nine points in the final period, the Reddies were able to dribble out the clock and pick up their eighth Great American Conference win of the season.

Jones was again terrific for Henderson, finishing with 25 points, six rebounds and five steals on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and perfect 7-for-7 shooting at the free throw line. Bossier, who played the majority of the fourth quarter with four fouls, chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds. Estes, who also played smart down the stretch with four personals against her, added eight points and seven rebounds, while Blu Jones had seven points and Haleigh Henson six.

The Reddies took a 13-12 lead with just over a minute to play in the first quarter on a free throw from Blu Jones and never trailed again. Henderson built a lead of 11 points early in the second quarter after a 3-pointer from Estes and four points from Bossier sparked HSU to a 26-15 advantage, but Ouachita responded with a 14-4 run to trim the deficit to 30-29. Jones made sure the Reddies had the momentum heading into the locker room though, as she scored six in the final 1:18 to give HSU the 40-34 halftime lead.

Henderson held OBU to just six made shots from the field in the second half and 36 percent shooting for the game. The Reddies also out-rebounded the Lady Tigers 39-32 and forced 20 OBU turnovers — scoring 19 points off of those miscues. As a team, HSU cashed in at the free throw line, going 19-of-23 on the evening while Ouachita Baptist was just 13-for-24. Henderson has now won six of the last seven games against OBU.

The Reddies return to action at the Duke Wells Center on Thursday night to face GAC-leader Southwestern Oklahoma State at 5:30 p.m.