ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Following a nearly three-week hiatus for winter break, the Henderson State women's basketball team returns to Great American Conference action on Thursday night, when it travels to Ada, Oklahoma, to face off against East Central at 5:30 p.m.

Last Time Out
- The Reddies last outing came back on Dec. 16 when they erased a 42-33 deficit to start the fourth quarter and rallied to defeat Rogers State 55-52 at the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia.

- Torrie Thompson led Henderson with 15 points and was 6-for-8 from the line, while Henson added 13 and seven assists. Hailey Estes and Bree Bossier each had nine points and Estes tacked on four steals.

- The Reddies shot 19 free throws compared to just four for the Hillcats, out-rebounded RSU 55-52 and forced Rogers State into 21 turnovers while committing just 14 of their own. Henderson held the Hillcats to just 10 points on 28.6 percent shooting in the decisive fourth period.

- The win moved HSU to 6-4 on the season and closed out the Reddies' non-conference schedule.

Reddie Report
- Henderson is 6-4 on the year and 2-2 in GAC play, which puts it in a tie for fifth place in the league standings with Northwestern Oklahoma State and Ouachita Baptist. The Reddies have won their last two games.

- Haleigh Henson and Pink Jones both rank in the top 10 in the GAC in scoring, with Henson averaging 14.3 points per game and Jones averaging 14.1. Henson is also seventh in the league in assists per game (3.1) and leads the conference in 3-point field goals with 29 so far this year. Jones is fifth in the conference in steals per game (2.1).

- Torrie Thompson and Hailey Estes also average double figure scoring for the Reddies. Estes averages 10.9 points per game and Thompson 10.4. Estes also ranks eighth in the league in rebounding with an average of 7.4 per game.

- Bree Bossier is fifth in the GAC in field goal percentage. Bossier is 34-for-68 from the field in her final season with Henderson (50% shooting).

- Henderson has the fifth-best scoring offense and defense in the conference. The Reddies average 71.9 points per game and allow just 66.3 points per game to its opponents.

- The Reddies lock down the 3-point line on both ends of the court. HSU leads the GAC in 3-point field goal defense, holding opponents to just 26.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc, but also ranks third in the league in 3-point shooting percentage as team (34.2 percent). Henderson has hit 77 3-pointers this year, the second-most in the conference.

Scouting East Central
- The Tigers, led by head coach Matt Cole (44-47, fifth season), enter Thursday night's contest 4-4 on the year and 3-1 in GAC play. They are currently in fourth place in the league standings, one game ahead of Henderson.

- ECU is led by senior Devon Branch, who averages 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Branch was named GAC Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 4. The Tigers also look to junior Lakin Preisner, who averages 11.3 points per game and is shooting just under 93 percent from the free throw line this season.

- As a team, ECU ranks first in the GAC in 3-point field goals per game (9.1) and No. 11 overall in all of NCAA DII. The Tigers are just 10th in the conference, however, in 3-point shooting percentage (31.2 percent). ECU has taken 234 3-pointers this year, the second-most in the league.

- The Tigers are last in the conference in scoring offense, averaging just 60.6 points per contest while giving up 66.9 to their opponents. That scoring margin of -6.2 is the worst scoring margin in the league.

- ECU is the best free throw-shooting team in the GAC and is 98-for-123 (79.7 percent) from the line this season.

- The Tigers are 11-4 all-time against Henderson and 8-4 since the inception of the GAC in 2011.

Last Season vs. ECU
- Henderson split the season series with ECU in 2016-17, winning the first game in Ada, Oklahoma 74-72 but falling 63-53 in the second meeting in Arkadelphia.

- In the first meeting in Ada, Pink Jones hit a 15-foot jumper with 1:15 remaining to give HSU a 73-72 lead and the Reddies held on defensively in the game's final moments to ultimately win it 74-72. Jones had 22 points, five rebounds and four steals in the victory.

- In Arkadelphia later in the season, Henderson hung tough for most of the contest, but shot 29.6 percent from the field and just 16 percent from the 3-point line and fell 63-53. Pink Jones again had a good game, finishing with 16 points.