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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Two of the top contenders in the Great American Conference will do battle on Saturday afternoon in Russellville, Arkansas, when the Henderson State women's basketball team travels up the road to face off against Arkansas Tech at 1 p.m. with GAC Tournament seeding implications on the line.

Last Time Out
- Hailey Estes had 20 points and Bree Bossier finished with her sixth double-double of the season to help Henderson State outlast Arkansas-Monticello 80-65 on Thursday night at the Duke Wells Center and claim its program-record 14th Great American Conference win of the year.

- The Reddies (18-6, 14-4) led 31-27 at the half and maintained that advantage for most of the third period. However, leading by six points with a minute left to go in the quarter, Henderson got back-to-back 3-pointers from Lani Snowden and Haleigh Henson to push its lead out to 54-42 heading into the final 10 minutes. Throughout the fourth quarter, UAM continued to push the Reddies and never let them feel comfortable; even cutting the lead down to single digits on two different occasions. Henderson, though, never let the lead slip beneath eight points and went on a 9-2 spurt in the last two minutes of the game to finally pull away for its sixth-straight win.

- Both teams finished with similar shooting percentages on the night, but Henderson dominated the game on the glass, out-rebounding the Blossoms 50-27 which helped lead the Reddies to a 27-8 advantage in second chance points. HSU had more offensive rebounds (23) than UAM had defensive rebounds (17).

Reddies Report
- The win for the Reddies on Thursday night is their 18th of the season, which marks the sixth time in the 46-year history of the program that Henderson has won 18 or more games in a single campaign. 14 conference wins also ties the record for most league wins in a single season in HSU history. The Reddies won 14 Gulf South Conference contests in 2005-06.

- Henderson is now guaranteed at worst the No. 3 seed in the GAC Tournament in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on March 1-4. The No. 2 seed is within reach, however, as the Reddies find themselves just one game behind second place Arkansas Tech. Should HSU win on Saturday, it would be in the drivers seat for the No. 2 seed in the tournament, which would guarantee the Reddies a day off on Friday, March 2, should they win their first round game over the No. 7 seed.

- Pink Jones ranks fourth in the GAC in points per game (16.5) and fifth in field goal percentage (49.3 percent). Jones has the best field goal percentage of any guard in the conference. She also ranks seventh in assists per game (3.6) and is one of the top 15 free throw shooters in the league (75.2 percent).

- Bree Bossier has been arguably the best post player in the GAC over the past month. In her last seven games, Bossier is averaging 14 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, has notched five double-doubles and has shot 52.6 percent from the field. She also played 30 minutes or more in six of those seven contests and has grabbed 13 or more boards in five of the last seven games. Bossier is third in the GAC in field goal percentage for the season (50.6 percent) and is ninth in rebounds per game (7.6).

- Hailey Estes notched her second 20-plus point game of the season on Thursday night and her 12th double figure scoring game overall. Estes is third in the GAC in rebounding (8.8 per game) and averages 11.5 points per game. She is shooting 83.6 percent from the line this season (46-of-55).

- Henderson is getting it done on both ends of the court and leads the GAC in scoring defense (64.9 points per game) and also field goal percentage (43.3 percent).

Scouting Arkansas Tech
- The Golden Suns are 19-3 overall and 15-3 in GAC play this season. They are led by head coach Dave Wilbers, who has directed ATU to a 153-48 record in 10 seasons at the school. They have won 10 of their last 11 games, including the last three in a row.

- All five of Tech's starters average double figures in points and they are led by freshman Jayana Sanders, who scores 14.5 points per game and junior forward Lyrik Williams, who averages 12.7 points and eight rebounds per game.

- The Golden Suns are one of the best offensive teams in the GAC and average 77.2 points per game. They have a scoring margin of plus 9.2 in GAC contests — the second best scoring margin in the league.

- ATU has lost just once in Tucker Coliseum this season; an 84-76 defeat at the hands of No. 5 Southwestern Oklahoma State back on Nov. 30.

First Matchup with Arkansas Tech
- Behind a terrific first half, stifling defense and a career-high 26 points from Pink Jones, Henderson notched its biggest win of the season back on Jan. 11, blitzing Arkansas Tech 75-52 at the Duke Wells Center. The win moved the Reddies to 9-4 on the year, 5-2 in Great American Conference play.

- The Reddies were all over the Golden Suns from the opening tip. After Tech scored the game's first four points, Henderson proceeded to answer by pouring in the next 20 and holding ATU scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. The big run helped the Reddies quickly seize momentum and a 20-4 lead after one. The second quarter was more of the same, as Henderson extended its lead by hitting five 3-pointers in the period, the first two from Haleigh Henson, to push the advantage out to 36-16 at the halftime break.

- The Golden Suns began to creep back in the third and used a 16-7 run to cut the Reddies' lead down to 43-32 with 3:07 to go in the quarter, but HSU stifled the Tech spurt by closing the quarter with a 7-4 run of its own and carried a 14 point advantage in the game's final 10 minutes. Tech's run gave them some life, but in the opening minutes of the fourth, Henderson slammed the door on any chance of a comeback, ripping off an 18-5 run and stretching the lead out to as many as 27 points before ultimately cruising to the 75-52 victory.

- The win over Tech was just the third victory for Henderson against ATU in the last decade and its first since January of 2014. The 52 points that ATU was held to against the Reddies is their lowest point total of the season.