ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Following a record-setting season which saw them win 20 games and a program-record 16 conference contests, the Henderson State Reddies begin postseason play on Friday night, when they face off for a third time with rival Ouachita Baptist in the first round of the Great American Conference Tournament in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Henderson plays in the final game on Friday night, with tip-off set for 8 p.m.

Tournament Notes
- With a 16-6 GAC record this season, Henderson clinched the No. 3 seed in the GAC Tournament more than a week ago. This year marks the fourth time under head coach Jill Thomas that the Reddies will compete in the league tournament. The No. 3 seed is the highest seeding HSU has had since the inception of the league in 2011.

- Friday's matchup with OBU marks the first time since 1977-78 that the two schools have met three times in a single season in women's basketball. That season, Henderson defeated its Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference rival twice during the regular season but fell to the Lady Tigers in the District Tournament.

- Henderson has won seven of the last eight meetings with Ouachita Baptist and is 8-2 against the Lady Tigers since Jill Thomas took over the program in 2013-14. Six of those eight wins have been by double figures. HSU is 41-38 all-time against Ouachita Baptist since the inception of the program back in 1971-72.

- The Reddies, despite three previous trips to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, have never won a GAC Tournament game. HSU's last conference tournament win came in 2006-07 when the Reddies defeated Montevallo 75-39 in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament.

- A win on Friday would move Henderson into the conference semifinals for the first time since 2005-06, when it made a run to the GSC championship game.

Reddies Report
- Henderson had two players honored with All-GAC recognition on Wednesday night: sophomore guard Pink Jones, who was named to the First Team and senior guard Haleigh Henson, who was named to the second team. It is only the second time since joining the GAC that the Reddies have had two players honored in the same season. The first was in 2015-16 when Dulincia Keener was named to the first team and Victoria Stewart was an honorable mention All-GAC selection.

- Pink Jones becomes just the third player from Henderson to win First Team All-GAC honors, joining Keener and Aungelique Sledge, who was twice named to the First team in 2013-14 and 2014-15. It is the second All-GAC honor of Jones' career, as she was named to the honorable mention team last season. Jones finished the regular season ranked fourth in the league in scoring (16.5 points per game) and finished sixth in the conference in field goal percentage (48.2 percent). She had the best field goal percentage of any guard in the GAC. Jones also ranked sixth in assists per game (3.8) and eighth in steals per game (1.7).

- Haleigh Henson, with her first selection to the All-GAC team this season, becomes just the seventh Reddie ever named to an All-GAC team since the inception of the league in 2011. Henson finished the regular season ranked 13th in the GAC in scoring (13.4 points per game) and hit the second-most 3-pointers of any player in the league (77). She also averaged a conference-best 2.9 3-pointers per game. Henson needs six more 3-pointers this year to break Sledge's single season record of 82 3-pointers in one campaign. Henson played an average of 34.4 minutes per game this year — fourth-most in the league.

- Bree Bossier, although she did not receive All-GAC recognition, had a fantastic senior year statistically, and finished the regular season ninth in the GAC in rebounding (7.6 rebounds per game), third in field goal percentage (49.3 percent) and fourth in blocked shots (43). Bossier also had 89 offensive rebounds this season, which was third-most in the conference.

- Hailey Estes also had a strong season stats-wise. She finished 23rd in the league in scoring (10.7 points per game) and fifth in rebounding (8.3 per game). Estes hit 58 3-pointers this season, eighth-most in the GAC. She led the conference in defensive rebounds per game (6.8) and played an average of 33.6 minutes per contest (ninth in the GAC).

- As a team, Henderson finished the regular season with the No. 1 scoring defense in the league (65.2 points per game) and the No. 1 team field goal percentage in the conference (43.1 percent). The Reddies also led the GAC in 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.6 percent). No other team in the conference held opposing teams below 31 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Scouting Ouachita Baptist
- The Lady Tigers finished the regular season 14-14 overall and 10-12 in GAC play. OBU locked up the No. 6 seed with a win over Southern Arkansas last Saturday in the regular season finale. They dropped both contests to Henderson this season, falling 67-56 at home in January and losing 71-64 just last week on Senior Night in the Duke Wells Center.

- Chasidee Owens was the only All-GAC selection for OBU and was a member of the Honorable Mention team. She led the Lady Tigers this season in scoring (10.7 points per game) and was second on the team in rebounding (5.1 rebounds per game). Madison Brittain was the biggest threat for the Lady Tigers from the outside. Brittain hit 58 3-pointers and shot 35.4 percent from beyond the arc. Brittain also started more games for OBU than any player this season (26 of 27).

- Ouachita Baptist finished ninth in the GAC in scoring offense (67. 4 points per game) and seventh in scoring defense (70.5 points per game). The Lady Tigers shot the ball well from the field during the regular season (42.1 percent) but were the worst free throw shooting team in the conference and hit on just 62.4 percent of their attempts at the line. OBU also struggled to defend the 3-point line and allowed opponents to shoot nearly 37 percent from beyond the arc on the year.

Previous Matchups with OBU
- Henderson went 2-0 against its rival this season, defeating them 67-56 in the first contest at Bill Vining Arena and then taking a 71-64 victory on Senior Night at the Duke Wells Center just last week.

- Defense was the story for Henderson in the first meeting, 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. OBU scored just nine points in the fourth quarter, while Pink Jones had 25 points, six rebounds and five steals to lead the Reddies.

- After falling behind to OBU with four minutes left in the second matchup, Henderson finished the game on an 11-4 run to rally past the Lady Tigers 71-64 and notch a program-record 15th conference win. Bree Bossier scored eight points in the final three minutes to win it for the Reddies and finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Blu Jones had a team-high 17 points for Henderson.