BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Henderson State withstood a furious rally from Southern Nazarene on Friday evening to defeat the Crimson Storm 78-74 in overtime and advance to the semifinals of the GAC Tournament. 

The win was the Reddies' 20th of the year and earns them a date with No. 1 seed Southeastern Oklahoma State tomorrow at 5:45 p.m. with a berth in the league championship on the line.

Six different players scored in double figures for Henderson (20-9), who was led by Blu Jones' 16 points. It was the first time all season that Jones led the Reddies in scoring. Hailey Estes and Karrington Whaley each chipped in double-doubles. Estes had 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Whaley chipped in 12 and 13 boards. 

The Reddies' defense made its presence felt early, as it held SNU to just 26.9% shooting in the game's first 20 minutes and helped Henderson lead 35-21 at the break. HSU limited the Crimson Storm to seven points in the first quarter and forced them into more turnovers (11) than made field goals (7) through two periods.

The tune changed at the start of the third quarter. SNU knocked down four of its first five shots and jump-started its struggling offense to out-score HSU 27-14 in the period and cut the Reddies' lead down to just 49-48 going into the fourth. The Crimson Storm shot 50% from the floor in the third and were 4-of-7 from 3-point range.

Henderson sustained a big blow with 8:30 left in regulation when Pink Jones picked up her fifth foul attempting to take a charge. Despite Jones' absence, the Reddies fought their way to the lead behind nine fourth-quarter points from her sister Blu, and held a 66-62 advantage with less than a minute to go. HSU had an opportunity to go in front by six points, but missed two free throws and SNU took advantage with two layups from Abby Niehues in the final seconds to tie the game and send the contest into overtime.

HSU scored the first five points of the extra period and took a 71-66 lead at the 4:22 mark. Neither side scored again for nearly three minutes, but it was the Reddies who broke the scoreless stretch with a bucket from Farrar. The freshman's jumper gave HSU a 73-66 cushion with just over a minute to play. 

Henderson maintained the seven-point advantage as the clock went under a minute, but SNU refused to go away, and got a 3-pointer, followed by a second chance basket on a missed free throw, to put together a five-point possession and trim the deficit down to 75-73 with 38 ticks left. A turnover from the Reddies on their ensuing trip gave the ball back to the Storm, and they got a golden opportunity to win it with 19 seconds remaining when Kennedy Gillette was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. 

Needing three to take the lead or two to tie it up, Gillette missed the first two shots and hit the third to make it 75-74. SNU immediately fouled HSU's Ashley Farrar, who calmly knocked down her two freebies on the other end to stretch Henderson's lead to 77-74. Southern Nazarene's final possession ended with a turnover and a late free throw from Lani Snowden helped the Reddies ice it.