ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State put together its best game of the season and had five players score 13 or more points on Saturday afternoon to defeat previously unbeaten No. 14 Arkansas Tech 90-86 at the Duke Wells Center. 

Maci Mains and Ashley Farrar led HSU with 18 points apiece in the victory. Lani Snowden added a season-high 17 and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line. Sonni Martin finished with 13 points while Karrington Whaley chipped in a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards.

Henderson (5-5, 5-4) hung tough early against the No. 14 team in the country and found itself in a 20-20 tie after one quarter. Tech (10-1) threw a haymaker to begin the second period and knocked down four-straight 3-pointers to open up a 32-25 lead — its largest of the game — with 6:45 to go until the half.

Needing a response, the Reddies got one from Mains and Snowden. The two veterans combined to score 17 points over the remainder of the quarter to flip the script and help HSU end the half on a massive 22-10 run. The furious finish to the second period erased the deficit and gave Henderson a 47-42 halftime lead. Mains poured in 17 points in the first half and Snowden had 10.

The Reddies continued their momentum in the third and used 3-pointers from Farrar and Snowden, as well as an up-and-under layup from Whaley, to take their largest lead, 59-48, at the 5:25 mark. Tech refused to go away and used a 12-7 spurt to close the gap to 66-60 entering the final period.

ATU did its best to chip away at the Reddies' advantage, but timely buckets from Henderson kept the Golden Suns at an arms length each time. Tech got as close as 73-69, but two huge 3-pointers from Martin helped HSU answer with an 8-3 run to maintain control of the game and secure an 81-72 lead with 3:36 left. Excellent free throw shooting down the stretch proved to be the dagger for HSU, as it hit on 13 of its 16 attempts from the stripe in the final quarter to ice its biggest win of the year.

Henderson was terrific from beyond the arc on Saturday and finished the game 12-of-28 from deep. The Reddies were also terrific at the line, where they were 24-of-30 on the afternoon. HSU out-rebounded Tech 40-38 and racked up 16 assists on 27 made baskets.

The win was the Reddies' first over a ranked opponent since they defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State 77-72 on Jan. 25, 2020 and stretched their winning streak to four games.

HSU will go for its fifth-straight victory on Monday when it hosts Ouachita Baptist at 5:30 p.m.