SHAWNEE, Oklahoma – Abbie Jiles poured in a career-high 22 points, 19 of which came in the second half, on 7-of-11 shooting, 3-of-3 from deep and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line as Henderson State defeated East Central in the first round of the 2022 GAC Women's Basketball Championships to advance to the semifinals for the second time in three years.
 
As a team, the Reddies hit 55.6% (10-18) of their three-pointers, marking the third straight game HSU has made 10 or more triples. Along with Jiles, Maci Mains inflicted equal damage from deep, connecting on 3-of-4, followed by Gracie Raby, who registered two triples late in the contest to help put this away.
 
Henderson saw three players gather at least nine rebounds, led by Karrington Whaley with 12, followed by Jiles and Jadah Pickens who each picked up nine boards, four of which came on the offensive glass for Pickens.
 
As has been the custom for Henderson towards the end of the season, HSU was elite from the charity stripe all night long, hitting 20+ free-throws for the second straight meeting, hitting 21-of-26 for 80.8%. Jiles, Ashley Farrar and Jadah Pickens each logged five freebies to lead fourth-seeded Reddies.
 
After ECU opened the GAC quarterfinal round with a quick 7-0 run, Henderson settled into the game, finding the next 13 points to claim the 13-7 advantage. That lead was trimmed to four after the first 10 minutes had expired, 13-11.
 
With the two squads trading baskets in the early going of the second period, a trey from ECU's Kate Ogle at the 8:09 mark gave ECU its first lead since the 6:48 mark of the first quarter, 20-18. Over the final eight minutes of the first half, the game saw four lead changes, with the Tigers getting the final say of the first 20 minutes, closing the half on an 8-0 run to take a 36-32 lead into the locker room.
 
Head coach Matt Cole's girls added to that lead immediately coming out of the break, seeing their lead blossom to eight prior four minutes into the third frame. That eight-point lead was short-lived, however, as HSU's offense came alive to the tune of of 12-2 run, thanks to back-to-back threes from Jiles and a Mains trey, while the Reddie defense held the Tigers to without a field-goal for over four minutes, to reclaim a 51-49 lead.
 
Free-throws to close the third period allowed HSU to hold a slim 56-54 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. The final 10 minutes belonged entirely to the Reddies as they outscored East Central 23-12 in the final frame. A Raby triple followed by consecutive jumpers from Jiles gave HSU its biggest lead up to that point, 63-55.
 
With the near double-digit deficit facing the Tigers, an early trip home was not on ECU's mind, putting together a 10-2 run to once again tie play at 65-65 with just under five to play. With momentum fully on the Tigers' side, Jiles put the finishing touches on her career day, scoring seven of Henderson's next nine points, capitalized by a Raby jumper to put the Reddies up 11, 76-65.
 
Free-throws from Jill Thomas' group brought Henderson's hopes of a semifinal berth into play, holding off the Tigers for the final minute and half to claim the 79-66 victory. In addition to earning Henderson a spot in the GAC semifinals, the victory also made Thomas the second winningest head coach in program history with 130 wins.
 
Henderson State (19-10, 13-9) has 24 hours before it hits the hardwood again inside of FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma, when it faces the No. 1 seed Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs at 5:45 p.m.