COVERAGE LINKS I GAME NOTES
 
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Henderson State women's basketball team opens 2024 with a home game against nationally ranked No. 7 Southern Nazarene on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Duke Wells Center.
 
REDDIES REPORT
A slow start by Henderson State (6-4, 2-2) against Harding, which saw them trail 20-12 after the first period and 50-28 at halftime, would prove too much, as the Reddies fell to the Lady Bisons 80-62. HSU struggled at the glass, as Harding outrebounded Henderson 55-to-39 and had 20 second-chance points compared to HSU's 10.
 
Ashley Farrar led the scorers in the Harding contest with 16 points, while Natalie Cardenas and JJ Eddens had 13 and 10 points, respectively. Cardenas has seen the basket well the last few weeks, notching her fifth straight double-digit point game, which puts her third on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per contest. Farrar remains the team's top scorer, averaging 18.3 points an outing, converting 42.2 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from the three-point line. Tori Gittens and Olivia Allen round out the scoring for HSU with 12.2 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. 
 
Bobbi Bazzle recorded her third double-figure rebound game in the last four contests, seeing a team-high 11 rebounds against Harding. The Woodlands, Texas native has moved inside the top 15 in rebounding across the GAC, as she ranks 12^th with 6.4 rebounds per game. Just behind, Eddens is second in rebounding for the red-and-gray, averaging 4.9 boards per game after picking up eight against the Lady Bisons. On the year, the Reddies rank fourth as a team in rebounding across the conference with 40.0 boards per game.
 
Henderson State seeks its first win over Southern Nazarene since 2020 when the Reddies went to Bethany and defeated the Crimson Storm 78-74 in overtime. Since then, the series has favored SNU, who have won the last four meetings to take the lead in the head-to-head series 11-10. HSU has fared better at home against Southern Nazarene with six wins to four losses compared to 3-7 on the road. 

SCOUTING NO. 7 SOUTHERN NAZARENE
No. 7 Southern Nazarene (10-0, 4-0) has started the season perfect after picking up a 77-56 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State most recently and is the only unbeaten team remaining in the top 25. The Crimson Storm have climbed the rankings with wins over then No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato, followed by a victory against No. 25 Northwestern Oklahoma State, which saw SNU crack the top 10.
 
Southern Nazarene boasts one the best defenses in the nation, as the team ranks 10th nationally in scoring defense, giving up just 53.2 points per game. Leading SNU's stout defense is forward Hannah Giddy, who is second across all Division II in blocks with 43 on the year while averaging 4.30 per game. On the other side of the court, Giddy paces the team and conference with 58 assists and is one of three players for SNU averaging double-digit points (11.6).
 
Leading the scoring efforts for Southern Nazarene is graduate guard Lauryn Reither. The Oklahoma City native leads the GAC in field goal percentage, converting 58.5 percent from the floor with a team-high 17.3 points per game. Reither is also SNU's most efficient shooter from deep, shooting 44.9 percent a clip on 49 attempts with 22 triples on the year.