RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Henderson State closed out a three-game road stretch with its first conference win of the season in a 83-70 victory at Arkansas Tech. Thursday night's contest marked the team's eighth win in its last nine meetings with the Golden Suns.
With a Natalie Cardenas three-pointer at the 5:47 mark in the first quarter, the Reddies took the lead and never gave it back. HSU tied its highest point total of the year as a team in the win.
Cardenas paced the Reddies with a career-high 27 points. The sophomore from Mesquite, Texas, shot 52.9 percent from the floor and made three of her six attempts from three-point range.
Brynlee Huggins posted 16 points in her seventh double-digit scoring effort of the season. Marlee Raby recorded her third such outing with 10 points.
Makenna Winans continued to dominate the boards with 12 rebounds. She now has at least a dozen rebounds in two of her last three outings. Now averaging 8.2 boards per game, the Parkersburg, West Virginia, native is one of just four Great American Conference players averaging eight or more rebounds per contest this season.
Bobbi Bazzle tied her season high with six offensive rebounds in the victory. She is currently second in the conference with 3.4 offensive boards per game. The senior also had eight points and a block on Thursday.
Tristin Keller put up a career-best 10 rebounds at ATU. She also tied Klowie Pike with a squad-leading two steals against the Golden Suns.
Following Thursday's win, Henderson will host Harding in its GAC home opener. Tip-off at the Duke Wells Center is slated for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 14.
