RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Henderson State's late charge comes up short in the fourth period after Arkansas Tech converted a free-throw with one second remaining, as the Reddies fell 67-66.
 
Ashley Farrar paced the scoring with Olivia Allen with 18 and 13 points, respectively, and HSU would finish shooting 33.8 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Brynlee Huggins rounded out the scoring with ten points, while Makenna Winans recorded a team-high 11 rebounds.
 
Allen had the hot hand in the first period, providing eight of HSU's 13 points. After Arkansas Tech took a 4-0 lead, Allen knocked a three-pointer and was followed by a triple from Huggins to tie the period 6-6. Both sides failed to find the basket through the next three and a half minutes before Allen broke the scoring drought for both teams with her second trey to give Henderson its first lead, 9-6. The Reddies would convert two more baskets to carry a 13-9 lead after the opening ten minutes.
 
A strong opening four minutes in the second quarter by the Golden Suns saw them take the lead 19-16 at the first media break after a 10-3 run. A pair of free throws by Allen cut ATU's lead to one, but the Golden Suns rattled off four straight points to stretch their lead to six. Sam Basson would help HSU trim the ATU lead heading into halftime to 28-25 after making a three-pointer with 54 seconds remaining.
 
Back-to-back layups by Huggins and Bobbi Bazzle to start the third quarter saw the Reddies retake the lead 29-28, which later grew to 38-30 following a 9-0 run. Arkansas Tech matched HSU's flurry of baskets with an 11-0 burst to push back in front 41-38. After trading runs, Farrar brought Henderson with one on a layup and later gave the Reddies a 42-41 lead with a jumper to close out the scoring in the period.
 
A back-and-forth start to the final quarter would see Arkansas Tech tie the game 48-all before taking the lead the following possession, 50-48. The Reddies tied the game again 50-all at 4:47, but the Golden Suns soon took control, outscoring HSU 12-2 over the next two minutes and forty seconds to go in front 62-52.
 
Farrar helped close the gap to five with five straight points, including a three-pointer, before HSU made it a three-point game with nine seconds left after Farrar and Jadah Pickens each went 2-2 at the foul line, 66-63. The Golden Suns would make a crucial shot at the charity stripe with one second remaining to hold off the Reddies' late charge and win 67-66 after Allen made a triple as time expired.
 
Henderson State (17-10, 13-8) returns to the Duke Wells Center on Saturday for Senior Day against No. 17 Harding at 1 p.m.