COVERAGE LINKS I
GAME NOTES
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – In the final regular season game this year, Henderson State will host the No. 17 Harding Lady Bisons on Senior Day this Saturday at 1 p.m. Following the conclusion of the women's games, HSU will recognize seniors
Ashley Farrar,
Tori Gittens,
Alee McClendon and
JJ Eddens.
REDDIES REPORT
Henderson fell late in Russellville on Thursday night after Arkansas Tech used a 12-2 run to take a ten-point lead with a minute and a half remaining. The Reddies battled back to close the gap but would run out of time, 67-66, following an ATU free throw with one second left.
Ashley Farrar led the offensive efforts against Arkansas Tech with 18 points on 50.0 percent shooting and was 7-of-8 at the free-throw line. The Green Forest, Ark. native paces the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game on 41.6 percent (123-296) shooting from the floor and 37.0 percent (47-127) from beyond the arc. With the help of Farrar, Henderson has the second-best scoring offense in the GAC, averaging 72.1 points a game.
Olivia Allen has gotten the start in the last three games and is averaging 11.6 points per game during the stretch. This season, Allen is the Reddies' third top scorer with 8.1 points and has been the team's most efficient shooter from the free-throw line with a 92.5 (49-53) shooting mark.
Brynlee Huggins has also been seeing the basket well recently, averaging 12.3 points per game in the last three contests, and is seeing 7.7 points an outing this season.
Henderson State will look to get the better of No. 17 Harding after falling in Searcy 80-62 just before Christmas break early this season. The Reddies have lost their last three meeting with Lady Bisons, which sees HU lead the series 37-32. HSU is 3-2 in the previous five games hosted inside the Duke Wells Center, where the Reddies have played their best the season with a 10-3 home record.
In the first meeting this year, Farrar helped lead the scoring with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, while
JJ Eddens recorded 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds.
Bobbi Bazzle paced the red-and-grey with 11 of the team's 39 rebounds, while HSU finished with 33.8 percent shooting marks from the field and 26.3 percent from beyond the arc.
SCOUTING NO. 17 HARDING
After losing back-to-back games at Northwestern and Southwestern Oklahoma State, No. 17 Harding returned to winning ways at home against Arkansas-Monticello, 75-60. For the second year in a row, the Lady Bisons will be the number seed in the GAC Tournament with a 18-3 record heading into the season finale.
Harding is led by two rebound machines in Sage Hawley and Rory Geer, who both rank inside the top five in rebounding in the GAC. Hawley paces the team with 9.9 boards per game, while Geer follows closely behind with 8.6, and the team is averaging 42.1 rebounds per game. The Lady Bisons have the best rebound margin in the GAC at +11.1 and have not lost the battle at the glass in their last 11 games.
HU is one of two teams to rank in the top five in scoring offense and defense, with the only other team being Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Lady Bisons are averaging 70.3 points per game, led by Hawley (15.3 ppg), who is one of four players averaging double-digit points per contest. On the other side of the court, Harding has given up 60 or more points just four times in the last ten games.
