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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Henderson State women's basketball program faces off with No. 5 seed Arkansas Tech in the opening round of the 2023-24 GAC Tournament. Tip off between the Reddies and Golden Suns from Shawnee, Okla. is set for 5:45 p.m.
REDDIES REPORT
For the third time in three years, Henderson State finishes inside the top four of the league standings and has made the GAC Tournament for the seventh straight year. During this run, HSU has never been lower than a five-seed at the conference tournament. The Reddies earned the fourth seed this season after going 13-9 in league games and finished 17-11 overall in the regular season.
The three constants in the HSU lineup this season have been
Ashley Farrar and
Tori Gittens, who have started all 28 games, and
Bobbi Bazzle, with 27 starts. Farrar is the Reddies' top scorer with 15.7 points per game and recently recorded 24 points against Harding. Gittens has been the team's most efficient shooter of the ball, converting 46.6 percent (109-234) from the field and a DII-best 51.4 percent (56-109) from beyond the arc. Bazzle ranks second on the team in rebounding, with 5.6 boards per game.
HSU enters the GAC Tournament as the second-highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 72.6 points per game on 40.1 percent shooting. The Reddies have been the most successful team in the league when it comes to shooting from beyond the arc, leading the conference with a 35.0 percent shooting mark and averaging a GAC-best 8.3 triples per game.
The Reddies and Golden Suns split the season series, as both sides won their respective home games. Both games were settled by five points or less, with HSU taking the first game 84-80 and ATU winning the second contest 67-66. Arkansas Tech's most recent win snapped a six-game win streak the red-and-grey had over the Golden Suns, dating back to 2021.
Friday's clash between the Reddies and Golden Suns will be the third time Henderson State and Arkansas Tech meet in the GAC Tournament and the first time they have faced each other at FireLake Arena. The Golden Suns are 2-0 in the postseason against the Reddies after seeing a first-round win in 2014-15 and a semifinal victory in 2017-18.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS TECH
Arkansas Tech ended the regular season on a high note, winning four of its last five games to lock up the fifth seed. The Golden Suns finished the year 14-12 overall and 11-11 in conference action and were one of five teams to have a .500 or better GAC record. Arkansas Tech is no stranger to the GAC Tournament, having won the competition three times and making the tournament 11 times under head coach Dave Wilbers.
The Golden Suns have four players averaging eight or more points per game this season, led by junior guard Alex Hill with 12.2 points a contest. Hill is also ATU's second-best shooter from the three-point line, having made 26 triples this season on a 25.7 percent shooting mark. Joining Hill in double-figure points is Dana Thompson, who is seeing 10.5 points per game while shooting 47.6 percent. Thompson saw her eighth double-double on the year in ATU's season finale at Southern Arkansas, recording 16 points and 11 rebounds.
As a team, Arkansas Tech ranks fifth in scoring offense (68.3 ppg) and third in team field goal percentage, shooting 41.5 percent. Additionally, the Golden Suns rank first across the GAC in rebounding, with 42.6 boards per game. Thompson has been a large part of the ATU's success at the glass this season, with an average of 9.8 rebounds per game.
