Defense leads Harding to win over No. 13 Arkansas Tech
Harding Sports
Scott Goode, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
SEARCY – Senior guard A’ndi Haney had 21 points and five assists and played outstanding defense to lead Harding to a 72-58 victory over 13th-ranked Arkansas Tech on Monday in Great American Conference women’s action at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
The victory was the 12th in program history over a nationally-ranked team and was the first since Harding defeated then-15th-ranked Arkansas Tech last season in double overtime.
Harding improved to 12-2 overall and 9-0 in conference play and extended its conference lead over Arkansas Tech to two games. Arkansas Tech dropped to 11-2 overall and 7-2 in the GAC. The Golden Suns have lost their last four to Harding in Searcy.
Harding outscored Tech 21-14 in the third quarter, shooting 50 percent (8-of-16) to Tech’s 30.8 percent (4-of-13) to pull away after leading 32-26 at halftime. Four of Harding’s five 3-pointers came in the period with junior Falan Miller connecting twice and Sydney Layrock and Correy Moyer hitting one each.
Harding led 53-40 entering the fourth quarter and made 11-of-16 free throws in the period to maintain its lead.
Haney was 6-of-10 from the field, hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter, and made 8-of-9 free throws. Defensively, Haney was matched up against All-GAC performer Anissa Pounds. Haney helped limit Pounds to only six points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Tech scored the first nine points of the second quarter, but Harding outscored Tech 14-5 the rest of the way to reach its six-point halftime lead.
Harding used a 9-0 run to take a 16-8 lead in the first quarter and led 16-12 after one, outscoring Tech 12-0 in the paint during the quarter.
Miller had 12 points on a perfect shooting night from the field. She was 4-of-4 overall, including two 3-pointers, and was 2-of-2 at the free-throw line. Sophomore Caroline Hogue and Layrock had 11 points each.
Tech shot only 35 percent from the field, shooting below 40 percent in all four quarters. Kelsey McClure led the Golden Suns with 14 points, and Cheyenne North scored 13 and had a team-high eight rebounds.
Harding outscored Tech 34-22 in the paint and 14-9 off turnovers.
Harding will play its second consecutive home game Thursday when it hosts Southern Arkansas at 5:30 p.m.