MAGNOLIA – Two Harding freshmen scored career highs Saturday as the Lady Bisons dismantled Southern Arkansas, 95-70, Saturday in Great American Conference women’s basketball action at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Aubrey Isbell, a freshman from Mountain View, Arkansas, scored a career-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. It was the first 20-point game of her career.

Kendrick “Bug” Bailey, a freshman from Hollister, Missouri, made her third career start and scored a career-high 14 points. She shot 5 of 6 from the field and added five assists and two steals.

The Lady Bisons lost their last three games on Saturday but put the game away early against Southern Arkansas. Harding led by 18 points after three quarters.

Harding won consecutive conference games for the first time this season and improved to 10-5 overall and 6-4 in the GAC. Southern Arkansas lost for the fifth time in its last six games and dropped to 8-7 overall and 3-6 in conference.

Harding’s freshmen had plenty of help from the upperclassmen. Junior Jacie Evans shot 8 of 10 from the field and scored 19 points. Sophomore Sage Hawley had 16 points and 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season and second straight.

The Lady Bisons shot a season-high 53.7% from the field, making more than half their shots in three of the four quarters, leading to a season-high scoring total. Harding was 19 of 24 from the free-throw line, including 12 of 13 in the fourth quarter.

On the defensive end, Harding held Southern Arkansas to a season-low 28.4% shooting. The Muleriders missed 32 of 39 3-point attempts. Southern Arkansas averaged almost 90 points per game entering Saturday’s action but was held to 70 points or fewer for only the third time this season.

Harding pushed its lead to 18 points at 69-51 in the third quarter with solid play on both ends. The Lady Bisons shot 56% in the quarter and limited Southern Arkansas to only 29% shooting. The Muleriders made only 1 of 8 3-point attempts.

Harding shot 54.3% in the first half and made three 3-pointers to lead 45-35 at the break. The Lady Bisons held Southern Arkansas to only 26.2% shooting and forced 17 misses on 21 3-point attempts.

Harding will look to make it three straight wins Thursday when it hosts Northwestern Oklahoma at 5 p.m. at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.

The post Harding blows past Southern Arkansas for 25-point win appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

SEARCY – In a game that had 17 lead changes, Harding grabbed the lead for good on a Taylor Currie jumper with 9:35 left and the Bisons held off a late charge from Great American Conference leader Southeastern Oklahoma upsetting the Savage Storm, 76-73, Saturday at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.

Harding snapped a four-game home skid with the victory and improved to 4-8 overall and 2-4 in conference games. Southeastern Oklahoma had a nine-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the GAC.

“The guys came out and had great energy and great focus,” head coach Jeff Morgan said. “Who knows where it will go from here, but I really feel like this team is buying in and believing in each other.”

Currie’s jumper gave Harding the lead 57-56, and the Bisons pushed their advantage to eight at 71-63 with 3:51 left on two Stetson Smithson layups.

Southeastern scored the next seven points and cut the Harding lead to 71-70 on an Ante Brzovic dunk with 1:25 left. Harding ended the run with another Currie layup at the 1:05 mark, and Sam Henderson made a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left to push Harding’s lead to 76-70.

Southeastern’s Adam Dworsky came right back with a 3-pointer, but the Savage Storm missed two 3s late that could have tied the game.

Harding limited Southeastern to a season-low 37.5% shooting. The Savage Storm had not shot below 43% in a game this season. Southeastern also had a season-high 14 turnovers.

Currie and Smithson led Harding with 20 points each, and Ramiro Santiago added 10.

Kellen Manek led Southeastern with 21 points. Brzovic had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Savage Storm.

Harding had one of its best first halves of the season, leading 39-37 at the break. Southeastern, one of the best 3-point shooting teams in Division II, made only 7 of 22 (32%) in the first half, and Harding held a 20-12 advantage in the paint with only three turnovers.

The lead changed hands 11 times in the first half.

Harding returns to action Thursday for its first Oklahoma road trip in two years. The Bisons will take on Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee and will play Southern Nazarene Saturday in Bethany.

The post Harding upsets GAC leader Southeastern Oklahoma on New Year’s Day appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

SEARCY – For the seventh time since 2012, the Harding football finished the season ranked in the American Football Coaches’ Association Top 25. The 2021 team landed 10th in the final poll, its third time to finish in the top 10.

Harding went 11-2 this season and won the Great American Conference championship with a 10-1 conference record. The Bisons advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the fifth straight season and reached the second round of the playoffs after defeating Washburn 30-14.

Harding’s highest postseason finish came in 2016 and 2017 when the Bisons were No. 6 in the final poll.

The only other GAC team in the top 25 was Ouachita Baptist at No. 23.

MasseyRatings.com had Harding No. 6 in its final ratings. D2Football.com has not released its final poll.

The post Harding finishes No. 10 in final AFCA poll appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

SEARCY – On the night senior Cole Chancey became the Great American Conference’s career rushing leader, Harding’s defense also had a memorable game as the 22nd-ranked Bisons shut out East Central, 28-0, before 3,500 fans at First Security Stadium.

Chancey, a native of Commerce, Ga., rushed 17 times for 102 yards and three touchdowns. He has 3,775 rushing yards, surpassing Ouachita Baptist’s Kris Oliver, who had 3,763 yards from 2015-18.

Chancey scored on runs of 6 yards and 1 yard in the first quarter and broke the record on a 24-yard touchdown run with 4:06 left in the third. It was his 15th career 100-yard rushing game and fifth with three or more touchdowns.

Harding’s defense recorded its seven opening-night shutout since the Bisons restarted their football program in 1959. The last shutout was 20-0 over Southern Arkansas in 2010. The 28-point margin was Harding’s second-largest shutout behind only a 39-0 victory over Lane in 1992.

Harding’s defense forced five turnovers, including four interceptions. Chancey’s first touchdown came after East Central (0-1) fumbled the opening kickoff. The Bisons took over at the East Central 16 and needed four plays before Chancey pounded through the middle of the East Central line to put the Bisons up 7-0 with 13:02 left in the first quarter.

After an East Central three-and-out, junior transfer Omar Sinclair took a pitch and raced down the Harding sideline, hurdling a pile of would-be tacklers and cutting across the field for a 72-yard touchdown. It was only his second carry as a Bison and gave Harding a 14-0 lead only 3:11 into the game. Sinclair carried four times for 92 yards.

The first of Harding’s four interceptions led to the team’s third first-quarter touchdown. Senior linebacker Shedrick Robinsonlaid out haul in his first career interception, giving the Bisons the ball at the Harding 44. A 13-play drive resulted in Chancey powering in from a yard out on 4th-and-goal.

Harding (1-0) has outscored its opponents 368-99 in the first quarter under head coach Paul Simmons.

Sophomore Ahmad Butler’s first career interception came in third quarter and gave the Bisons possession at the East Central 27. Two plays later, Chancey found a hole up the middle and found his way into the GAC record book with his third touchdown.

Harding’s defense limited East Central to only 48 rushing yards and 98 passing yards. The 146 total yards were the fewest by a Harding opponent since Southwestern Oklahoma had 135 yards in 2018.

Harding will play the first of two consecutive road games next Saturday against Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant. The Savage Storm won its opener 38-20 at Arkansas Tech on Thursday in Russellville.

The post Chancey breaks GAC rushing record, Bisons shut out Tigers on opening night appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Monday, the Great American Conference announced Harding University as the winner of the 2021 Commissioner’s Cup and Arkansas Tech as the winner of the President’s Trophy, the league’s two all-sports awards.

Harding captured the Commissioner’s Cup – awarded to the GAC school that totals the most cumulative points in the 12 countable sports of men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s tennis, women’s track & field, men’s and women’s golf, softball and baseball. The Lady Bisons won GAC titles in tennis and track & field and won the Eastern Division in volleyball. Harding added top-three results in men’s and women’s cross country, softball, women’s golf and women’s basketball.

Arkansas Tech became the first recipient of the President’s Trophy – given to the program that earns the highest percentage of points based on the sports they sponsor. The Wonder Boys won their second-straight men’s golf title and continued the postseason success with the conference’s first team national title. They tied for the regular-season title in baseball. The Golden Suns won the Eastern Division in women’s basketball and placed second in women’s cross country, women’s golf and volleyball.

Oklahoma Baptist took third in both standings. The Bison claimed GAC titles in women’s cross country – their fourth straight – and women’s soccer – their third in four seasons. They added division titles in men’s basketball and volleyball. The Bison completed an undefeated season in volleyball and reached No. 1 in the AVCA rankings.

Southern Arkansas finished fourth. The Muleriders captured their fifth regular-season title in baseball and finished atop the softball standings for the third-straight season. SAU tied Arkansas-Monticello for the Eastern Division crown in men’s basketball. The Muleriders qualified for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time in program history.

Southwestern Oklahoma State, Henderson State and Southeastern Oklahoma State took the next three positions. The Lady Bulldogs basketball team won a regular-season title for the fourth-straight season and reached the finals of NCAA Regional Tournament. The Reddies outlasted Arkansas Tech in a playoff to win their second women’s golf title. The Savage Storm finished as the runners up at the Women’s Basketball, Tennis and Softball Championships.

East Central, Southern Nazarene, Ouachita, Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State rounded out the standings. ECU won its seventh men’s cross country title. Ouachita placed second to Oklahoma Baptist in the women’s soccer regular season race but defeated the Bison to win the GAC Championship title. UAM shared the Eastern Division title in men’s basketball with SAU.

The post Harding, Arkansas Tech claim 2021 GAC All-Sports trophies appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

SEARCY – Ashley Reeves will be the second head softball coach at Harding University. Athletic Director Jeff Morgan announced Reeves’ hiring Wednesday. She will replace Phil Berry, who restarted the Harding softball program in 2014 and coached the last eight seasons.

“Coach Berry has left the softball program in a phenomenal place, and he has done a great job leading the team in a competitive and Christian way,” Reeves said. “I am thrilled to be able to step in and lead this team and carry on a winning tradition.”

Reeves will be returning to Searcy, where from 2008-10, she was the head softball coach at Harding Academy. She also served as an assistant volleyball and basketball coach.

“Our family is so excited for the opportunity to be back in Searcy,” Reeves said. “Two of our three girls were born here, and to be back in a place that has brought us so much joy is a blessing.”

Reeves comes to Harding after spending the last two seasons as the head coach at Fort Lewis College, an NCAA Division II school located in Durango, Colorado. She led the team to 31 wins in her time there. After a COVID-shortened first season, Reeves led Fort Lewis to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 2014 in her second season.

“Coach Reeves has done a great job turning the Fort Lewis program around,” Morgan said. “We are really excited to welcome Coach Reeves, her husband Tanyon and her family to Harding.”

“It is an honor to lead Harding’s softball program, but also to be a part of a Christian community to help walk alongside our players in their spiritual journey,” Reeves said. “The Lord has blessed me and my family, and I am very thankful to Coach Morgan for giving me the opportunity to be the next head coach.”

Prior to her time at Fort Lewis, Reeves spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Abilene Christian University, receiving a promotion to associate head coach in August of 2016.

Reeves played college softball at Texas Tech University. She was a four-year starter in center field and earned her bachelor’s degree in communication studies. Reeves was Second Team All-Big XII in 2006 and First Team All-Big XII in 2004 and 2007. She hit .379 as a senior and received NFCA All-Region honors.

The post Harding hires Ashley Reeves as new softball coach appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced the league’s Volleyball Players of the Week for the third week of the 2021 spring season. Arkansas-Monticello’s Katelyn Richbourg and Katie Pearson garnered the Defensive Player and Setter awards while Harding’s Libby Hinton earned the Offensive honor.

GAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Libby Hinton, Harding, MB, So., Glen Rose, Texas

Hinton led the Lady Bisons in a three-set victory against Southern Nazarene. She registered a season-high 11 kills with a season-high .529 attack percentage. She averaged 4.00 points per set. Harding improved to 3-0 and extended its win streak against Southern Arkansas to nine

GAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Katelyn Richbourg, Arkansas-Monticello, DS, Jr., Magnolia, Arkansas

Richbourg spearheaded a stout defensive effort for the Blossoms in their four-set win against Ouachita on Tuesday. She recorded 41 digs as the Tigers produced just a .085 attack percentage. She became the second player in GAC history to tally at least 40 digs in a four-set contest.

GAC SETTER OF THE WEEK – Katie Pearson, Arkansas-Monticello, Sr., Kansas City, Missouri

Pearson helped the Blossoms end an 11-match losing streak to Ouachita as she recorded 48 assists in the four-set win on Tuesday. The 48 assists represented her career high for a three- or four-set match. After hitting a combined .065 in its first two matches, Arkansas-Monticello hit .257 against Ouachita.

The post Libby Hinton named GAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lubbock Christian’s Brooke Makemson and Harding’s Lily Tanski were named 2021 Division II Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for their outstanding performances for contests played Feb. 1-7.

Behind four home runs and 13 RBI, Makemson powered LCU to four home victories at the Lubbock Sports College Invitational. The senior shortstop hit .692 (9-for-13) with six extra-base hits (2B, 3B, 4 HR), slugged 1.846 and posted a .714 on-base percentage. Selected Lone Star Hitter of the Week, Makemson launched two homers and drove in five runs in the opener against Washburn, while adding a triple, long ball and four RBI against Fort Hays State. She also turned in a mistake-free defensive effort at short with nine putouts and 13 assists.

Tanski tossed a pair of four-hit shutouts as Harding went 4-0 at the UAH Charger Chillout. The Great American Conference Player of the Week blanked No. 10 Trevecca Nazarene and Shorter, fanning 15 and not issuing a walk over 14 innings of work. Against the 10th-ranked Trojans, Tanski struck out five, while she added a career-high 10 punchouts versus the Hawks.

Selected Top Performances
Kaylee Vaught, UAH – .636, 2 HR, 12 RBI, .571 OBP, 1.182 SLG; Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas A&M University-Commerce – 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 17 K, 3 BB, no-hitter vs. TAMIU; Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian – 2-0, SV, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 0 R, 14.1 IP, .045 opp. BA; Chelsea Blankenship, Harding- .533, 2B, 3 3B, 5 RBI, 4 R, 1.000 SLG, 1.000 FLD (22 PO, 4 A); Julie Gast, Lees-McRae- 2 GP, .571, 4 H, 4 RBI, HR, 1.000 SLG; Hannah Towery, Newberry- 2 GP, .500, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 1.125 SLG; Savannah Foster, Tusculum- 1-0, 0.00 ERA, SHO, 8 K, 4 H; Ashley Autuori, Young Harris – .571, 2 2B, HR, 10 RBI, .929 SLG, .625 OBP; Kyra Gipson, Flagler- 2-0. 0.40 ERA, SV, 16 K, 2 BB, 17.2 IP.

The post Lily Tanski named Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Despite grabbing more than 50 rebounds for the fifth time in its last six games, Harding could not overcome 24% shooting from the field and fell 67-56 to Arkansas Tech Monday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Great American Conference Eastern Division.

The loss snapped a five-game Harding winning streak and dropped the Lady Bisons to 5-3 overall and in the GAC. Arkansas Tech remained undefeated at 8-0 overall and 7-0 in conference and ran its home winning streak to eight games dating to last season.

“I thought we batted pretty well for most of the night,” Harding head coach Tim Kirby said. “We hung around but when we needed to make a big play, we just came up empty.”

Harding pulled within six points twice in the fourth quarter, but Tech scored each time and pulled away.

The Lady Bisons had 55 total rebounds, including 25 offensive rebounds. Harding outscored Tech 18-0 on second-chance points, but Tech shot 45% from the field to hold off the Lady Bisons.

Carissa Caples, playing her 100th game at Harding, scored 10 points. Katelyn Burtch also added a career-high 10 points. Sage Hawley had eight points and led the team with 14 rebounds and six assists.

Tech’s Nikki Metcalfe was key for Arkansas Tech on both ends. She led the team with 16 points and tied a Tech record with 11 blocked shots.

Neither team shot well in the third quarter. Tech outscored Harding 11-10. The Lady Bisons were 3 of 19 (15.8%) from the field but made 4 of 6 free throws.

Tech led by 10 early in the second quarter, but Harding got key 3-pointers from Lexie Davis, Kylee Coulter and Kennedy Cooper in the quarter to stay close. Hawley made a turnaround jumper with 37 seconds left to cut Tech’s halftime lead to 35-29. Harding shot 40% in the quarter but only 26.5% in the half. Tech shot 50% from the field (14 of 28), the 3-point line (4 of 8) and the free-throw line (3 of 6).

Arkansas Tech scored the first 10 points before Hannah Collins drained a 3-pointer from the right baseline. Harding missed its first six shots and made only one of its first 10. The Lady Bisons shot 3 of 19 in the quarter, but two of them were 3-pointers. Harding trailed 16-5 but scored the last six points of the quarter.

The Lady Bisons return to the Rhodes-Reaves Field House Thursday to take on Southern Arkansas.

The post Boards not enough as Harding falls to Arkansas Tech appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

ARKADELPHIA – Harding trailed by 17 points with just more than five minutes left in regulation but used a stifling pressure defense in a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Henderson State, 98-92, Saturday in Great American Conference women’s basketball action at the Duke Wells Center.

The win extended Harding’s streak to four straight and moved the Lady Bisons to 4-2 overall and in conference games. Henderson State, playing for the first time since a 92-73 loss to Harding on Jan. 14, fell to 1-3 overall and in conference.

Henderson State’s Gracie Raby hit a layup with 5:16 left in regulation to give Henderson State a 77-60 lead. The comeback began with a Jacie Evans 3-pointer, the first of four 3-pointers down the stretch. Harding scored the last nine points with Jordan Elder hitting a 3-pointer, followed by a Kylee Coulter layup and an Evans layup to pull Harding within 81-79.

After a Harding steal, the Lady Bisons wound up with the ball with 7.4 seconds left. Evans caught the ball in the middle of the lane, turned and nailed a jumper with 2.7 seconds left to tie the game. Henderson State did not get a shot off in its last possession.

“We just figured out we could start making plays,” Harding head coach Tim Kirby said. “As it was happening, you could see their confidence growing.”

Harding shot 50% in overtime and outscored Henderson State 17-11 in the extra period. Coulter made the first shot of overtime, and Harding never trailed.

Elder and Evans led Harding with 21 points apiece. Hannah Collinsscored a season-high 18 points, and Coulter had 14.

Henderson State closed the first quarter on a 13-2 run over the final 4:18 and led 22-8 after one. The Reddies shot 47% and made three 3-pointers. Harding shot only 25% and did not connect on a 3.

Harding trailed by as many as 17 points in the second quarter. Henderson State’s Maci Mains made a 3-pointer, and Ashley Farrar added two free throws on the next possession to give the Reddies a 37-20 lead.

Harding went into a full-court pressure defense and answered with a 17-3 run over the final 3:37. The Lady Bisons had five different players score during that stretch with Hannah Collins scoring the final four points, including two free throws with 12 seconds remaining. Henderson State missed its final five shots and committed five turnovers in the quarter’s final four minutes.

“We practice the press a lot but we don’t use it very much,” Kirby said. “We needed it today and it made a big difference.”

Lady Bisons made only one of their first nine shots in the third quarter before Lexi Davis hit a 3-pointer from the right baseline to pull Harding within 50-42.

Henderson State answered every Harding run in the third quarter, shot 50% in the period and led 65-55 entering the fourth.

Ashley Farrar led Henderson State with 32 points, shooting 12 of 26 from the field.

Harding shot 40% for the game, attempting 85 shots, second most in a game in program history.

Due to COVID-19 protocols, Harding is unsure of its next opponent and date. Check HardingSports.com for updates.

The post Harding overcomes 17-point deficit to defeat Henderson State in overtime appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.