ARKADELPHIA – Ouachita Baptist became the third Great American Conference school to win back-to-back Women’s Soccer Championship titles as the Tigers bested Oklahoma Baptist 4-3 in penalty kicks on Sunday from Kluck Field following a 0-0 contest.

Ouachita (8-7-4) equaled the feat set by Southwestern Oklahoma State, in 2012-13, and Harding, in 2015-16, by successfully defending the title. Madi Vana, Abbey Moore, McKenna Wright and Ava Dunagan converted their penalty kicks and Carina Chavarria – subbed into the game at the the beginning of the penalty kick phase – made two saves to secure the program’s fourth GAC Championship title. Sunday’s title represented the first instance in which they clinched on home soil. All three of their prior victories – 2014, Spring 2021 and 2023 – came on the road against that year’s top seed.

Oklahoma Baptist (6-6-7) recorded nine shots, five on target in the opening 45 minutes and limited the Tigers to just four shots, one on goal. In the second half, Ouachita registered four shots on goal as compared to three from Oklahoma Baptist.

The two starting goalkeepers – Claire Stoermer for Oklahoma Baptist and Taylor Hapgood for Ouachita Baptist – combined for 17 saves as the two teams played in just the second 0-0 final in league history. East Central and Ouachita Baptist played to a 0-0 draw in 2011.

The Tigers’ Teagan Jaussi received the Tournament MVP honor. She scored the winning goal in Friday’s semifinal against Southern Nazarene. Vana, Moore, Allison Reece and Sophia Valencia made added All-Tournament honors. Stoermer, Chloe Monroe and Sam Sheffield represented the Bison on the team.

Harding’s Carmen Gunn and Georgia Templeton plus Southern Nazarene’s Adison Johnson and Natalie Montanez filled out the 12-member All-Tournament Team.

The Tigers secured the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championships. They’ll learn their opponent at 6:00 p.m. Monday during the NCAA Selection Show. They’ll make their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament having previously qualified in 2007 and last year.

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BENTONVILLE, Ark. –  Inclement weather in the Bentonville area has delayed the start of 2022 Under Armour Great American Conference Softball Championships until Saturday morning.

Thursday’s scheduled quarterfinals will now be played on Saturday with the same start times. The semifinals will take place at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday with the final slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch.

SATURDAY, MAY 7
Game 1 11:00 a.m. Quarterfinal #1 – No. 4 Southern Nazarene vs No. 5 Oklahoma Baptist
Game 2 1:30 p.m. Quarterfinal #2 – No. 1 Arkansas Tech vs No. 8 Arkansas-Monticello
Game 3 4:00 p.m. Quarterfinal #3 – No. 2 Southern Arkansas vs No. 7 Ouachita
Game 4 6:30 p.m. Quarterfinal #4 – No. 3 Harding vs No. 6 Southeastern Oklahoma State

SUNDAY, MAY 8
Game 5 11:00 a.m. Semifinal #1: Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2
Game 6 1:30 p.m. Semifinal #2: Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 4
Game 7 6:00 p.m. Championship: Winner Game 5 vs Winner Game 6

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ADA, Okla. – Junior guard Blake Rogers registered a career-high 26 points, the most by a Mulerider this season, and senior forward Devante Brooks filled up his stat ledger with a double-double for the ninth time this year and for the eighth-consecutive game, but Southern Arkansas was slowed late on the road Thursday night in Ada as East Central topped the Muleriders 81-77 in Great American Conference action. The defeat snaps a four-game winning streak by SAU and drops the team’s overall record to 9-4 with a 5-2 mark in league play.

Rogers matched the highest made shot output by a Mulerider this season with nine. He added one assist and one rebound. Brooks’ ninth double-double was a result of 19 points and 11 rebounds with one steal and an assist.

The contest saw eight lead changes with seven coming in the second half to go along with six tied scores, four of which occurred in the final twenty minutes of play.

A layup by Brooks cut the SAU deficit to a penny at 65-64 with 4:47 to play. The Tigers responded with a three-point bucket to go up four points, but it was an ‘and-1’ effort from senior guard Aaron Lucas at the 2:33 mark that again brought the Muleriders to within a point of the Tiger lead at 68-67. Over the next 70 seconds, ECU quickly engineered a 7-0 run to lead 74-67 with 1:02 to play. East Central’s lead grew to as much as nine points in the final sixty seconds before nestling at four by the final horn.

The Tigers scored ten of the game’s first 13 points as ECU built a seven-point advantage at the 13:42 mark of the opening 20 minutes of play. However, the Muleriders, much like Stella, would find their groove and engineer a 14-6 run which led to the visitor’s first lead of the contest at 17-16 with 9:11 remaining in the first half.

Aiding that stretch of +8 scoring was junior guard Kris Wyche who delivered eight points on three shots including the go-ahead trifecta. Rogers picked up for Wyche moments later as the Mississippian scored nine of SAU’s next 13 points, which included seven straight and a conversion on an old-fashioned three-point play, as the Muleriders built a 30-23 lead just prior to the under-4 media timeout.

Rogers also produced a personal 7-0 run in the second half which gave the Muleriders its last lead of the night at 62-60 with 7:19 left.

Brooks added the final two buckets for the Muleriders in the first half as the Shreveport native entered the intermission a rebound shy of a double-double. SAU led 34-30 after East Central converted a driving shot at the horn to cap the first 20 minutes of action.

ECU dominated inside outscoring the Muleriders by 18 points in the paint in addition to grabbing ten more rebounds.

On Saturday, the Muleriders head south to Durant as a 3 p.m. tipoff with Southeastern Oklahoma State inside Bloomer Sullivan Arena wraps up the team’s first Oklahoma swing of the season.

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WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Ma’Darius Hobson nailed a long two-pointer with one second remaining in overtime on Thursday to give the Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team an 82-81 road win over Southwestern Oklahoma State.

Hobson’s game-winner was right in front of the Ouachita (3-8, 1-4 GAC) bench to give the Tigers their first conference victory and first road win of the season.

Ouachita led by as many as 11 points in the first half, and held a 10-point lead of 46-36 at the halftime break.

SWOSU (3-8, 2-4 GAC) rallied in the second half to outscore the Tigers 38-28 to force overtime. Neither team scored in the final 1:44 of the second half.

Prior to Hobson’s game-winner, neither team had scored since SWOSU went up by one on a three-pointer with 2:15 remaining in the extra period.

Hobson led the Tigers with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He also had a team high seven rebounds and four assists. Tylar Haynes added 15 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. Alex Scariolo added 13 points and five boards. T’vondrick Henryhad 11 points.

The Tigers carry their momentum a couple hours north to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.

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RUSSELLVILLE – For the first time in what has been an illustrious career as a Mulerider, Southern Arkansas senior forward Devante Brooks has been named the Great American Conference’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. The official announcement was made early Monday afternoon by the league and comes after Brooks delivered a pair of impressive performances this past weekend to help the Muleriders to two league wins.

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Brooks became the second Mulerider in program history, the first in the program’s NCAA Era and the first player in GAC history to collect 1,000 rebounds which he reached with his ninth board of the night in Thursday’s 69-49 win over Northwestern Oklahoma. Double-doubles in both wins ran his season total to eight, improved his streak to seven and stood as the 36th and 37th such efforts of his career, respectively, which continues to build as the most in league history.

He averaged 17 points per game behind an overall shooting clip of 50% and he grabbed 15.5 rebounds per game. Brooks scored 21 points and added 15 rebounds to his season ledger against the Rangers and two nights later he followed that effort with 13 points and 16 rebounds in a 70-41 win over Southwestern Oklahoma.

For his career, Brooks has recorded 10+ rebounds in a game 37 times and has eclipsed ten points in 68 games.

Devante and the Muleriders prepare for their first Oklahoma road swing of the season as East Central (1/6) and Southeastern Oklahoma (1/8) await Southern Arkansas this weekend.

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RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Following one of the best receiving performances in school history against UAM, Henderson State’s L’liott Curry was named Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Curry was simply unstoppable against the Boll Weevils and finished the night with 10 receptions for a career-high 228 yards and four touchdowns. The senior from Guthrie, Okla. pulled in touchdown catches of 6, 48, 58, and 62 yards in the 58-18 win.

His 228 receiving yards were the fourth-most in a single game in school history and his four touchdowns marked only the second time in the last 20 years that a Reddie receiver has pulled in four or more touchdown passes.

Curry, who was a 2021 Preseason All-American by multiple publications, has lived up to that billing so far and leads the GAC with 416 receiving yards. He is second in the league with five touchdowns and is averaging a conference-best 138.7 yards per game. The GAC weekly award is the second of Curry’s career at Henderson and is the first for a Reddie this season.

The Reddies (3-0) face their toughest test of the season this Saturday night when they host rival Southern Arkansas at 6 p.m. inside Carpenter-Haygood Stadium and Ruggles Field.

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GAC Communications

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced the league’s second Football Player of the Week awards of the 2021 season. Oklahoma Baptist’s Preston Haire earned the Offense accolade; Southern Arkansas’ Gavin Roe and Demarcus Williams claimed the Defensive and Specials Teams honors.

GAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Preston Haire, Oklahoma Baptist, QB, Sr., Trophy Club, Texas

Haire reached multiple milestones in the Bison’ 45-20 win against Arkansas-Monticello. With his 378 passing yards, he surpassed 9,000 passing yards and 10,000 yards of total offense for his career. He completed 36-of-50 passes and his four touchdown passes gave him 80 as a Bison.

GAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Gavin Roe, Southern Arkansas, LB, Fr., Haughton, Louisiana

Roe led the Mulerider defense with a game-high 10 tackles in the 42-27 victory against Southwestern. Roe added an interception in the fourth quarter as SAU held an eight-point lead and had SWOSU driving across midfield. SAU extended its win streak against SWOSU to six games overall and six straight in Magnolia.

GAC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Demarcus Williams, Southern Arkansas, RS, Fr., Marshall, Texas

Williams returned four kickoffs a total of 124 yards as the Muleriders rallied in the second half for a 42-27 home win against Southwestern Oklahoma State. His long return of the day, a 62-yard run back opened the second half. Two of his returns set up SAU touchdowns.

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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.

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RUSSELLVILLE – On Tuesday, the Great American Conference announced the results of its 2021 football preseason coaches’ poll.  Ouachita edged out Harding for the top spot.

In 2019, the Tigers won their third-straight GAC regular season title with a second consecutive undefeated regular season. They enter 2021 with a 27-game conference game win streak and they have qualified for the previous three NCAA playoffs. They received seven first-place votes.

Harding collected four first-place votes. The 2019 Bisons defense led the GAC in points allowed, yards allowed and sacks in reaching the NCAA playoffs for the fourth-straight season. Cole Chancey, a 2019 Harlon Hill finalist, set the league’s single-season record for rushing yards with 1,375

Henderson State claimed the final first-place vote and placed third in the balloting. The Reddies earned a berth to the 2019 Live United Bowl. L’liott Curry tallied 84 catches, 1,167 yards and 14 touchdowns, marks that all ranked in the top five single-season totals in league history.

Oklahoma Baptist took fourth. In 2019, the Bison offense led the league in scoring, total offense, passing offense and first downs per game. Preston Haire led the league with 3,041 passing yards and 26 touchdown passes. Tyler Stuever’s 18 total touchdowns ranked second while Joshua Cornell finished second to Curry with 1,054 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

Southern Arkansas placed fifth in the poll, followed by East Central. The Muleriders feature a new head coach as Mike McCarty takes over for the retired Bill Keopple. He inherits quarterback Hayden Mallory who threw 20 touchdown passes in 2019. The Tigers’ Mookie Douglas ran for 1,144 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. Quarterback Kenny Hrncir threw for 1,876 yards and ran for 630.

Arkansas-Monticello, Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma State garnered the next three positions. The Weevils feature 2019 Freshman of the Year Demilon Brown. He threw for 1,057 yards, ran for 803 and accounted for 14 touchdowns. Devontae Dean, the team’s top running back, as well as their top two receivers – C.J. Parham and DeAndre Washington, all return. Caleb Batie led the Wonder Boys in rushing with 620 yards and five touchdowns.  The Rangers’ Gavin Garner led the team with 37 receptions and 620 yards.

Southwestern Oklahoma State, Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene rounded out the poll. The Savage Storm’s Katrell Blakely and Braxton Kincade combined for 101 receptions and almost 1,300 yards. SWOSU’s Justin Bailey averaged 18.7 yards per reception. After almost 20 months as head coach, Dustin Hada will finally get the chance to lead the Crimson Storm into competition. Gage Porter threw for 996 yards and ran for 751. He accounted for 12 touchdowns.

The regular season opens on Thursday, September 2 with five contests – the favored Tigers host Oklahoma Baptist; Southwestern Oklahoma State faces Henderson State; Southern Nazarene visits Arkansas-Monticello; Southern Arkansas takes on Northwestern Oklahoma State and Arkansas Tech welcomes in Southeastern Oklahoma State. Week One concludes with East Central traveling to Harding.

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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.

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