ARKADELPHIA — Karrington Whaley tallied career-highs with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Pink Jones filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, eight rebounds, five steals, three assists, and two blocks to help the Reddies run away from Southern Arkansas and collect a 77-61 win.

Henderson State (3-1, 1-0) held SAU to just 22-of-78 from the field for 28.2 percent shooting. The Muleriders were held without a 3-point field goal and missed all 13 attempts from long distance. The Reddies also out-rebounded Southern Arkansas 54-44. The last time an HSU team pulled down 54 rebounds was a 75-64 victory over Paul Quinn College on Nov. 28, 2017.

Sophomore Maci Mains provided the Reddies with 13 points and a game-high five assists off the bench and Hailey Estes notched her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Whaley and Pink Jones, who combined for 40 points, were a collective 15-for-26 from the floor.

Henderson State will be back in action on Nov. 23 when it hosts Arkansas Tech at 1 p.m.

1st Quarter
For the second year in a row, the Reddies dominated the opening minutes of their first matchup with the Muleriders. The Reddies scored the first seven points of the game, and 16 of the first 18, as they held a 16-2 advantage after Pink Jones’ first three-point take, and make, of the season. Henderson State held on to its double-digit lead at the end of the opening period, 24-13.

2nd Quarter
Little separated HSU and SAU in the second quarter as the two squads traded a trio of buckets to make the score 30-19. Freshmen Gracie Raby and Tamia Templeton got on the scoresheet in the second, and Templeton finished a beautiful drive and dish from Mains to give HSU their largest lead of the night, 34-19. With the Reddies up 36-21, HSU felt the Southern Arkansas pressure for the first time as the Muleriders went on a 6-0 run to cut the Henderson lead to single digits, 36-27. The Reddies would maintain the same lead, and led 42-33 heading into the halftime break

3rd Quarter
After four points in less than a minute from Whaley that had the Reddies up 46-35, SAU’s defense once again forced the Reddies into uncharacteristic mistakes as the Muleriders used a 7-0 run to pull within four, 46-42. The Muleriders had two chances to make it a single-digit ballgame, but were unable to do so, before a clutch three-pointer by Mains gave Henderson some slight breathing room, 49-42. SAU refused to go away however, as the Reddies clung to a 56-50 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

4th Quarter
Less than 30 seconds into the fourth and final frame, two SAU free throws cut the HSU lead  to four, 56-52. Unfortunately for the Muleriders, that would be as close as they would get. Blu Jones sunk two free throws to jumpstart a 9-2 Reddies run that put Henderson back in control 65-54 with less than six minutes to play. SAU cut the lead to seven, 65-58, but a Pink Jones’ second three-pointer of the night put HSU back up by 10, 68-58, and served as the dagger to SAU’s comeback hopes. Henderson State ended the game on a 9-3 run and cruised to their first victory of the GAC season, 77-61.

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SHAWNEE, Okla. — Henderson State’s balanced offense clicked on all cylinders on Thursday night as the Reddies put four players in double figures and shot 61.5 percent from the field in the second half to roll over Oklahoma Baptist 86-62 at the Noble Complex. The win improves HSU to 10-2 on the year and 5-1 in Great American Conference play.

Hailey Estes had one her best games of the season to lead HSU, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting. Blu Jones added 16 with three 3-pointers while Karrington Whaley was 7-for-8 from the floor to chip in 15 points with eight boards. Brittany Branum was the final Reddie in double figures as she put up 10 points and seven rebounds.

Henderson had its offense clicking early, as the Reddies shot 51.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and opened up a lead as large as 12 points in the second quarter before taking a 38-30 lead into the break. Branum and Whaley were the beneficiaries of some nice interior passes and combined to score 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the opening half against a porous zone defense from OKBU.

The Reddies took complete control of the game in the second half and shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the final two quarters, which included a scorching mark of 10-for-11 in the fourth, to pull away for a comfortable 24-point win.

As a team, Henderson out-rebounded the Lady Bison 42-29 and racked up 17 assists to just eight for Oklahoma Baptist. Autumn Avina and Victoria Blankenship combined for 42 of OKBU’s 62 points in the game.

HSU will play the second game of its Oklahoma road trip on Saturday when it takes on Southern Nazarene at 1 p.m. in Bethany, Oklahoma.

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