BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Cheyenne North turned in a career-high 35 points to carry Arkansas Tech into its fifth tournament finals appearance in Great American Conference history, as the Suns defeated Henderson State 78-67 on Saturday night.
NEXT UP
• Arkansas Tech (25-3) advances to the GAC finals on Sunday, where the Suns will face Harding. The conference tournament championship is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• North netted her first five shots of the game, including two triples, to score 13 of Tech's first 19 points.
• Arkansas Tech took an early 19-8 lead but the Reddies used a 15-2 run over the final 4:44 of the first quarter take a 23-21 lead into the second period.
• Henderson State maintained its lead for over six minutes in the second quarter, until a three-pointer by Kylie Ladd with 3:35 until halftime gave the Suns a 34-32 lead. The final three-and-a-half minutes of the half featured two ties and two lead changes, but consecutive layups by North and Ladd gave Tech a 40-36 lead at the break.
• In the third quarter, Tech reached a lead of nine points on a layup by Jacie Higgins with 8:45 to play until the final period. A slow 14-4 run by HSU that took over five minutes gave the Reddies their first lead of the second half at 50-49 with 3:36 left in the quarter.
• Henderson State led for the rest of the period, but Ladd netted her second three of the contest with 1:08 left in the quarter to cut the deficit to 56-54. The triple sparked a 10-0 run that carried over into the fourth quarter, capped by a three-pointer by Higgins to put Tech ahead 61-56 and force an HSU timeout.
• The Suns continued to build their lead, and with 5:31 to play, Ladd netted a triple to give Tech its first double-digit lead at 69-59.
• Arkansas Tech later reached its largest lead of 13 on a free-throw by Ke'Vonshaye Stackhouse with 1:05 remaining, and Stackhouse converted on a layup 45 seconds later to seal the 11-point victory.
NOTABLES
• Arkansas Tech and Harding will meet in the GAC finals for the third time in conference history.
• The Golden Suns shot 47 percent from the floor, while holding the Reddies to 43 percent on field goals. Tech outscored HSU 23-19 on points off turnovers and 14-6 on second-chance points.
• North's 35 game-high points came on 14-20 field goals. She added 11 rebounds, recording her eighth double-double of the season, to go with a team-high five assists, a career-high five steals, and four blocks.
• Ladd and Stackhouse followed with 13 points and five rebounds each.
-FIGHTON-
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