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January 26, 2001
Tiger Split Games With Harding
Mac Sisson
ARKADELPHIA-Jennifer Edwards' 20 points and 12 rebounds were key factors as the Ouachita Baptist University Lady Tigers took a 71-52 victory over the Harding University Lady Bisons, while the OBU Tigers blew a 21-point lead in the second half and fell to the Harding Bisons, 96-92, in Gulf South Conference games played Thursday night at OBU's Bill Vining Arena in the Roy and Christine Sturgis Physical Education Center.
The win by the Lady Tigers moved the team's record to 13-4, 5-2, while the Lady Bisons fell to 10-7, 3-4. The Tigers fell to 3-14, 1-6, while the Bisons advanced to 8-7, 3-4.
The Lady Tigers spelled the difference in the game with their long distance shooting. Coach Garry Crowder's club hit nine of 17 three point attempts, while Harding was one of six from the arc. Ouachita accomplished the win despite losing starting freshman post Kristen Hurdle who went out with a broken nose in the opening minutes of the game. She will join freshman guard Lyndsey Hawkins who is also wearing a protective mask for the same reason in an injury suffered earlier this season.
The two women's team battled for most of the first half with four lead changes taking place. The Lady Tigers took a four-point, 36-32, into intermission on a basket by forward Tracy McBryde with 58 seconds left on the clock. At that point, OBU was hitting 68 percent (11 of 16) of its shots from the field, while Harding was connecting on 13 of 31 for 42 percent. Harding was controlling the boards with 18 boards to Ouachita's 11.
Much as it has done for the last few games, Ouachita came out of the dressing room and excelled on the floor in the last 20 minutes of action. The Lady Tigers' defense forced Harding into shooting worse than it did in the opening 20, as the Lady Bisons went seven of 18 from the field for 39 percent. Ouachita went 13 of 31 for 42 percent in the second stanza.
Ouachita sophomore guard Crystal Allen finished the game with 16 points, five rebounds and six steals. OBU freshman Stephanie Grimes added 11 and three rebounds.
Harding's Heather Lawrence was her team's leading scorer with 18 points, followed by Stephanie Davis with 11.
As a team, OBU shot 24 of 47 from the field for 51 percent, while Harding went 20 of 49 for 41 percent. At the line, OBU went 14 of 20 for 70 percent, while the Lady Bisons sank 11 of 19 for 58 percent.
In the men's game, Harding overcame a 21-point lead in the last seconds of the game to take the Gulf South Conference victory over Mike Reynolds' star crossed Tigers.
At halftime, OBU had fashioned an 18-point advantage, 59-41, and looked in control. The Tigers were hitting 56 percent of their shots, while Harding was at 44 percent (10 of 23). Ouachita's shooters had connected on eight of 18 from the arc.
Things then went South for the Baptists as the Bisons chipped away at the Tiger lead and tied the game at 88-all on a Jay Brogdon three-pointer with 3:04 left. Dewayne McDonald rejected a T.J. Jones shot at the other end, and Aaron Farley sank two free throws with 2:07 to give HU its first lead since early in the first quarter.
Jones with 32 points for the evening was a team unto himself as he once again tied the game, 90-90, on a jumper at 1:28 to play. Farley was then fouled by Ouachita's Jordan Cowart and sank both to make it 92-90 with 1:11 in the contest. Brogdon came up with a steal on the other end and McDonald hit two free throws at 33 seconds to put Harding up 94-90. Jones hit two more free throws, but Farley also made two more free throws to seal the win. Farley, McDonald and Brogdon combined for 42 of Harding's 55 second half points.
With Ouachita up by 21 points at 18:30 in the game, Harding went on a 16-3 run over the next six minutes. Harding cut the lead to one point at 83-82 on Farley layup with 4:41 remaining. The Bisons would not tie it until Brogdon's three.
The keys for the OBU attack in the first half were the long distance shooting and their strength on the boards. OBU outrebounded Harding 22-15 and had nine offensive boards to the Bisons' five.
In the end, the Bisons hit 64 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 55 percent. They drained 32 of 48 from the foul line and hit seven second half three-pointers.
Behind Jones in scoring for OBU were Jarris Kentle with 15, Jordan Cowart had 11 as did Tim Lane, and Mauricio Watson finished with 12. Both Lane and Watson had six rebounds, while Hassan Conteh responded with a team high seven.
The Bisons were led by Farley with 23, followed by Brogdon with 22, Dwayne McDonald with 17, and Michael Jackson with 14.
Ouachita plays Christian Brothers in Memphis on Monday night. The women's game begins at 6 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 8. Both will be radio game over KDEL-FM (100.9) in Arkadelphia with Dr. Jeff Root broadcasting the action. The OBU teams will report back to Vining Arena on Thursday night for GSC games against Delta State University at 6 and 8.
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Contact Edith Warren for ticket information: 870-245-5181
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