BOX SCORE

SEARCY, Ark. – Harding used a strong second-half effort of 52 percent field goal shooting to defeat the University of Arkansas at Monticello women’s basketball team by a final score of 77-59 on Saturday inside the Rhodes Field House.

The Cotton Blossoms (2-12, 0-9 Great American Conference) never led in Saturday’s game, but held the Lady Bisons (11-4, 7-2 GAC) to no more than a seven-point lead until the final four minutes of the opening period. The Lady Bisons strung together a 9-0 run, including three-pointers from Kristen Celsor and Shana Holmes, to take a 13-point lead with 2:12 left in the first half.

UAM responded with five unanswered points to send HU into the break with a 36-28 advantage.

After a two-minute back-and-forth exchange to start the second half, Harding controlled the next 10 minutes, growing its lead to 20 points at the 13:43 mark and holding its largest lead of 27 points with 8:10 remaining. At one point, the Lady Bisons were outscoring the Cotton Blossoms 23-9 in the second half.

UAM put together a pair of runs to cut HU’s lead back to under 20 points, including a 7-0 run capped with a free-throw from freshman Logan Hammonds at the 5:55 mark. A minute later, UAM posted a 6-0 run, featuring back-to-back layups from junior Ashley Qualls to cut HU’s lead to 16 points with 3:21 remaining.

As a team, UAM shot 39 percent from the field (22-of-57), 40 percent on three-pointers (6-of-15) and 60 percent on foul shots (9-of-15). HU shot 44 percent from the field (29-of-66), 50 percent on three-pointers (9-of-18) and 10-of-17 on foul shots (10-of-17).

The Lady Bisons won the rebounding battle 46-33, including a 20-12 edge on the offensive glass, leading to 19 second-chance points.

Freshman Jordan Goforth led the Cotton Blossoms with 18 points on a 6-of-14 shooting performance, including a 5-of-8 outing on three-pointers. She also had a team-high nine rebounds. Junior Ashley Qualls also reached double-digits with 10 points.

HU’s Kristen Celsor led all scorers with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds. Arielle Saunders also posted a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds.

The Cotton Blossoms are back in action next Thursday, January 24 at home against Southern Arkansas. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. inside Steelman Fieldhouse.