Box Score BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The eighth-seeded Ouachita Lady Tigers were three points away from upsetting the one-seeded Harding University Lady Bisons in the GAC Championship Tournament on Friday, but could not steal the win as the Lady Bisons won 60-57.
 
The Lady Tigers grabbed an early lead in the first half, led by two early three-pointers from Nashia James. Harding claimed the lead, however, with just under 15 minutes to play in the half. The Lady Bisons would hold the lead until halftime and at one point led by 13.
 
James led all scorers in the first half with nine points off 3-5 shooting from the field. The Lady Tigers had a better first-half shooting percentage than the Lady Bisons, but Harding was able to maintain their lead because of their 23 rebounds compared to Ouachita's 16, which allowed Harding to take 15 more shots than the Lady Tigers.
 
In the second half, the Lady Tigers climbed back into the game. Down by 11 with 15:41 to play, Ouachita started a 15-3 run to take a 43-42 lead with 8:31 left.
 
The final eight minutes featured four ties and five lead changes. With 3:18 left in the game, Harding's Arielle Saunders netted two free-throws take a one-point lead. The Lady Bisons later claimed a five-point lead, but a three from Katherine West cut the lead to two. In the final minute and a half, Harding never held a lead larger than four, and the Lady Tigers were within two points three separate times. Harding's free-throw shooting was too much to overcome, however, and the Lady Tigers fell 60-57.
 
The Lady Tigers only allowed Harding to score three field goals in the entire second half and held the Lady Bisons to 14.3 percent shooting from the field. The Lady Bisons, however, shot 27-33 from the line, 21 free-throws coming in the second half. Ouachita was 47.8 percent from the field in the half and 81.8 percent from the line.
 
Harding's A'ndrea Haney led all scorers with 17 points for the game, including 12-14 from the free-throw line. The Lady Bisons are the second-ranked team in the WBCA Top 25 Poll.
 
James led the Lady Tigers with 15 points and seven rebounds. West added 12 points, Elise Holman scored nine and grabbed six boards, and Breanna Harris scored eight and grabbed seven boards.
 
The Lady Tigers finished their season at 9-18 and 7-13 in the Great American Conference. Seniors on this season's team are Allie Brown, Elise Holman, Nashia James and Erica Sharp.