ARKADELPHIA – Ouachita Baptist University women's basketball player
Makayla Miller surpassed 1,000 career points and
Grayson Fairless turned in a career night to lead the Tigers to a 69-59 win over cross-street rival Henderson State on Monday night at home in front of a packed crowd.
Miller, wearing jersey number 13, needed 13 points on Monday to become the 13th member of the Ouachita women's basketball 1,000-point club. She ended the night with 17 points, nine of which coming at the foul line. She also added five steals, four rebounds, and four assists to her totals.
Overshadowed by Miller's career milestone, freshman
Grayson Fairless led all players in the game with 20 points and 15 rebounds, both season and career highs. She was 8-for-12 from the field.
Laney Mears also reached double-digits in scoring for the Tigers (7-8, 4-7 GAC) with 14 points, nine coming on three-pointers.
After Ouachita scored on the game's opening possession, the Reddies (9-8, 6-5 GAC) rattled of 16 straight to hold a 14-point lead at the 6:25 mark of the first period. However, the Tigers rallied back to keep HSU scoreless the rest of the way in the first, scoring 13 unanswered to make it a one-point game heading into the second.
The Tigers regained the lead on a three-pointer from Mears on the first possession of the second period. The game went back-and-forth in the second with the Tigers holding a one-point lead of 31-30 at the halftime break.
Ouachita's defense kept HSU's shooting percentage going down as the game went along. The Reddies shot 50 percent in the first period, 38 percent in the second, 36 percent in the third, and 25 percent in the fourth.
The Tigers outrebounded the Reddies by a 41-28 margin, which led to an 18-2 lead in second-chance points.
Ouachita is back in action this Thursday and Saturday on the road against Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central, respectively.
