DURANT, Okla. – The Arkansas Tech women's basketball team started Great American Conference (GAC) action on a high note as the Golden Suns (3-0, 2-0 GAC) capped off a successful two-game league-opening road swing in Oklahoma this Saturday (Nov. 18) afternoon with a 78-64 conference triumph over Southeastern Oklahoma State (2-2, 1-1 GAC) at SOSU's Bloomer Sullivan Arena. Junior guard Kylie Ladd was tops among four Tech players in double-digit points with 18. Freshmen guards Ke'Vonshaye Stackhouse and Jayana Sanders scored 13 and 12 points, respectively and senior forward Cheyenne North turned in her second consecutive double-double game performance with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as four of Tech's five starters generated double figures in scoring.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Tech opened the game with a 5-0 run over the first three minutes before SOSU scored seven of the next 10 points to draw within 8-7 at the 5:11 mark. The Savage Storm would take an 11-10 lead just under three minutes to go in the quarter only to have a pair of Kylie Ladd free throws give Tech the upper hand as the Golden Suns reeled off five straight to lead 16-11 after one quarter.
• The Golden Suns stretched their lead in the second quarter to 11 points (26-15) on a Ladd trey with 6:47 remaining before the half. SOSU cut its deficit to eight at 34-26 with 2:31 on the clock, but couldn't get any closer as Ladd and Cheyenne North each drained a three pointer in the final two minutes as part of Tech's 24-points output in the quarter to give the Golden Suns a 40-28 halftime lead.
• The Savage Storm managed to trim Tech's third-quarter lead from 13 points (43-30) at 8:24 down to five (51-46) with 4:23 remaining following a 16-9 scoring run over a four-minute span. A free throw from freshman guard Jacie Higgins put Tech up by seven at 56-48 with two minutes left before SOSU sliced its deficit in half to trail 57-53 with 37 seconds remaining before the quarter's conclusion.
• Tech performed well at both ends of the court in the fourth quarter as evidenced by outscoring the Savage Storm 20-11. The Golden Suns started the finale frame with a 14-4 points advantage in the initial seven minutes to take a 15-point lead at 72-57 on a Ke'Vonshaye Stackhouse jumper. From there, Tech would maintain a double-figure advantage the rest of the way as SOSU was unable to draw any closer than 74-63 with 1:19 to be played.
NOTABLES
• The Golden Suns trailed only once in the contest - 11-10 at 2:58 of the first quarter.
• Tech outshot SOSU 43.8 (28-64) to 37.5 percent (24-64) for the game, which included a 46.7 percent (14-30) clip in the first half.
• Tech converted 16 of 18 free throw attempts for an 88.8 efficiency rate percentage. SOSU made good on eight of its 13 opportunities at the charity stripe.
• Cheyenne North's double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds) represented her second in a row to date this season. She scored 17 points and hauled in 15 boards in Tech's conference-opening victory at East Central Thursday (Nov. 16).
• The Golden Suns' bench outscored the Savage Storm by an 11-points margin (20-9). Junior forward Lyrik Williams and freshman guard Ashley Breathitt spearheaded the charge off the bench with eight and seven points, respectively.
• Cheyenne North, Jayana Sanders, and Ke'Vonshaye Stackhouse have netted double-digit points in each of the Golden Suns' three games to date this season.
• Katie Webb, a 2016-17 All-GAC Second-Team selection, was the lone Southeastern player to tally double-figure points with a game-high 21 points to go with a team-best nine rebounds.
• With the win, Tech has now won five of the last six matchups between the teams.
NEXT UP
• Arkansas Tech begins a three-game homestead, starting Tuesday, Nov. 21, as the Golden Suns square off against the Mississippi College Lady Choctaws in a 5:30 p.m. non-conference matchup at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville, Ark. Fans can tune into the game live on 102.3 FM (KCJC) in Russellville as Sam Strasner handles the play-by-play duties.
