RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A closely-contest first half of action gave way to a one-sided second half as the Arkansas Tech women's basketball team pulled away from Champion Christian for a comfortable 96-67 win in the 2021-22 season-opener inside Tucker Coliseum on Monday evening.
 
The first half of action saw six tie scores and two lead changes. The two lead changes came in the first quarter with the final one going the way of the Golden Suns (1-0) in the waning seconds of the period as Nikki Metcalfe made a pair of free throws to put Tech up 20-19.
 
The second quarter remained close with the largest margin of a lead being six points by the Golden Suns just under halfway through the period. On a pair of occasions under the four-minute mark, Champion Christian knotted the score, the last of those ties coming at the 3:01 mark.
 
With 1:48 left in the first half, Kaley Shipman broke the tie on a three-pointer. The Golden Suns would eventually head into the locker room with a three-point lead.
 
Coming out of the break, the Golden Suns emerged like a different team and wasted little time in taking control of the game. In the third quarter alone, the Golden Suns out-scored Champion Christian 39-16 on the strength of 71% shooting overall (15-of-21).
 
Most of that scoring came inside the paint as the Golden Suns scored 20 painted points. They also found their rhythm behind the arc knocking down 5-of-8 in the third quarter. Shipman, who led all scorers with 25 points was responsible for four of those three-pointers, while the other was knocked down by Jayana Sanders.
 
That combination of inside scoring and outside sharpshooting helped the Golden Suns take a 26-point lead into the fourth quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Golden Suns remained efficient in their scoring shooting 50% overall (7-of-14) and knocking down 3-of-5 from long range. The largest lead gained by the Golden Suns in the fourth quarter was 32 points, 94-62, at the 2:51 mark. Tech eventually closed out the game with a 29-point margin of victory.
 
Eleven players saw action in the game with nine scoring. Shipman was the aforementioned leading scorer. Just off her pace was Ashlei Lopez with 21 points. Sydnee Wynn and Jayana Sanders rounded out double-figure scoring for the Golden Suns with 14 points and 13 points, respectively.
 
The Golden Suns will now prepare for their next game this coming Saturday as they play host to former conference foe, Christian Brothers. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. inside Tucker Coliseum.