SHAWNEE, Okla. - Following the Golden Suns best win of the season against Southern Nazarene 80-52 on the road, a tough time scoring in the fourth quarter helped Oklahoma Baptist edge out the 90-80 win. Arkansas Tech moves to 7-4 overall on the season and fall to a 4-3 record in conference play.

Both teams opened the first half strong each quickly making baskets to have a 4-4 score with 8:35 left in the first. However, the Bison quickly found an 8-0 run, that included back-to-back three pointers, to mount some early pressure on the Golden Suns holding a 12-4 lead with 6:03 to go in the first. Two layups from Jayana Sanders and Nikki Metcalfe brought Tech back to within four points of Oklahoma Baptist.

After the Bison sank two free throws following a foul from Tori Lasker, the Golden Suns found some quick hot shooting from Lasker and Kaley Shipman as the pair knocked down back-to-back triples to make it just a 14-16 deficit with 3:48 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma Baptist finished the quarter on a 6-3 run led by Kendall Parker to take a 26-21 lead over Tech heading into the second quarter.

Freshman Wendy Clemmons started the scoring for Arkansas Tech in the second quarter with a three point basket to bring them back to within two once again. Ashlei Lopez sparked a key 10-8 run in the second quarter nailing down two triples to finally tie the game at 34 all with just under five minutes left to go in the first half of action. Shipman and Lasker both contributed in the run as well each getting two inside baskets to fall. The Bison managed to take back a three point lead following some points at the charity stripe, until Shipman hit a long range bomb to tie the game once again. 

A strong fastbreak layup inside from Lopez following her steal gave the Golden Suns their first lead at 40-38 since 8:35 in the first quarter when they were ahead of the Bison 4-2. Lopez led the Golden Suns to a tremendous second quarter as she scored 13 total points, marking her first time to score 13 since December 4 in the game against Arkansas Monticello. Arkansas Tech finished their hot second quarter with a narrow 47-46 lead over Oklahoma Baptist as they headed into the break.

Metcalfe led the charge to start the second half for the Golden Suns quickly making two jump shots to help hold a 53-50 lead over the Bison. The strong scoring performance from Lopez continued as the junior guard helped spark an 8-2 run by knocking down a pair of free throws and hitting another shot from beyond the arc to give Arkansas Tech a 61-54 lead over Oklahoma Baptist with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

The Golden Suns made the most of their trips to the line in the third going a perfect 6-6, which helped keep the Bison at bay during the remainder of the quarter. A layup from Metcalfe closed out the scoring in the quarter as Arkansas Tech continued to hold a 72-64 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Arkansas Tech struggled to find a way to score in the fourth quarter as the Bison held them scoreless for the first three and half minutes of the final period of play. Meanwhile, Oklahoma Baptist made the most of the opportunity going on an 8-0 run to open the fourth tying the game 72-72 with 6:48 left. 

Lasker finally ended the 3:30 scoring drought for the Golden Suns hitting a two point shot to take back the lead over the Bison 74-72. Following a free throw and layup from Shipman that extended the Tech lead by three, the Bison came back down the floor and found an open three pointer giving them a 78-77 lead. Following the Oklahoma Baptist triple, Shipman once again stepped up for the Golden Suns to get a shot from long range to fall and take back the lead 80-78 with 4:37 left to go.

However, the Bison stormed back holding the Golden Suns scoreless for the rest of the game to end on a 12-0 run as they walked away with the win on their home floor. Arkansas Tech was held scoreless for a total of 8:07 in the fourth quarter which allowed the Bison to comeback and win by double digits after heading into the fourth quarter down by eight.

Despite the loss, the Golden Suns still had four players reach double figures in scoring led by Lopez who put up 23 points. This was her first 20 point game since the GAC home opener against Ouachita Baptist on December 2 where she scored exactly 20. The junior guard also had three steals, four rebounds, and reached a new season high in assists with six.

Following Lopez was Shipman with 19 points, four assists and six rebounds. Metcalfe notched a double-double for the Golden Suns in the outing with 10 points and 12 boards. Closing out the double figure scorers for Tech was Lasker with 10 points, two steals and four assists.

The Golden Suns will stay on the road for their next matchup against the Harding Bisons in Searcy, Ark. on Thursday, January 13. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. that evening.