RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech women's basketball team begins their slate of Great American Conference games for the 2022-23 season with a 75-63 win over Arkansas-Monticello at home in Tucker Coliseum. They now own a 1-0 GAC record and advance to a 3-2 record overall on the season.

Guard Jalei Oglesby got the offense going for the Golden Suns with a pull up two-point jumper to get herself and her team on the board. Following the next bucket by the Cotton Blossoms, the Golden Suns struck an early blow going on a 14-0 run that saw baskets from Oglesby, Kaley Shipman and Hayleigh Wyrick. Tech knocked down their first triple of the night on that run following a steal by Shipman who passed it ahead to Wyrick to knock down the long range triple and give Tech a 16-2 lead with 5:14 left in the first quarter of action.

Following the run by the Golden Suns, the Cotton Blossoms managed to string together an 11-2 run to put themselves back in the game as the Golden Suns still held an 18-13 lead. Claragrace Prater would break the scoring drought for Arkansas Tech with a layup inside. An offensive rebound by Dana Thompson off a missed free throw led to a made bucket under the basket for Oglesby to close out the scoring for the Golden Suns in the first quarter of play. Tech outscored Arkansas-Monticello 23-17 in the first quarter. 

The Golden Suns would strike first in the second quarter as Julie Wagner grabbed her own miss and threaded a pass through the Cotton Blossom defense to an open Claudia Bridges who drilled a wide open three point bucket. During the next possession, Thompson came up with a steal and passed it down the court to Bridges who got the layup to fall on the fastbreak basket in the paint.

Following a shifty layup off the glass by Shipman, Arkansas-Monticello got a three-pointer to fall to make it a 30-20 Tech lead with 8:04 left to play in the second quarter. Over the next three minutes of action, Wagner and Marta Duda would pick up their first points of the game with layups inside the paint. Shipman assisted on both baskets by Wagner and Duda.

Both sides struggled to find any kind of offensive rhythm down the stretch of the second quarter with only one basket scored in the final 5:20 second of the quarter. The final made basket of the second quarter would come from a three ball by Arkansas-Monticello. The Golden Suns would still head into the halftime break holding a 35-24 lead over the Cotton Blossoms.

Oglesby and Prater got the first two shots of the third quarter to fall for Arkansas Tech to begin the second half of action. Wyrick would knock down her second shot from beyond-the-arc on the night off a nice assist from Oglesby. Following the basket by Wyrick, Oglesby poked the ball away from the Cotton Blossoms for a steal and went coast-to-coast down the floor for a fastbreak layup in the paint to give the Golden Suns a 45-27 lead with 6:32 left to play in the third quarter.

Two successful trips to the line for Prater and Wyrick extended the Tech lead out to 49-32. The Golden Suns would end their third quarter scoring effort with a three from Bridges and a layup inside by Hill to take a 59-38 lead into the fourth and final quarter of play.

The Cotton Blossoms would start the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run getting an layup inside to fall as well as hitting a three-point basket to make it a 59-43 Tech lead. Both sides traded buckets over their next two possesions each with Shipman and Wagner making a pair of layups in the paint and Arkansas-Monticello knocking down another three as well as an layup inside. 

A quick 6-0 run by Arkansas-Monticello brought the Tech lead down to 11, but a layup inside from Oglesby made it a 67-54 lead for the Golden Suns with 5:45 left in the game.

Arkansas-Monticello would cut the Tech lead to single digits following a three-point basket that made it a 69-61 lead for Tech. Two made free throws at the line by the Cotton Blossoms would bring the game within just six points, but the Golden Suns would close the game with a pair of two-point shots from Wyrick and one from Oglesby to take control in the final minutes and start their GAC slate with a 75-63 win at home. 

The Golden Suns had three players hit double figures in scoring with Oglesby leading the way with 18 points on the night. Oglesby shot well from the floor as well going 9-of-14 on the night. Wyrick followed Oglesby with 17 total points and four assists against the Cotton Blossoms, while Shipman put up 12 points and came away with a team-high two steals. 

Leading the way on defense for Arkansas Tech was Thompson with a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks. 

The Golden Suns will hit the road for their next outing as they travel to Arkadelphia to face Ouachita Baptist on Saturday. The game against the Tigers is set for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday afternoon. Read Full Article