MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Bouncing back after a tough home loss to Henderson State on senior night, the Arkansas Tech women's basketball team has officially secured a spot in the Great American Conference Tournament following their 80-65 road win over Southern Arkansas in their final game of the 2021-22 regular season. The Golden Suns finish the 2021-22 regular season with a 14-12 overall record and an even 11-11 record among Great American Conference opponents. 

All five of the starters for the Golden Suns hit double figures in scoring in their final regular season game of the year and were led by freshman guard Alex Hill with a career-high 23 point and career-high 17 rebound double-double shooting 64.3% (9-of-14) from the field. Her nine made shots were also a career high. Hill also set new career highs in made free throws with five and assists with four against Southern Arkansas. Following Hill was senior guard Jayana Sanders with 15 points, three rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore guard Kaley Shipman was next with 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in the game. Rounding out the double-figure scorers for Arkansas Tech was senior guard Tori Lasker and senior forward Nikki Metcalfe each with 10 points. Lasker added six rebounds and two assists, while Metcalfe contributed four rebounds and three blocks.

The Golden Suns got rolling early opening the game with a three pointer from Jayana Sanders to quickly take a 3-0 lead over the Muleriders. Arkansas Tech continued to keep the high level of offense going as they proceeded on an 11-2 run capped off by Shipman's second three pointer of the afternoon to extend the lead to 14-5 with 5:19 left in the first quarter.

Southern Arkansas got themselves back into the game on a 10-3 run to cut Tech's lead to 17-15 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter. The Golden Suns would close out the opening quarter as the stronger team though with a 21-20 lead heading into the second quarter of play.

The Muleriders started the second quarter with a three to grab their first lead of the game. After a few back and forth scoring efforts by both sides, Hill grabbed the lead back for Tech with a layup and Sanders extended it with a shot from long range to hold a 32-27 lead over Southern Arkansas with 6:33 left in the first half. The Golden Suns would close the half with an 11-10 run to keep the Muleriders at bay and keep a 43-37 lead heading into the halftime break.

The Golden Suns out shot the Muleriders in the third quarter 50.00% (8-of-16) to 43.75% (7-of-16) and outscored them 21-18 to take a 64-55 lead into the fourth and final quarter of play.

Hill took over the game in the fourth quarter ensuring Arkansas Tech would walk out with the win as she scored ten points and made four of the last five made shots for the team. The Golden Suns once again had the better shooting numbers in the final quarter at 53.33% (8-of-15) compared to the Muleriders 20.00% (4-of-20) and outscored them 16-10 to win the scoring battle for all four quarters and take home the 80-65 victory.

In terms of team numbers for the game, Tech shot 49.2% (30-of-61) overall from the floor and 36.4% (4-of-11) from beyond the arc. The Golden Suns also put up an impressive 46 total points in the paint alongside 15 points off turnovers, 16 second chance points and 20 points on fast break opportunities.

The Golden Suns will now get ready and prepare for the postseason as they head to the Great American Conference Tournament which will be held from Thursday, March 3 to Sunday, March 6 in Shawnee, Okla.. Their exact seed and first-round opponent will be announced later this evening.