SHAWNEE, Okla. - Following their 67-65 quarterfinal win over the No. 2 seed Southern Nazarene, the Arkansas Tech women's basketball team takes down the No. 3 seed Harding 68-65 in their semifinal matchup to advance to the Great American Conference Tournament finals. The Golden Suns will face Southwestern Oklahoma State in the championship game of the GAC Tournament.

Leading the way for the Golden Suns was the backcourt duo of junior Kaley Shipman and senior Jayana Sanders as the pair dropped 17 points each. Shipman shot 58.3% (7-of-12) from the floor, grabbed four rebounds and picked up an assist in her full 40 minutes on the court. Sanders hit 60.0% (6-of-10) of her shots from field goal range and shot 83.3% (5-of-6) from the free throw line. Sanders also poured in five rebounds, four assists, a block and collected a steal.

Following the backcourt pair was senior forward Nikki Metcalfe putting up a season-high 16 points against the Bisons. Metcalfe was a big lift on the defensive end of the court blocking four shots, picking up a steal and grabbing seven boards. Senior guard Tori Lasker provided a lift as the floor general scoring seven points and dishing out four assists. Closing out the leaders for the Golden Suns was freshman guard Alex Hill with seven points, three steals and 14 rebounds. This marks the third straight game collecting at least 10 rebounds for Hill, but was just three points shy of her third consecutive double-double.

The Golden Suns opened the game strong with three straight baskets from Metcalfe, Lasker and Shipman to go on a 7-0 run. The Bisons quickly responded, putting together their own 7-0 run to tie the game with 4:19 left in the first quarter of play. Both teams hit their next two shots to keep things tied at 11. A jumper by Harding put them back in control leading 13-11 with just under two minutes left in the first. Following a missed jumper from Metcalfe, the Bisons would be sent to the charity stripe from a Golden Suns foul and would go 1-of-2 to close the first quarter with a 14-11 lead.

Harding would start the second quarter going 2-of-3 from the floor but a fastbreak layup by Sanders and a pair of free throws from Metcalfe would tie the game at 18. The Bisons would take control of the game once again with a pair of shots to put them up 22-19 with 4:51 left in the second quarter. The Golden Suns made shots to try and cut into the deficit, but Harding would match with their own shots to hold a 28-25 lead heading into halftime.

It looked like Harding was about to start running away with the game as they started the third quarter on an 11-5 run to extend their lead to 39-30 with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter of action. A two point jumper from Metcalfe started a run that would put the Golden Suns back into the game. Hill knocked down a pair of shots at the line and Shipman grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to bring Arkansas Tech back within three still down 36-39 with 5:07 to go in the third.

Both sides traded shots for the next few possessions, but a three-point basket by the Bisons following a jumper from Metcalfe would put them back up by seven at 49-42. The Golden Suns would get the final say in the third quarter however ending on an 8-1 run capped off by the play of the night from Metcalfe who hits a long two point jumper in the corner at the buzzer to tie the game at 50 a piece heading into the final quarter of play. The shot from Metcalfe was the second buzzer beater of the GAC Tournament for the Golden Suns and the third shot made with less than a second left in a quarter.

The final quarter of action was a tightly contested battle as both sides went at each other shot for shot. Following a made free throw by Harding, a layup from Sanders and Lasker as well as a jumper from Shipman put the Golden Suns back on top holding a 58-57 lead with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter. Arkansas Tech continued to mount pressure on Harding with another layup from Lasker and a successful trip to the charity stripe as well as a layup from Sanders to extend the lead to 64-60 with 39 seconds left to play.

The rest of the game came down to free throws as the Golden Suns were able to out duel the Bisons on the line and hold the offense to walk away with the 68-65 GAC Tournament semifinal victory.

The Golden Suns will play in the GAC Tournament championship game against Southwestern Oklahoma State tomorrow afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. in Shawnee.