ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech women's basketball team battled from behind for most of their road game at Henderson State on Saturday and nearly completed a sensational second half comeback before ultimately falling short, 84-80.
Down from the outset, the Golden Suns found themselves facing their largest deficit of the game late in the second quarter. Trailing by 16 points, 46-30, with 2:32 left in the first half, the Golden Suns would close out the remainder of the half on a 7-0 run to pull within single digits of the Henderson lead by halftime.
The signature moment of that half-ending run was a beyond half-court heave to beat the buzzer by freshman sensation
Pacious McDaniel. Not only was it the shot that made the Reddie lead single digits, it was also the first collegiate three pointer for McDaniel, who already came into the game as the team's leading scorer at 18.3 ppg.
By the end of the game, McDaniel was once more the team's leading scorer as she poured in a single-game high 28 points which also pushed her season scoring average to 19.7 ppg.
In the second half, the Reddies remained in the lead throughout the entirety of the third quarter, but the Golden Suns were chipping away at the lead throughout and eventually got as close as three points by the end of the period on a pair of made McDaniel free throws.
In that third quarter, the Golden Suns would out-score Henderson, 25-19, and did so on efficient offense to the tune of 53% shooting overall (10-of-19) from the floor.
The Golden Suns' surge continued to pick up steam early in the fourth quarter and a rambunctious 7-0 run over the first two minutes of play gave Tech their first lead of the game and a four-point advantage, 69-65. McDaniel was the capper of the run with a painted jumper, but an early layup by
Alex Hill and a left wing three by
Jaki Rollins also encompassed the scoring.
By the 7:09 mark, the Reddies were able to pull even and a minute or so later of action went up by three on a trifecta by Tori Gittens.
The next four points went to Tech, giving the Golden Suns the lead and came on a pair of free throws by
ClaraGrace Prater and a mid-range jumper by McDaniel.
At the 4:29 mark, the Reddies recaptured the lead by a point, but by the 3:34 mark, the score was tied again, this time at 75-all on a pair of makes at the free throw line by McDaniel. Despite the tie however, Henderson would not relinquish the lead.
On their ensuing trip down the floor, the Reddies made good on a layup to go back up by a bucket with just over three minutes left to play. The Golden Suns were able to get within a point of the lead not long after, but a clutch three-pointer by Ashley Farrar with just over 30 seconds left gave the Reddies enough of a cushion to salt the game away at the free throw line.
The Golden Suns will now prepare to head home for their final game of the calendar year as they will take on Southern Arkansas on Sunday, December 17. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m. from inside Tucker Coliseum.
