FORT SMITH, Ark. – Trailing at the end of the first three quarters of their Great American Conference Tournament Quarterfinal game against No. 6-seed Ouachita Baptist on Friday night, the No. 3-seed Arkansas Tech women's basketball team had a fourth quarter for the ages to ensure they would not trail at the end of the game.
Having only scored 47 points through the first three quarters of action and trailing by five points going into the fourth, the Golden Suns erupted for 35 points in the final period to not only erase the deficit but flip it into an eventual nine-point margin of victory, 82-73.
A major factor in that sensational fourth quarter was sophomore forward
AbbiGrace Cunningham. In the fourth quarter, Cunningham would score 19 of her 28 points as she was 5-of-7 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
Twice during that hot streak, Cunningham scored eight straight points for the Golden Suns. The first of those individual runs turned a one-point deficit at the 6:39 mark into a four-point lead with 5:18 to play. The second run swelled a four-point Tech lead at the 4:23 mark into a nine-point lead with 2:09 left.
Ouachita managed to cut the lead down to five points three times over the final two minutes of action, but each time, the Golden Suns answered right back with either a pair of made free throws or a bucket, allowing them to stave off any real threat.
With the win, the Golden Suns move on to the semifinals of the tournament where they will face No. 2-seed Northwestern Oklahoma on Saturday evening. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 8 p.m. from Grizzly Arena in Fort Smith.
