ARKADELPHIA- Ouachita Baptist Head Women’s Basketball Coach Garry Crowder collected his 250th victory with a 83-73 victory over Harding in Gulf South Conference action at Bill Vining Arena on Thursday.
The victory turned out to be an important as Ouachita (15-5, 6-2 GSC West) still largely controls its destiny in the Gulf South race, as Harding (14-6, 5-3 GSC West) came into the match up tied with the Lady Tigers in overall record. Ouachita swept the Lady Bisons with the victory, as the Lady Tigers collected a 76-61 victory in Searcy on Jan. 8.
Crowder is in his 15th season at Ouachita, since his arrival during the 1995-96 season. Ouachita is off to a great start to the 2010-11 season, as the Lady Tigers move back into the GSC title hunt. The Lady Tigers are in sole place of third currently, one game behind both Delta State (7-1) and Arkansas Tech (6-1). Harding, meanwhile, is a game behind Ouachita in fourth place in the jam-packed GSC West Division.
Ouachita shot 50 percent on the night, as five players collected double digit points, led by a 20-point effort from junior A’Laeshia Adams. The Lady Tigers battled to a 35-29 lead at halftime, then outscored Harding 48-44 in the final half to move to 7-1 at Bill Vining Arena this season.
After a lay-up from junior Domino Miller at the 16:21 mark, Ouachita never led by less than 10 points. The Lady Tigers lead ballooned to 20 points on three different occasions, including a Miller three-pointer with 10:14 remaining.
It was a game where turnovers were aplenty, as both teams combined for 44 turnovers. Ouachita, however, again found a way to mix in a consistent effort scoring-wise from its starting lineup, as junior Domino Miller added 14 points and reigning GSC Player of the Week, junior Beulah Osueke, continued strong play with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Ouachita shot 50 percent on 29-of-57, including 79 percent from the free-throw line. Senior Gabby Coleman scored 11 points and added five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the winning effort.
For Harding, Bailey St. Clair scored 18 points and added six rebounds, while Sierra Rollins collected 17 points and 10 rebounds for Harding, who shot 41 percent. The Lady Bisons held the advantage in rebounding, 37-34.
Ouachita will take a week off from action, then take on Delta State on Feb. 10 at Bill Vining Arena at 6 p.m.
