Henderson State had not lost a home game or a Great American Conference game this women’s basketball season before Saturday. Arkansas Tech ended both of those streaks, and the Golden Suns did it in runaway fashion.
Nationally ninth-ranked Arkansas Tech took control late in the first half and cruised to an 80-63 victory over the Lady Reddies at the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia.
Natalia Santos scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her 27th career double-double. Santos scored seven straight points to spark a 13-4 run over the final 5:18 of the first half that gave Arkansas Tech a 38-27 lead at halftime.
The Suns (11-2 overall, 3-2 GAC) carried that momentum over with a 20-4 spurt to start the second half. Tech led 58-31 with 11:23 to go and it maintained at least a 16-point lead the rest of the way.
“Natalia is feeling much better,” said Arkansas Tech head coach Dave Wilbers. “Her legs are feeling better, and she is running the floor better. She really took control late in the first half. This was the best game we’ve played so far this season.”
Santos was 10-of-15 from the field. She also made three steals.
Katie Horsman scored 17 points for the Suns on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. She also had the primary defensive assignment on Henderson State 3-point specialist Sheay Longstaff, who came in averaging 10.9 points per game but was held scoreless on Saturday.
“Katie locked her down,” said Wilbers. “I thought our defense was good overall, and so was our rebounding. We’ve been working on it and emphasizing it. We had four girls in the lane rebounding a lot of times today, and that is what we need.”
Arkansas Tech finished with a 46-32 rebounding edge as the Golden Suns recorded their 11th straight win over the Lady Reddies.
Tech’s Samanta Ludwig matched her career high with 12 points. Rosie Silva added 11 points, six assists and five steals.
Cheree Freeman led Henderson State with 15 points. Vanessa Pieper netted 14 points and Crystal Harrison had 10 points for the Lady Reddies (11-4, 4-1). HSU fell to 8-1 at home this season with the loss.
The Golden Suns will host Harding University for a 5:30 p.m. GAC game at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Monday, Jan. 23.
Tickets will be available at the door. Those with a valid Arkansas Tech identifiication card will be admitted free.
Click here to learn more about Arkansas Tech Athletics.
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