When Sarah Heard accumulated four first-half fouls for Arkansas Tech University on Thursday night, it appeared the freshman from Australia would have a limited impact on the game.
Wrong.
Heard scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter and forced a turnover with 14.6 seconds remaining to help the Golden Suns rally for an 81-78 Great American Conference win over the East Central University Tigers at the Kerr Activities Center in Ada, Okla.
Included in Heard’s big finish was the go-ahead 3-pointer with 38.6 seconds remaining. Her trey from the top of the key off a Jayana Sanders assist gave Arkansas Tech a 79-78 lead.
“Sarah will hit that shot eight out of 10 times,” said Dave Wilbers, ATU head coach. “I have all the confidence in the world in her taking that shot. Jayana executed it perfectly. We just made some really big plays down the stretch.”
A defensive rebound and two subsequent free throws by Kaley Shipman with 3.4 seconds left provided the Golden Suns with their final margin.
ECU’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was no good and ATU escaped the Kerr Center with a women’s basketball win for just the third time in its last nine visits.
Arkansas Tech (12-5 overall, 9-4 GAC) shot 62 percent from the field during the opening quarter and led 24-19 after 10 minutes.
Turnovers and poor shooting cost the Golden Suns their lead. Arkansas Tech committed eight turnovers and shot 3-of-15 from the field during the second quarter.
East Central, which held a 15-4 edge in points off turnovers during the first half, took advantage and grabbed a 40-32 lead at halftime.
The Golden Suns did not take their first lead of the second half until Lycia Peevy made a pair of free throws to give Tech a 71-70 advantage with 4:48 left in the fourth quarter.
ECU regained the lead and built it to 78-73 before Heard took over down the stretch. Her go-ahead 3-pointer was preceded by a 3-point play at the 1:13 mark that pulled ATU within 78-76.
Shipman had a team-high 22 points for the Suns. Peevy finished with a career-high 19 points. They were a combined 8-of-10 from 3-point range. As a team, Arkansas Tech was 13-of-23 (57 percent) from beyond the arc.
Ke’Vonshaye Stackhouse and Sanders added 12 points apiece for ATU. Stackhouse grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Kendall Schulte scored a career-high 22 points and Hannah Ladd matched her career high with 22 points for the Tigers (4-15, 2-11).
The Golden Suns’ win, combined with Harding University’s 71-59 victory at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, means that Arkansas Tech will play for first place in the GAC standings when it faces Southeastern Oklahoma State University (13-4, 10-3) on Saturday, Feb. 1.
Tip-off at Bloomer Sullivan Arena in Durant is planned for 1 p.m. Live coverage will be available from KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com.
“Our team is playing solid,” said Wilbers. “We are getting good shots. It’s like old times. It’s February and we’re playing for first place. This team has overcome a lot. The most important thing right now is that we keep getting better.”
