The Lady Bisons (24-6) held the Rangers (15-15) to 32.0 percent shooting in the first half. In the second quarter it dropped to 21.4 percent as Harding extended its two-point first-quarter lead to 12, 34-22, at the intermission.
After scoring 12 points in the first half, Hawley made 6-of-8 shots in the second half to finish with a game-high 28. In two tournament games
this season, Hawley has scored 45 points on 18-of-30 shooting and she has 18 rebounds.
Hawley’s double-double gave her 68 in her career, a figure that ties her with Barton’s Shanika Peterkin for the fourth-most in Division II
history. Additionally, she moved into 15th place on the DII all-time rebounds list with 1,332.
Maddi Holt totaled 12 points and five rebounds. Rory Geer added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Kira Bass and Carly Craig scored 41 of the Rangers’ 57 points. Bass went 7-for-10 from the floor. Craig, who on Friday became the program’s
leader in 3-point field goals, went 3-for-7 from the 3-point arc and added a game-high six assists.
Harding will face Southeastern Oklahoma State for the GAC title at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Lady Bisons and Savage Storm each won on their
respective home floors during the regular season. The two have faced off at four prior GAC Championships. Harding owns a 3-1 advantage, but Southeastern Oklahoma State won the most recent contest, in 2021.
The appearance in the final, the program’s seventh, moves the Lady Bisons into a tie with Arkansas Tech and Southwestern Oklahoma State
for the most in GAC history.
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