Hit or miss for the Reddies
The Reddies suffer an agonizing defeat to rival Ouachita Baptist
March 5, 2021
After coming off of one of their biggest wins of the season, Henderson State returned to Arkadelphia for a confrontation with neighborhood rival Ouachita Baptist. The first meeting between the Tigers and Reddies took place at OBU, where HSU defeated the home team, 71-61. Reddies’ head coach Jill Thomas and her squad hoped to duplicate a similar outcome, this time at the Duke-Wells Center.
Henderson converted on the first few baskets of the game before the two teams went neck-and-neck for three minutes. With Henderson hot on their trail, Ouachita captured a slight four-point lead within the last minute of the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers possessed a dangerous advantage as the Reddies’ defense took a significant hit, finding themselves at an 18-point deficit (40-22). HSU sophomore guard, Gracie Raby took charge, putting five points on the scoreboard to give Henderson a much-needed push.
As the second quarter ended, Henderson slowly dug themselves out of the trenches to repair the score deficit. They fell short offensively, only scoring 32 points overall for the first half compared to OBU’s 41.
Reddies’ sophomore forward Tamia Templeton got off to a fast start in the second half, with a quick jumper for her first points of the night. Lani Snowden ( senior guard) and Raby followed suit, getting them enough production to steal the lead (43-42). A sensational triple by freshman guard Sonni Martin hooked HSU up for the lead at the 6:15 mark. The Lady Tigers snuck up behind their Ravine rivals to tie the game with only seconds left.
It was fair game for both teams at the start of the final period. The win was within reach for the Reddies for most of the quarter until the last minute, where fouling got the best of them. A measly three free throws were enough to I’ve OBU the win and cost HSU the game, resulting in a 69-66 loss.
Despite the loss, Gracie Raby crossed off the list her first career double-double, scoring 13 points and 12 rebounds. Snowden put up 12 points on the board as well.
Henderson awaits Harding University on February 25th for the Reddies’ Senior Night at the Duke Wells Center.
