D’Rae Tullock took over in the fourth quarter to propel nationally 23rd-ranked Arkansas Tech University to a 74-62 Great American Conference women’s basketball victory over Southern Nazarene University at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Thursday night.
Tullock scored 12 of her season-high 16 points during a span of less than five minutes in the final period as the Golden Suns (15-3 overall, 11-3 GAC) stayed two games behind Harding University for first place in the GAC standings.
“We finally got our transition offense going, and that opened things up for D’Rae down low,” said Arkansas Tech head coach Dave Wilbers. “She just needs to be healthy. She and our trainers have been doing a fantastic job with her rehab. Our starters played really well tonight, but our bench players made the difference in the game.”
The Golden Suns moved in front to stay with a 12-0 run over a span of 5:36 in the first quarter. By the time Danielle Frachiseur capped the surge with a pair of free throws at the 2:15 mark of the opening period, Arkansas Tech owned a 15-6 lead.
The Suns went on to hold a 21-13 edge at the end of the first quarter and a 38-28 advantage at halftime.
Tech led by as many as 15 points in the third period before Southern Nazarene pulled back within 53-47 with 9:03 to go in the fourth quarter.
That was Tullock’s cue. She scored eight consecutive Golden Suns points to push the Arkansas Tech lead to 61-48 with 6:48 remaining.
Kelsey McClure removed any remaining doubt with a one-woman 6-0 spurt over a span of 30 seconds, giving the Golden Suns a 70-55 margin with 4:22 left.
McClure finished with 16 points, while Anissa Pounds had 14 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Frachiseur contributed 10 points and six rebounds. Tech accumulated a 38-25 rebounding advantage.
Callee Mason had a team-high 16 points for Southern Nazarene (9-8, 6-7).
The Golden Suns will host Oklahoma Baptist University for a 1 p.m. GAC contest at Tucker Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 4.
