Golden Suns Stay Tied for First Place

Jessica Weatherford, Jenny Vining and Natalia Santos carried the scoring load for the nationally seventh-ranked Arkansas Tech Golden Suns in a 67-55 win over Arkansas-Monticello at Steelman Field House in Monticello on Thursday night.

That trio combined for 88 percent of Tech’s scoring as the Golden Suns (24-2 overall, 11-2 Gulf South Conference) remained tied with Delta State for first place in the GSC West Division with one regular season game remaining.

The Lady Statesmen (22-2, 11-2) beat Harding 79-65 in Searcy on Thursday and will close out their regular season by hosting Henderson State on Saturday.

Tech outscored UAM 21-9 over the final 10:25 to turn a tie score into a 12-point win.

Included in that spurt was Vining’s 99th 3-pointer of the season, a trey that broke Mindy Lasater’s 11-year old school record for most 3-pointers in a season.

Vining (photograped) scored 18 of her 21 points after halftime.

Weatherford led the Suns with 22 points. She also grabbed nine rebounds.

Santos had 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. She was 8-of-11 from the field and she made four steals.

Chelsea Johnson led UA-Monticello (10-15, 4-9) with 11 points. Monica Perkins-Miller had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Cotton Blossoms.

The Golden Suns will conclude their 2009-10 regular season by hosting Christian Brothers at 4 p.m. Saturday at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville. Doors will open at 3 p.m.

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