HSU, OBU players nominated for GAC awards

RUSSELLVILLE — A men’s player for the Henderson State Reddies, a women’s player for Henderson and a women’s player for Ouachita Baptist were among the nominees announced Monday for the Great American Conference’s Players of the Week for the sixth week of the basketball season.

Brett Cannon, a senior guard for East Central for East Central in Oklahoma, won the GAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award after he registered just the second triple-double in GAC history after he tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists against Southwestern Adventist. Against Dallas Christian, he notched 14 points, nine assists and five rebounds.

Bethany Franks, a freshman forward for Southwestern Oklahoma State, was named the GAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after she helped the No. 20 Lady Bulldogs finish the non-conference slate of their season with a win, 93-89, against Oklahoma Christian. She set career highs with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Henderson’s Chris Parker and Haleigh Henson and OBU’s Kori Bullard were listed by the conference’s notable nominees.

Parker, a freshman guard from Plano, Texas, tallied a career-high 22 points and added eight assists in a 112-67 rout over Ecclesia College Saturday at the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia. He ranks third on the team with 11.4 points per game and is one of four Reddie men averaging double figures.

Kaylon Tappin, a senior guard from Little Rock and a transfer from Arkansas State University Mid-South in West Memphis, leads the team with 19.4 points per game. Henderson is next scheduled to play on Dec. 30 at home against Paul Quinn College.

Henson, a senior guard from Greenwood, collected 13 points and seven assists in a 55-52 win against Rogers State Saturday at Duke Wells. Henson is the team’s leading scorer with 14.3 points per game. The Reddie women will next face East Central on Jan. 4 in Ada, Okla.

Bullard, a senior forward from Lake Hamilton, shot 4-for-5 from 3-point on her way to a gamehigh 16 points Friday in a 69-54 win for Ouachita over Rogers State at Bill Vining Arena. Bullard joined the team after volleyball season and now leads the team in rebounds with 6.6 per game. OBU is next scheduled to face the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith on Dec. 30 at Bill Vining.

The other notable men’s nominees were Harris Brown, Arkansas Tech; Cody Halvorson, Northwestern Oklahoma State; and Adnan Jahic, Oklahoma Baptist. The other notable women’s nominees were Devon Branch, East Central; Tasha Edge, Oklahoma Baptist; and Ryann Goodsell, Arkansas Tech.