BASKETBALL
ASU men add Buffalo transfer Hardnett
Arkansas State officially announced the addition of LaQuill Hardnett on Tuesday afternoon, bringing the former University at Buffalo forward to Jonesboro with one season of eligibility remaining.
Hardnett spent three seasons with the Bulls after redshirting his true freshman season at Cincinnati in 2018-19. ASU Coach Bryan Hodgson recruited Hardnett to Buffalo when the Philadelphia native was a high school prospect.
Last year at Buffalo, the 6-8, 205-pound Hardnett started 18 of 31 games and shot 49.2% from the field, including 34.3% on three-pointers. Hardnett also averaged 11.1 points and led the Bulls with 7.3 rebounds per game.
Former UALR standout Kourouma transfers to Arizona
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball Player of the Year Sali Kourouma announced her transfer to Arizona on Twitter on Tuesday after spending the past two seasons at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
She led the Trojans with 18.4 points per game and was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference second team in 2021-22 before averaging 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds this season for a UALR team that claimed the Ohio Valley's outright regular-season title.
-- Mitchell Gladstone
GOLF
UA men finish 3rd in Virginia
Senior Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira fired a 6-under 65 on Tuesday to move up 29 spots and help the University of Arkansas men push into a third place finish at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial at Charlottesville, Va.
The Razorbacks tied for the day's low round at 11-under 273 with tournament champion Florida State and surged past No. 6 Auburn, which began the day in third place but dropped to a tie for fourth.
Arkansas senior Segundo Oliva Pinto shot under 70 in all three rounds, including a 67 on the par 71 Birdwood Golf Course, to lead the Razorbacks with a fifth-place finish at 8 under for the three-round tournament.
Senior Wil Gibson of Jonesboro tied for 13th at 4 under, while Fernandez de Oliveira tied for 20th at 2 under and senior Julian Perico tied for 22nd at 1 under.
No. 7 Florida State ran away with the team title at 41 under.
Virginia's Ben James, who tied Fernandez de Oliveira for the day's low round, shared medalist honors at 11 under with Florida State's Cole Anderson.
The Razorbacks will return to action on April 19 at the SEC championships in St. Simons Island, Ga.
Schmidt 8th, ASU men 6th at Tiger Collegiate
Freshman Thomas Schmidt posted a 1-under 71 in Tuesday's final round at Missouri's Tiger Collegiate, tying for eighth place among individuals at 10-under 206 while Arkansas State finished sixth among a field of 14 teams at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo.
The Red Wolves' 3-under 285 in Tuesday's final round put them at 23-under 841 for the tournament, 45 shots back of No. 5 Illinois, which cleared the rest of the teams by 28 strokes en route to a team title.
Luka Naglic and Devyn Pappas each carded even-par rounds of 72 Tuesday, finishing at 6-under 210 and 5-under 211, respectively -- good for shares of 21st and 25th place.
UALR men finish 9th at Aggie Invitational
A rough final round Tuesday dropped the University of Arkansas-Little Rock men to a ninth-place finish among 13 teams at The Aggie Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M at Traditions Golf Club in Bryan, Texas.
The Trojans, beginning the day fifth at 4-over, posted a 9-over 297 to finish the week at 13-over par 877 -- 25 shots behind Louisville, which took the team title.
Jansen Smith was the best of UALR's five players, tying for 12th at 2-under 214. No other Trojans finished the 54 holes under par, with Magnus Lomholt tying for 34th at 4-over 220.
HSU women win in Joplin
The Henderson State University women's team closed its regular season Tuesday with its fourth consecutive victory, winning the Dr. Virginia Laas Invitational in Joplin, Mo.
The Reddies finished with a 52-over 916 total as a team. HSU's Jinna Boonbumroongusk won medalist honors at the event after a final-round even-par 72 put her at 1-over 217 to win by nine strokes. Gracen Blount finished in a tie for fifth place individually with a 14-over 230 total, while Lily Nelson tied for eighth place with a 16-over 232 total.
SOFTBALL
Williams Baptist sweeps Lyon
Williams Baptist swept a doubleheader from Lyon College in two run-rule games Tuesday in Batesville, winning the first game 11-2 in 5 innings and the second game 9-1 in 6 innings.
The Eagles (16-21, 7-6 American Midwest Conference) scored five runs in the third inning of the first game, highlighted by RBI singles from Megan Weis, Kennedy Johnson and Madison Knight. Kaydra Cole added an RBI groundout and an RBI single, while Shelby Jones had a two-run single in the fifth. MK Duffield had a solo home run for Lyon (15-19, 3-11) and Savannah Lee added an RBI single. Angel Gillette pitched all 5 innings for Williams Baptist, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with 1 walk and 9 strikeouts.
Cole had a second two-run single in the first inning of the second game. The Eagles added to their lead in the fourth on Kaylee Wolfe's RBI single and a Lyon error that allowed three runners to score. Maddi Altenthal hit a two-run home run in the fifth and Paige Thomas added an RBI single in the sixth. Campbell's RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning that scored Sophie Varela accounted for Lyon's only run. Cassidi Doyle went the distance in the circle for WBC, allowing 1 run on 4 hits with a walk and 11 strikeouts.
TRACK AND FIELD
SAU, Harding athletes honored
Southern Arkansas University junior Bryson Johnson and Harding University sophomore Antiwain Jones were honored Tuesday as the Great American Conference's men's track and field athletes of the week, while SAU freshman Jordan Collins was named the women's track athlete of the week.
Johnson earned an NCAA Division II provisional mark in the 200 meters with a second-place time of 21.20 seconds at the Little Rock Invitational. He ran the 100 in 10.83, while running the opening leg of the winning 400 relay and the third leg of the 1,600 relay team that placed second.
Jones cleared 7 feet, 1.75 inches in the high jump at the Harding Open, becoming the first Harding athlete to clear at least seven feet in an outdoor competition. His clearance set a conference record and ranks second in NCAA Division II this season.
Collins had four top-10 finishes at the Little Rock Invitational. She posted the fastest time in the conference (57.65) to finish fourth in the 400. She took seventh in the 200 with a time of 25.21 and participated in both relays. The Muleriders took third in both the 400 relay and the 1,600 relay.
-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services