[January 12, 2008]

Contact: Houston Taylor

MEMPHIS – Southern Arkansas got off to a rough start in Gulf South Conference play Saturday, dropping a 61-43 decision to Christian Brothers (13-1, 1-0) at Canale Arena.

Poor shooting decimated the Lady Muleriders (4-9, 0-1) as they hit just 15 of 56 from the floor for the game for 26.8 percent. Compounded by a 50-29 whipping on the boards made for a long afternoon, as did trying to handle the Lady Buccaneers’ Crystal Shelton, whose double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds paced CBU.

SAU actually jumped out to a 7-2 advantage in the first five minutes of play, but an 8-2 run gave Christian Brothers its first lead at 13:01. Goldie White’s jumper gave Southern Arkansas a 19-16 margin at 8:24, but when the Lady Bucs went up 21-19 a minute later, they would never trail again. It was 33-27 at the break.

The Lady Muleriders hung around through the first part of the second frame and trailed just 46-38 on Blair Jordan’s lay-up with 8:57 left. But a 9-3 CBU spree spread it out from there as they cruised to the end with Michelle Malone’s jumper at 16 ticks providing Christian Brothers’ largest lead and the final margin.

SAU hit just 6 of 26 (23.1) shots in the second half after a 9 of 30 (30.0) performance in the opening frame. They were 5 of 22 (22.7) on three-pointers, but zeroed on 8 attempts in the final half, and finished 8 of 14 (57.1) at the free throw line.

The Lady Buccaneers managed 22 of 52 (42.3) from the field, including 2 of 11 (18.2) from beyond the arc, and hit 15 of 25 (60.0) at the charity stripe.

Shelton hit 6 of 11 shots and 3 of 6 free throws for her 15 points, with four of her 14 rebounds coming from the offensive end. She was joined by teammate Sheena DeBose, who also scored 15, and grabbed eight boards. Malone added 10 points, and Erin Nigh scored nine and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Jordan matched game-high honors in scoring a team-high 15 points for Southern Arkansas. White had a near double, finishing with 14 points and nine boards. Kayla Jones added 12 points, and Shanaye Davis rounded out the Lady Muleriders’ scoring with two points. Four other players saw action, but none scored as SAU got nothing from its bench.

Southern Arkansas continues GSC play on the road Thursday as they travel to Arkadelphia for a 6 p.m. tip-off against Henderson State.