[February 16, 2008]

By: Houston Taylor

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Amanda Grappe and Krishna Baker combined for 55 points and 21 rebounds and No. 12 Arkansas Tech (20-3, 9-1 GSC) used a 28-4 second half run to roll to an 87-58 win over Southern Arkansas (4-18, 0-10 GSC) in Gulf South Conference action Saturday at Tucker Coliseum.

The Lady Muleriders were in it for the first 30 minutes until the Golden Suns exploded. Trailing 44-30 at the break, SAU used an 18-4 spree at the beginning of the second frame to knot it, 48-48, on a three-pointer from Goldie White at 14:49. Southern Arkansas was down just 55-52 at 11:30 and 59-54 at 9:25 and had the 12th-ranked team nervous, but all of a sudden the wheels came off. Baker’s lay-up and free throw on a called foul at that point jump-started a huge run as Tech rattled off 21 unanswered points for a commanding 80-54 advantage with 3:44 left. Baker scored 10 during that span while the Lady Muleriders were missing 10 consecutive shots. The Golden Suns went up by 32 points, 87-55, at 1:01 before Meiaca Black’s trey for SAU set the final deficit.

Southern Arkansas played its best ball in quite some time as they continuously rallied over the first 30 minutes of the game. ATU jumped out to an 8-0 lead until White’s trey finally put the Lady Muleriders on the board at 16:34, but the homers were up 15-4 at 14:26. But a 19-8 SAU run tied it, 23-23, when Blair Jordan bombed from downtown at 7:42. A third consecutive trey, White’s second of the trio, actually pushed Southern Arkansas up, 26-23, seconds later, but a 21-4 spree gave Arkansas Tech the 14-point advantage at the break.

Grappe finished with 29 points on the night and pulled down 12 rebounds, including seven offensive, while Baker had 26 points, nine boards, and six blocked shots. Grappe’s sister, Ashley, tossed out 13 assists.

The Golden Suns had the hot hand, hitting 35 of 56 from the floor for 62.5 percent, including 4 of 7 (57.1) treys, and canned 13 of 14 (92.9) free throws.

The Lady Muleriders were just 17 of 51 (33.3), 7 of 17 (41.2) from beyond the arc, and 17 of 20 (85.0) at the charity stripe.

White led the Lady Muleriders with 21 points and five rebounds. Jordan and Shanaye Davis contributed 10 points each.

ATU held a huge 39-19 rebound margin, using that to outscore SAU 58-12 in the lane. Each team suffered 19 turnovers.

Southern Arkansas’ competition against ranked teams continues Thursday as they travel to Cleveland, Miss., to face No. 1 Delta State. The Lady Statesmen handed the Lady Muleriders a 74-59 setback in Magnolia on January 24. Tip-off from Cleveland is set for 6 p.m.