Contact: Houston Taylor
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Senior center Kmaria Hobbs (Clarksville, Texas) scored a game-high 25 points and senior center Shenelda Levingston (El Dorado) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds in leading Southern Arkansas to a 74-68 upset of Henderson State in Great American Conference play Thursday at the Duke Wells Center.
It was the Lady Muleriders’ (2-15, 2-5 GAC) first road win of the year and only their second victory of the season. The Lady Reddies (11-6, 4-3 GAC) dropped their third consecutive game.
Hobbs and Levingston got a lot of help from diminutive 5-5 senior point guard Shanece Black (Clarksville, Texas), who was within one point of her own double, pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds and scoring nine points.
Hobbs and Levingston joked in the post-game locker room that they blocked everyone out so the “squirt” could get all the boards.
Freshman guard Katherine McBride (Lucas, Texas) added 14 points.
HSU was led by senior guard Cheree Freeman’s 14 points. Junior forward Destiny Smith added 11 points and a team-leading eight rebounds, and junior guard Sheay Longstaff finished with 10 points.
The teams played close throughout with 10 ties and 11 lead changes and neither team leading by more than eight points. SAU led 32-30 at the half and was ahead by at least four points over the last five minutes of the game.
Levingston’s jumper gave Southern Arkansas the lead for good at 30-28 with 26 ticks left in the first half, although there were five ties to follow, four in the second frame.
The Lady Muleriders built 55-49 and 57-51 leads midway the second half, but Henderson State rallied for the game’s last tie of 58-58 at 7:49. SAU then rattled off seven consecutive points and held on for the win.
The teams combined for 49 turnovers, Southern Arkansas with 26 and the Lady Reddies 23. The Lady Muleriders held a 50-36 rebound advantage.
SAU finished at 41.3 percent shooting on 26 of 63, hitting 4 of 14 three-pointers, and was 18 of 29 (62.1 percent) at the free throw line.
HSU shot 38.6 percent on 22 of 57, including 4 of 11 treys, and was 20 of 23 (87 percent) at the foul stripe.
Southern Arkansas’ largest lead was 69-61 with 1:53 left in the game. Henderson State held a 22-17 advantage at 7:41 in the first half.
The Lady Muleriders host 13th-ranked Arkansas Tech (12-3, 4-3 GAC) Saturday. Tip-off for that game has been moved from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
