MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Senior forward Rosa Bryant notched a career-high 40 points and collected her fifth double-double of the year on Saturday afternoon, but Southern Arkansas was unable to rally late as Southwestern Oklahoma topped the Lady Muleriders, 89-78, in Great American Conference play inside the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

The loss is the first of the year for Southern Arkansas (5-1, 3-1 GAC) as they began the season 5-0; the best start the program has seen since the 2003-04 season. It was the highest scoring output of the year for SAU and the fourth-time they reached the 70-point mark.

Bryant's big day came from 16 first-half points on 8-of-14 shooting, and she would add 24 points and seven rebounds in the final two quarters to finish with 40 points and 10 rebounds. In the final six minutes of the game, Bryant delivered with 11 points as the Lady Muleriders cut the Southwestern Oklahoma lead down to five, 81-76, with 2:37 left to play. A pair of baskets from SWOSU's Janae Coffee (26 points, 27 rebounds) and four Lady Bulldog free throws iced the game down the stretch.

Southern Arkansas trailed by ten at the break, and would cut the deficit to seven, 66-59, after Bryant converted a free throw after being fouled on a successful layup attempt with thirty seconds left in the third quarter. A 7-2 SWOSU run to start the final quarter gave the Lady Bulldogs a 15-point cushion, before the aforementioned Bryant takeover.

Southwestern Oklahoma shot 45% from behind the arc including Nina Gregory's 5-of-6 shooting from deep in the first half. SAU took advantage of Lady Bulldog turnovers, especially late in the fourth quarter as they clawed back into the ballgame, by outscoring them 22-4 in points off turnovers, but SWOSU's bench delivered big with 45 points to SAU's nine.

Senior guard Shana Holmes played all 40 minutes, registering seven points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals, while classmate Tierra Tucker delivered with ten points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Caroline Ficher scored 11 points. Five Lady Muleriders recorded a pair of steals or more and SAU collected four blocks, led by a pair from sophomore forward Aleeya Harris.

The Lady Muleriders will close out the 2015 portion of their schedule inside the W.T. Watson Center as they will welcome in a pair of nonconference opponents in LeMoyne-Owen on December 17 and Philander Smith on December 30. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.

Be sure to visit muleriderathletics.com for pregame and postgame updates and other news on the 2015-16 Lady Mulerider basketball team and head coach Julio Pacheco.