MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Eleven different Lady Muleriders recorded a point and Southern Arkansas outscored Arkansas-Monticello 32-20 in the paint, but were unable to hold off a second half surge by UAM that propelled the Cotton Blossoms to a 77-63 Great American Conference win on Thursday night inside the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
 
SAU (8-17, 6-13 GAC) led by three at the intermission, 41-38 courtesy of a team shooting percentage just above 58%. Arkansas-Monticello shot 50% from the field in both halves and solid free throw shooting allowed the Cotton Blossoms to pull within a possession at the break.
 
The Lady Muleriders controlled the pace from the onset by playing their up-tempo brand of basketball that included full court press and fast-break opportunities.
 
Back and forth action ensued throughout the first six and a half minutes leading to a 12-12 tie at the 13:28 mark. Allie Wade would connect for three of her team-high 13 points right before the 12-minute media timeout to put Southern Arkansas up 17-12.
 
Wholesale line changes kept the Lady Muleriders fresh in the first half as their lead increased to as much as eight. With just over two minutes remaining in the opening half, Wade again converted from deep to push the Lady Mulerider lead to seven, 41-34. Back-to-back jumpers by UAM allowed the Cotton Blossoms to pull within three, 41-38.
 
Arkansas-Monticello would carry the momentum into the half as the Cotton Blossoms took a three-point lead in their first three possessions of the second half. At the 16:51 mark, Rosa Bryant knocked down a bucket to pull SAU to within a possession, 46-44. A UAM three-bucket on the next trip down was answered by Cemetra Jenkins who dropped a trey of her own with 15:19 left to play to keep the SAU deficit at two, 49-47.
 
An 18-10 UAM run put the Cotton Blossoms up 10 with 6:57 left to play and Southern Arkansas would only manage to cut the Monticello lead down to eight as the Cotton Blossoms picked up their 11^th conference win.
 
Wade's 13 points came on 5-of-6 shooting, including 75% from deep. Bryant added 11 points and a team-high six rebounds to go along with a game-high three steals.
 
Despite the loss, the eighth and final spot in the GAC Tournament is still up for grabs. Southern Arkansas remains in a tie with Ouachita Baptist for the final spot that will be decided on the last day of the regular season. The Lady Muleriders close out regular season play with a 1 p.m. tip-off on the road at Henderson State on Saturday, February 28^th.