MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas was able to cut Philander Smith's lead to eight with three minutes left in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon in the Lady Muleriders' season opener, but the Lady Panthers cushioned their advantage down the stretch as SAU dropped the non-conference affair, 75-61, in Magnolia.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• PSC led by ten after the opening quarter of action and by nine points at the intermission. Southern Arkansas was able to bring their deficit to 8 in the second quarter, before the Lady Panthers took a 36-27 lead into the half.
• In the first half, Philander Smith shot 50.0% (13-26) from the floor and 77.8% from the charity stripe. The Lady Muleriders were just 8-of-24 (33.3%) from the field and 9-of-17 (52.9%) from the free throw line.
• Sophomore guard Jaida Harden led SAU with ten first-half points highlighted by a pair of three-pointers.
• Southern Arkansas was unable to pull within two possessions in the second half as PSC's lead fluctuated between 8 and 14 points in the final twenty minutes of action.
• The Lady Panthers turned 16 SAU turnovers into 17 points compared to the Lady Muleriders scoring just nine points on 20 PSC turnovers.
• The Lady Muleriders shot 51.2% (12-24) from the free-throw stripe for the game, while Philander Smith connected on 30-of-40 (75.0%) free throw attempts. SAU outrebounded the Lady Panthers 40-36, including 16 on the offensive glass.

 
FOR SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
 

• Junior guard Anna Djedjemel led SAU in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting. She added five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
• Harden followed with 13 points and junior forward Demi Read added 13 points as well. Harden chipped in with a pair of steals and two rebounds, while Read produced six rebounds, an assist and a steal. Sophomore guard Jasmyn Eckerman matched Read's rebound total with six.
• Sophomore forward Alyssa Hamilton registered eight boards and scored five points to go along with a pair of steals and an assist.
• Seven players recorded a steal as freshman guard Kory Westerman added a pair in her collegiate debut. Classmate Kimberly Crown connected on two blocks in her first collegiate action.
• Ten Lady Muleriders scored at least one bucket.

 
FOR THE OPPOSITION
 

• Brittany Rufus scored a game-high 20 points and Terralyn Dominick added 16 points, while three Lady Panthers scored eight points each led by Tierra Bell who finished two points shy of a double-double effort as she logged a game-high 10 boards, while adding two steals. Rufus and Dominick combined to shoot 20-of-25 from the free-throw line.
• Amesha Hamlet-Brown and Honcea Thornton followed Bell in rebounding with five rebounds each. Dominick led PSC in assists with four.

 
UP NEXT
 

• Southern Arkansas remains at home as they begin Great American Conference play with a pair of games next week beginning on Thursday, November 17, with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off with East Central.
• Live stats for the contest can be found here: http://www.sidearmstats.com/saumag/wbball/.
• Live video is also available and can be found here: http://livestream.com/accounts/10140781.
• Be sure to visit muleriderathletics.com for continuing coverage of Lady Mulerider Basketball including pre- and post-game updates, weekly notes, and the coach's show with Head Coach Julio Pacheco.