SEARCY, Ark. - The Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Basketball team accomplished something the program had been unable to do in the last twelve years as they topped Harding 71-70 on the road in a pivotal Great American Conference affair inside Rhodes-Reaves Field House on Thursday night.

Southern Arkansas delivered on the biggest stage that they had encountered all season as over a thousand fans witnessed the Lady Muleriders knock down Harding for the first time since the program garnered a 16-point, 63-47 win over the Lady Bisons on February 12, 2004. It is only the second win for SAU in Searcy in the program's twenty-year NCAA Division II membership.

Thursday night's win puts SAU one-game back from Southwestern Oklahoma State and Harding for the second-seed in the upcoming league tournament with three games remaining on the regular season slate.

Behind double-doubles from seniors Rosa Bryant and Tierra Tucker, the Lady Muleriders (16-7, 12-7 GAC) engineered big second and third quarters outscoring the Lady Bisons (15-8, 13-6 GAC) 42-22 as they overcame a 15-10 first quarter deficit, while holding off a late Harding run that saw SAU's 18-point advantage diminish in the final nine minutes.

With 3:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, Southern Arkansas led 67-57; before Harding's Sydney Layrock rattled off six points on an 8-2 Lady Bisons run that cut their deficit to four, 69-65 with 34 seconds to play forcing the Lady Muleriders to take a timeout. After the break, Lundon Williams forced a turnover and turned it into a bucket cutting the SAU lead to just one possession.

Following four-consecutive misses at the charity-stripe by Southern Arkansas, Harding was unable to cash in on a pair of opportunities after a timeout as Tucker came away with a big defensive rebound after a huge defensive stand by the Lady Muleriders. Tucker was fouled while collecting that rebound and she promptly shut the door on the Lady Bisons by connecting on her seventh and eighth free-throws of the game, giving SAU a critical four-point lead with three-seconds left before an inconsequential buzzer-beating three-pointer made the final score 71-70.

Tucker finished the contest one assist shy of a triple-double as she logged 38 minutes of action that resulted in 23 points, ten rebounds and nine assists. The senior accounted for all eight of SAU's successful free throw attempts. Bryant's 40-minute night, her second-such game of the season, led to her 17^th double-double of the season as she dropped 24 points on an efficient 12-of-14 shooting, while collecting 11 rebounds.

Shunta Nevitt recorded her fourth game with three or more blocks, while SAU's bench outscored Harding's 15-10 behind a pair of freshmen that delivered big in the fourth quarter. Alyssa Hamilton finished with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Jaida Harden ended with five points, three steals and a pair of rebounds. Hamilton scored four points in the fourth and Harden knocked down a pivotal three-pointer, while also hauling in a huge rebound after a pair of missed free throws by Tucker that kept SAU in possession with under thirty seconds to play.

Southern Arkansas managed to tie the game three times in the second quarter as they overcame a seven-point deficit to take a three-point lead, 28-25, into the intermission. Playing inspired to start the third quarter, Caroline Ficher and Tucker netted consecutive three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the court pushing SAU's lead to nine before their advantage eventually blossomed to the aforementioned 18 points.

The Lady Muleriders' historic night came on a dominant 51.8% (29-of-56) shooting from the floor, while also shooting 50% (5-of-10) from beyond the arc in the second half. SAU outscored Harding 42-34 in the paint, including a 26-12 margin in the previously-mentioned momentum-shifting second and third quarters.

The final stretch of the regular season continues for Southern Arkansas as they head back home to the W.T. Watson Center for a trio of home games to close out the 2015-16 campaign before heading to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, for the third time in as many seasons. Tip-off for Saturday, February 20's GAC matchup with Ouachita is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Lady Muleriders defeated Ouachita 70-64 on the road back on January 23.

Live stats, live audio, and live video, will be available for all of Saturday afternoon's action.

Be sure to visit muleriderathletics.com for continuing coverage of Lady Mulerider basketball including pregame and postgame updates and the coach's show with head coach Julio Pacheco.