Box Score ALVA, Okla. – Led by Shana Holmes' 17 points and seven assists, the Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider basketball team picked up their first program win in Alva, Oklahoma, as they used a big 26-6 third quarter to action to run by the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers, 77-56, in a Great American Conference affair on Thursday night inside Percefull Fieldhouse.
 
The win gives Southern Arkansas 13; their most wins in a season since the 2006-07 season when they finished the year 14-14.
 
Aiding Holmes' performance were classmates Tierra Tucker and Rosa Bryant. Tucker finished with a dozen points and six rebounds, while Bryant registered her 14^th double-double of the season by collecting 10 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman forward Alyssa Hamilton tied her career-high in scoring with 10 points in only 11 minutes of work.
 
The Lady Muleriders (13-5, 9-5 GAC) shot over 48% (33-of-68) from the floor and outrebounded Northwestern by 13 after producing a team season-high 52 rebounds. SAU led 41-34 at the intermission, while all together possessing the advantage for 39:54 seconds.
 
With an eight-point lead to start the third quarter, Southern Arkansas pushed their lead to 11 in the first three and a half minutes of the second half. Shunta Nevitt scored a pair of baskets out of the break to help give SAU a 51-40 lead.
 
Jumpers from Tucker and Holmes pushed the advantage to 15, before the latter scored back-to-back layups with 4:14 remaining in the third quarter pushing SAU's lead to 19, 59-40. A bucket from Jasmyn Eckerman followed by two inside baskets by Hamilton under a minute and a half to play sent SAU out front by 25, before Rachel Medina capped the +20 third quarter with a jumper at the horn to give SAU a comfortable 67-40 advantage.
 
The only Ranger points in that third quarter came via a pair of three pointers twenty-seven seconds apart from each other in the opening four minutes of action in the second half.
 
SAU forced eight steals led by a pair from Caroline Ficher and as a team the Lady Muleriders forced Northwestern to shoot at a clip of 30.4% from the field.
Southern Arkansas closes out the Oklahoma portion of their regular season schedule on Saturday, February, 6, with a noon tip-off against Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford. Live stats (http://www.sidearmstats.com/swosu/wbball/), live video (http://livestream.com/accounts/5503429) and live audio (http://lightningstream.surfernetwork.com/Media/player/view/KVMZ_gsl.asp?StreamingServerName=nick11y&targetWidth=1000&targetHeight=800&call=KVMZ&title=COUNTRY%2099.1) will be available from inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
 
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.