SEARCY, Ark. – Sophomore guard
Jasmyn Eckerman and freshman guard
Aaliyah Holmes posted career-high scoring nights with 15 and 17 points respectively on Thursday evening inside Rhodes-Reaves Field House, but Southern Arkansas was unable to hold on to a fast first quarter start, falling 66-56 to Great American Conference-leading Harding.
RECORDS
Harding (13-2, 10-0 GAC)
Southern Arkansas (4-10, 2-8 GAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Southern Arkansas led 20-12 after the first ten minutes of action, while holding the lead for almost a dozen minutes in the first half with their largest advantage being nine points at the 9:02 mark of the second quarter.
- Junior guard Anna Djedjemel scored two early buckets to get SAU jumpstarted offensively and with the Lady Muleriders leading 11-10, five and a half minutes into the game, Holmes took over.
- Holmes engineered a personal 7-0 run in just 39 seconds of work as Southern Arkansas raced to an 8-point advantage with 3:45 to play in the first quarter. Harding managed just one basket in the quarter after Holmes' run.
- Holmes continued to impact for SAU as she dropped another seven points in the second quarter and finished a point shy of her career-high (15 vs UAM | 1-16-17) in just 15 first half minutes.
- But Harding overcame its slow start on the offensive end of the floor as the Lady Bisons used a 5-0 run early in the second quarter and an 8-0 run to close out the first half leading by six points, 38-32. HU outscored Southern Arkansas 26-12 in the second quarter, including 12-0 in the paint.
- The Lady Bisons would keep the momentum coming out of the intermission, building an 11-point lead, before SAU cut their deficit to 57-50 entering the fourth quarter.
- The teams combined for 107 points in the first three quarters of play, but only totaled 15 points in the final ten minutes as Southern Arkansas suffered an eight and a half minute field goal drought to close out the game that plagued a comeback effort trailing 57-52 with 8:48 remaining.
FOR SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
- Eckerman's career-high 15 points came on 5-of-9 shooting with a pair of three-pointers and added three rebounds, an assist and one steal.
- Holmes' 17 points (3-for-5 3FG) were produced on a 7-of-14 clip with three assists, two rebounds and a steal in a team-high 33 minutes of action.
- Freshman Kimberly Crown grabbed a team-high six rebounds, four blocks and a pair of steals to go along with nine points and senior Makaila Jordan and sophomore Alyssa Hamilton collected five boards each. Hamilton added a pair of steals and Djedjemel followed with two steals and a team-leading four assists.
FOR THE OPPOSITION
- Falan Miller led the Lady Bisons with a team-high 13 points and Sydney Layrock followed with 11 points. The two combined for 11 rebounds while A'ndrea Haney and Caroline Hogue grabbed a team-high seven rebounds each.
- Haney led HU with five assists and Hogue produced a team-high four blocks.
OF NOTE
- The game featured six ties and four lead changes.
- Harding outscored SAU in second chance points (18-9), bench points (20-19), and points in the paint (24-18). SAU doubled up Harding in points off of turnovers 14-7, including a 6-0 mark in the first quarter.
- The Lady Bisons shot over 41% from the floor despite the slow start, while SAU converted at 35.6% shooting on the night.
UP NEXT
- Southern Arkansas will return to the W.T. Watson Center on Saturday, January 21, for a 1 p.m. Great American Conference tip-off with Ouachita. The Lady Tigers lost to UAM on Thursday evening in Arkadelphia, 74-67.
- Live stats for the contest can be found here: http://www.sidearmstats.com/saumag/wbball/.
- Live video will also be provided: https://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.