MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Sophomore guard
Jaida Harden and freshman guard
Aaliyah Holmes each registered career-highs in scoring as the duo dropped 18 points apiece on Saturday afternoon, but Southern Arkansas was topped by Northwestern Oklahoma, 77-67, in a Great American Conference contest inside the W.T. Watson Center.
RECORDS
Northwestern Oklahoma (7-14, 6-9 GAC)
Southern Arkansas (5-14, 3-12 GAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Northwestern Oklahoma gained the lead with just under six minutes to play in the opening quarter and would not trail for the remainder of the contest as they picked up the regular season sweep of Southern Arkansas behind 44.2% shooting from the floor with an 84% clip from the charity stripe.
- The Lady Muleriders would cut their deficit to a single point twice in the first half and both came courtesy of three-pointers by Harden and Holmes respectively. The duo combined to shoot 7-of-16 from three-point range.
- Senior guard Faith Rolen banked a running jumper at the 2:19 mark of the second quarter to bring Southern Arkansas to within four points at 31-27, but the Lady Rangers used the reminder of the first half to put together a 10-3 run as they led by 11, 41-30, at the intermission.
- The Lady Ranger lead stood at a dozen after three quarters of play as the teams traded buckets throughout the period. Harden went for seven of SAU's 15 points in the frame and Holmes added six.
- By the 7:46 mark of the fourth quarter, SAU had trimmed their deficit to six courtesy of a pair of inside baskets by sophomore forward Alyssa Hamilton and a quarter-starting do-it-yourself fast break layup off by Holmes, who started the transition by picking up a steal.
- NWOSU's Deja Beechum used the Lady Ranger's next two possessions to sink three-pointers and put the Northwestern Oklahoma advantage back to a dozen with just over six minutes remaining in the game.
- From that point on, the Lady Ranger lead would never be fewer than seven points as Northwestern Oklahoma was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the game's final two and a half minutes seal the 77-67 victory.
FOR SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
- Harden's career-high 18 points came on 6-of-14 shooting, including four trifectas in 25 minutes off of the bench, while Holmes' career-best 18 points came via 6-of-11 shooting with a trio of three-pointers. Harden added four rebounds and an assist, while Holmes contributed with two rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
- Hamilton and Makaila Jordan each finished a point shy of double-figure scoring as the two added nine points each, with Jordan grabbing nine rebounds and a block, while collecting team-highs in steals (4) and assists (4). Hamilton produced five rebounds.
- Holmes and Hamilton each registered a team-high 36 minutes of action in the loss.
- Anna Djedjemel added four assists and a pair of steals.
FOR THE OPPOSITION
- Beechum led four Lady Rangers in double-figure scoring with a game-high 22 points and collected three steals. Kalea King followed with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The pair combined to shoot 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.
- Kori Barrios added 14 points and Ashley Pride collected ten points.
- Jonae Isaac picked up team-highs in steals with four and in assists with six, while adding seven points and four rebounds.
OF NOTE
- The teams combined for 35 turnovers led by Northwestern Oklahoma's 19, but the Lady Rangers edged SAU in points off of turnovers, 25-23.
- Each team scored 14 second-chance points and 24 points in the paint.
- The Lady Muleriders' eight three-pointers made was one off of their season-high nine set on January 16 against Arkansas-Monticello.
- Southern Arkansas produced a season-high dozen steals as a team, while the Lady Rangers became the fifth SAU opponent this season to record 12 steals.
- It was the third time this year that Holmes has connected on four three-point attempts. The last Lady Mulerider to make five three-pointers in a single-game was Shana Holmes, Aaliyah's older sister, who made seven trifectas in a 76-74 win at Texas A&M-Commerce on November 17, 2015.
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