MAGNOLIA, Ark. – A 76-53 victory over Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon completed the Lady Mulerider Basketball team's 3-game home stand this week as Southern Arkansas benefitted from a strong offensive output inside the W.T. Watson Center that saw four Lady Muleriders score in double-figures.
 
As a unit, the Lady Muleriders out shot their opponent in several categories which included a 44.6 percentage from the field (29-of-65), 40.0% from long range (4-of-10), and a 73.7 percentage at the charity stripe (14-of-19). Sue Key led the team at 19 points, followed by Kimberly Crown's 17 points, Olivia McWilliams' 13 points and Erin Brinkley's 11 points. 
 
Additionally, the Lady Muleriders registered 40 points in the paint compared to SNU's 14, and also tallied 17 points off of SNU's 20 total turnovers in the game. Anna Djedjemel and McWilliams combined for 14 total assists in the game with McWilliams tallying the most at eight.
 
With a 3-point lead at the end of the first frame, 18-15, the Lady Muleriders wasted no time in the second quarter as they tacked on 17 additional points to extend their lead out to double digits at the intermission, 35-22.
 
In that first half, the Lady Muleriders were nearly perfect from the free throw line as they made good on 5-of-6 attempts at the line (83.3%) with Sue Key and Kimberly Crown each accounting for a pair of those buckets. From the field, SAU connected with 14-of-33 field goal attempts to shoot for a total of 42.4% at the half with Olivia McWilliams leading in points scored with nine.
 
Southern Nazarene matched SAU's point total in the third quarter as they each tallied 21 points apiece, but the Lady Muleriders were able to withstand the Crimson Storm's offensive attack and maintain a double-digit advantage of 13 points, 56-43, at the end of the frame.
 
SAU continued that momentum into the contest's final quarter, totaling 20 points in the frame and holding the Crimson Storm to just 10 points. A 10-3 run within the first three minutes of the frame extended the Lady Mulerider's lead out to 20, 66-46. Of those 10 points for SAU in the sequence, Key registered five as she made good on three shots from the charity stripe and a layup.
 
In the final two minutes of play, the Lady Muleriders tacked on six additional points as they connected with all four of their shot attempts from the free throw line, courtesy of both Crown and Erin Brinkley's appearances at the charity stripe, along with a layup make for Crown in the mix of that sequence to secure the win over Southern Nazarene, 76-53.
 
UP NEXT

• The Lady Muleriders now prepare for a pair of league matchups on the road in Oklahoma beginning with Southeastern Oklahoma on Thursday, February 1, at 5:30 p.m. and then East Central on Saturday, February 3, at 1 p.m.