JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – Posting 100 points for the first time since December 19, 2019, the Southern Arkansas University women's basketball team took down Upper Iowa University on Saturday afternoon 102-96 in a game that saw 18 lead changes to move to 2-0 on the season.
The Muleriders had seven players finish in double figures, as
Kenzie Ezekiel led the team with 17 points.
Diamond Morris finished with 15 points, while
Kylie Warren,
Kisi Young and Jerrica Bell totaled 14 points.
Ariana Guinn finished with 12 points, while
Doriana Brown chipped in 10 for SAU.
SAU jumped out to an 11-2 lead to start the game as Linzy scored the first points of the contest on a layup, followed by back to back layups from Brown in which she converted one into a three point play as she was fouled on the shot. Leading 21-11 with 3:05 to go in the first quarter, UIU used an 11-3 run to close the quarter to pull within two of SAU at 24-22.
The Peacocks tie the game at 24-24 to start the second quarter and pulled ahead at 26-24 after a Lydia Haack jump shot. SAU would quickly answer as Warren would tie the contest at 26-26 after a made layup. The two teams would continue to trade buckets as SAU tried to pull away as they went up 43-39 with 2:32 to go in the half. UIU would not let that lead slip away by much as they quickly tied the game back up at 43-43. Two Ezekiel three pointers would give the Muleriders six more points to close out the half while UIU was able to tack on two more scores to give SAU a 49-47 heading into the break.
The third quarter picked up where the first half left off as both teams battled back and forth. UIU came out and tied the game at 49-49 on their first shot as Haack hit a layup. Tied 55-55 at 7:13. The Peacocks would pull out in front of SAU with their largest lead at 63-59 with 5:38 left in the third and continue to hold onto the lead as they went into the fourth quarter with the 74-71 advantage over the Muleriders.
With UIU holding a slim lead through the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, SAU would jump back out in front as Guinn nailed a three point shot on a pass from Ezekiel to give the Muleriders an 80-78 lead (6:50). UIU would quickly answer with a Jessica Musgrave layup followed by a Haack three to give them an 83-80 lead. Young immediately responded with back-to-back layups (4:49, 4:37) to give SAU an 84-83 lead. UIU would respond with a made layup to go up by one at 85-84, but the Muleriders continued to respond as Brown hit a jumper to take back the lead at 86-85. Upper Iowa would take the lead once more at 89-88, but this lead would vanish for the last time as SAU used an 18-7 run to close out the contest (2:01-0:09) as Young started the run with a layup to give SAU a one point lead at 90-89. Morris and Warren hit back-to-back three's for the Muleriders to give SAU some cushion at 96-91 before closing the game out with a 102-96 victory.
SAU shot 48.6% from the field (36-74) and 35.3% from beyond the arc (12-34). The Mulerider bench had a large contribution to SAU's 102 point total as they poured in 57 points.
The Mulerider defense forced 26 turnovers in the contest, with 13 of those being steals. SAU was able to conver 41 points off of Upper Iowa turnovers. Ezekiel finished with three steals, while Morris and Bell both tallied two.
Southern Arkansas will return the court one week from today, as they are set to travel to the Sooner State to take on Rogers State University. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m.
