Fayette, Iowa – With seconds left on the clock in the final quarter of the Saturday night game in Fayette, Iowa, senior Kylie Warren sunk the first of two free throws to put her at 19 points on the night and place the Muleriders just one-point shy of the 100-point mark in only their second contest of the year. The senior collected herself for the second shot and made the basket to record just her fourth career 20-point game since her 2018 collegiate debut and solidify a 100-89 Mulerider women's victory over Lincoln University of Missouri.
The Muleriders breached the 100 points in five contests last year, and by the looks of things, the 2022-23 team is on track to record many more this season. Senior Diamond Morris delivered 19 points on two of six shooting from three and chipped in with six rebounds and three assists. True freshman Kylie Minter aided the team with 16 points and three rebounds, seeing three of her seven attempts from deep.
Southern Arkansas was trailing by as many as ten points in the first quarter before they seemed to find their footing for the first time within those first 10 minutes of play went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to just four points. A basket from behind the arc by senior Mychala Linzy put the Muleriders within just three points of the Blue Tigers with 48 seconds left on the clock, but LU responded with a layup to hold the Muleriders behind 25-30 going into the second quarter.
Second quarter scoring for the Muleriders was kicked off with back-to-back threes from Morris and Minter followed by a layup by freshman Brooklin Brown to acquire the lead for the first time in the contest. The Magnolia team held the Blue Tigers to just 13 points in the second quarter while the Muleriders put up 28 highlighted by a 10-run that secured a 15-point lead over LU.
The Muleriders held a 53-43 lead going into the third quarter, but Liberty brought the heat to force Southern Arkansas to fight to hold them off. A three pointer from Tremie reestablished their substantial lead, but the Blue Tigers retaliated with a 14-2 run end to the quarter and leave the Mulerider with just a single point lead heading into the final quarter of play.
Despite the pressure applied by the Missouri team, Southern Arkansas held them off for the last ten minutes of play and outscored the Blue Tigers by ten points in the last quarter to secure their first win of the season. Fourth quarter action was highlighted by nine point from Warren including two baskets in the paint, a three pointer and two made free throw attempts.
Southern Arkansas saw 16 of its 36 attempts from deep. They scored 26 points in the paint and received an impressive 41 points off the bench highlighted by Minter's 16.
The Muleriders open up at home on Thursday, November 17. Southern Arkansas will play host to Arlington Baptist at 5 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center. Tickets and live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
