ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – With eleven seconds left on the clock and the Muleriders down two points, senior Diamond Morris snagged the rebound from a Reddie free throw before booking it down the court to make a layup with just four seconds left on the clock to singlehandedly send the Muleriders to overtime in consecutive games. Despite their overtime effort, the Muleriders were unable to come away with the win, losing 98-90 after 45 minutes of play.
Morris deserves a massive 'bravo' for her efforts in the Thursday night game. On top of sending the Mulerider team to overtime, she also once again recorded a double-double, scoring a team-leading 23 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Braydyn Hill had herself a night as well scoring a season-high 19 points and five rebounds. Senior Mychala Linzy was the final Mulerider to score double digits at 18 points. Linzy shot .500 from behind the arc, making three of her six attempted threes.
The Muleriders were the most successful in the first and fourth quarters, scoring 27 points in both. The Middle two quarters deemed a struggle for the Riders, scoring just 27 points between the second and third quarters. The Magnolia team shot 79% from the free throw line and made 15 threes versus Henderson's 9. Southern Arkansas only put up 14 points off the bench, ten less than the Reddies.
The first quarter began with a made layup by Hill followed by one from senior Kylie Warren. Linzy made a three pointer to tie the game at 23-23 to close the Henderson lead for the first time I almost six minutes of play. The Riders regained the lead with 29 second to play in the opening quarter following a layup by Diamon Morris before Henderson made a layup to tie the game 27-27 with three seconds to play.
The Arkansas teams stayed within striking distance of each other before the Reddies went on a 10-0 run to set the Muleriders back ten points. Southern Arkansas retaliated with a 7-0 run highlighted by a three pointer by freshman Brooklin Brown and layups by Linzy and sophomore Jada Gasaway. A layup by Hill finished out Mulerider scoring in the second quarter to set the Muleriders just back four points after their previous massive deficit.
For every point the Reddies put up in the third quarter, the Muleriders seemed to respond with their own. Morris both started and ended scoring in the third quarter, starting things off with a second-chance layup and finishing things off with a fast break layup. Despite the Muleriders only putting up 14 points in the third quarter, they were able to hold the Reddies to 15 points.
The Reddies went on a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter to set Southern Arkansas back ten points. Henderson held a lead over SAU for the entire final quarter before the Morris layup that sent the Mulerider to overtime play. Both teams put up large numbers in the fourth quarter to enter overtime tied at 81.
Henderson outscored the Muleriders 17-9 in overtime to come away with the win. Hill put up four points in overtime while Warren notched three points and Morris two. Henderson's Ashley Farrar notched a final seven points in overtime and ended the night with an impressive 44 points scored, just one point shy of the Henderson single game record.
The Muleriders fall to 2-3 on the season and will look to bounce back in their game on Saturday against Harding in the W.T. Watson Center. Tip-off from Magnolia is set for 1:00 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
