Box Score MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas Women's Basketball team put up a tough fight against the top-ranked Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm but were unable to come away with a victory. SNU dismissed the Muleriders 92-71 inside the Panther Arena to improve to 17-2 in conference play and extend their win streak to 11 games. SAU falls to 7-12 in the conference with just three remaining games in the season.
Senior Kylie Warren led Mulerider scoring with 12 points while senior teammate Jessica Jones followed with 11. The Muleriders made ten threes to record their 17th game with double digit threes. SAU recorded more than double SNU's bench points, posting 40 versus the Storm's 17. Southern Nazarene took advantage of SAU's 28 turnovers and produced 44 points between the 28.
SNU recorded a shooting clip of 68.8% in the opening quarter while holding SAU to a 37.5% clip. Both teams made a third of their attempted threes with SAU making three and SNU only one. Jones sunk two threes to lead Mulerider scoring. SNU took advantage of the Mulerider's eight turnovers and produced 13 points from said turnovers.
The Crimson Storm held the Muleriders scoreless until 7:16 when Jessica Jones sunk a three to make up for a 5-0 Southern Nazarene run. Morris took advantage of her own steal and made a jumper to tie the game at five all. The Crimson Storm regained their lead with two consecutive layups, but Jones began efforts to reduce it once again, sinking her second three of the game in just four minutes of play inside the Panther Arena. The Muleriders would have to chip away at a 16-point lead the Storm attained during an 15-0 run that spanned two and a half minutes and featured five Mulerider turnovers. Marlee Bright put an end to the SNU run with a floating jumper and Addy Tremie took advantage of a shooting foul to make a four-point dent in the Crimson Storm lead. Tremie followed up with a three before Mychala Linzy drew a charge to regain the Muleriders possession of the ball and set up the opportunity for a Cece Reese layup to end the quarter. The Muleriders chipped away at the SNU lead and reduced it to just seven points, entering the second quarter trailing 17-24.
Both teams scored the exact same amount they had in the first quarter- SNU 24 and SAU 17. Southern Arkansas outscored the Crimson Strom 13-8 in the first six minutes but were outscored by 12 points in final four. The Muleriders improved to shoot 42.9% in the second and reduced the Storm to a 56.3% clip.
SNU extended their lead early, taking advantage of an and one opportunity to regain a double-digit lead. Both teams remained scoreless for the next two and half minutes before SNU extended their lead even more with a made three that Tremie immediately countered with a three of her own. A shooting foul drawn by Diamond Morris allowed the Muleriders to reduce the SNU lead to single digits, allowing a three from Jones to set SAU back just five points, the closest they'd been to the visiting team since the halfway point in the first quarter. Mychala Linzy benefited from one of Bright's three steals in the quarter, taking the basket from Bright and making a basket from behind the arc. Yet another Marlee Bright constructed a scoring opportunity for the Muleriders, allowing a layup from Kylie Warren that put just two points between the rival teams. The Crimson storm offense was lethal for the final three minutes of the quarter, outscoring the Muleriders 16-4 in the final three minutes of the quarter to enter the half with a 48-34 lead.
For the third consecutive quarter, the Crimson Storm posted at least 20 points, outscoring the Muleriders 20-11. The Muleriders held the Storm to their lowest field goal percentage of the game, allowing SNU to shoot 40.0% from the field.
SNU began the half with a 10-0 run that allowed the Storm to gain a twenty-point lead for the first time and extend it to as many as 24 before the Muleriders had the chance to diminish SNU's advantage. Brooklin Brown scored the first points of the half for the Muleriders more than four minutes into the quarter. The final six minutes SAU outscored SNU 11-10 that included five points from Brown and two each from Jones, Hill and Warren.
SAU outscored and outshot the Storm for the first time in the matchup in the fourth quarter. The Muleriders recorded 26 points at a 56.3% clip while SNU recorded 24 points at a 53.8% clip. Jerica Bell led fourth quarter scoring with six points followed by Kylie Minter with five.
The Crimson Storm started the fourth quarter with three consecutive three point plays with the first being an and one opportunity and the second two being threes from Georgia Adams. Payton Jones followed with back-to-back baskets of her own, representing the final baskets of a 14-0 SNU run that began the final quarter. The Muleriders found a run of their own, scoring 10 points in the span of a minute. The 10 Mulerider points included a layup from Reese, free throws from Morris, a three and free throws from Linzy and a layup from Bell. Linzy's free throws came from a shooting foul she drew after forcing a SNU turnover. The Storm responded with six unanswered points that stemmed from three Mulerider turnovers and allowed SNU to take a 30-point lead. Kylie Minter and Jerica Bell sunk four consecutive baskets including a three from Minter with under ten seconds to play to end the game with a 21-point loss.
Southern Arkansas will host Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tipoff. Location details and live coverage links will be available at muleriderathletics.com.
