MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas University Women's Basketball team faltered against the Ouachita Tigers in tonight's senior night in Magnolia. Ouachita dealt SAU a 28-point loss in the 93-65 decision in the W.T. Watson Center. Kylie Warren spent her senior night recording her 1000th career point, joining Diamon Morris, to become the second Mulerider since Kmaria Hobbs (2008-12) and just the sixth player since 2000 to accomplish the feat.
Senior Bradyn Hill led team scoring 14 points that were all attained in the second half of play in the Thursday afternoon matchup. Joining Hill were Diamond Morris and Warren who recorded 10 points each.
The Ouachita team that averages 2.42 blocked shots a game blocked five Mulerider shots in just the first ten minutes inside the W.T. Watson Center. SAU shot at a 20% clip in the opening quarter while OUA saw two more field goals than the home team at a 37.5% clip. SAU forced seven Ouachita turnovers and saw five points from said possession changes. Only Morris and Senior Jessica Jones saw points for the Muleriders in the quarter while five Tigers contributed to Ouachita's scoring efforts.
Jessica Jones started her senior night off with a bang, sinking the first points of the matchup to gain SAU a quick lead. Jones extended her electric senior night play with SAU's second field goal of the night- a three from the short corner to tie the game after a 5-0 Ouachita run. The Tigers took off on another run, this time seeing four unanswered points before Diamond Morris began to chip away at their lead with a hook shot that cut the OBU advantage to just two points. The Tigers immediately made the point back up, but Morris single-handedly cut down the lead once and tied the game with a layup and two made free throws. The Tigers regained the lead through the form of free throws, a long three from downtown and a layup off a turnover. The Tiger 7-0 run marked the final points of the quarter to give OUA a 18-11 advantage leading into the second quarter.
Ouachita's second quarter rebounding abilities allowed the Arkadelphia team to outscore SAU 28-10. Ouachita snagged 17 rebounds in the second quarter alone and forced five turnovers. Southern Arkansas only made two field goals in the quarter on 15 attempts to only shoot 13.3% from the floor. On the contrary, OUA shot at a 55% clip, seeing 11 field goals that included three threes.
It was only fitting that a Mulerider senior began second quarter scoring, and that Mychala Linzy took matters into her own hands. SAU's leading three-point shooter saw her first three of the matchup in the Mulerider's first possession of the quarter. Both teams made offsetting layups and the Tigers snagged three offensive rebounds before they finally made a layup to regain a lead they would extend to 25 points by the end of the half. Ouachita spend the final seven and a half minutes of the quarter on a 26-5 that didn't see a single Mulerider field goal.
Southern Arkansas outscored the Tigers for the first time in the contest, seeing 23 points versus Ouachita's 20. Bradyn Hill led the scoring effort, scoring her first baskets of the contest and posting nine points by the conclusion of the ten-minute period. They improved to shoot at a 30% clip and forced 11 Tiger turnovers.
The second half began the same way the second had ended- the Tigers posted seven points while the Muleriders only saw a single point from a free throw. Hill added another free throw and Warren made a layup, but the four points were cancelled by a Tiger three and two free throws that increased their lead to 33 points. After being outscored 19-10 in the first six and a half minutes, Southern Arkansas found their first offensive break, going on an 13-0 run that featured baskets from Hill, Jones, Brown, Linzy and Reese. The Tigers added a free throw in the final 20 seconds to ender the final quarter with a 22-point lead.
The final quarter saw the Tigers outscore the Muleriders 27-21 to snag a 28-point victory over Southern Arkansas. SAU posted their best shooting clip of the game, making seven field goals on 12 attempts.
The Mulerider women will return to the court for one final time this regular season on Saturday for a matchup against Arkansas Tech in Russellville. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
