RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas University Women's Basketball team fell 87-94 in a tough effort against the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns this afternoon, but despite the loss, the Muleriders have a reason to celebrate. SAU will return to the GAC Championships in Shawnee after just narrowly missing the opportunity last season. The tournament bracket will be available on the Mulerider Athletics social medias tonight.
Diamond Morris led SAU scoring with 17 points, leading the efforts of three other Muleriders to see double digit scoring figures. Jones followed with 15 points and three threes alongside Addy Tremie who saw 13 points herself. Kylie Warren wrapped up double digit scoring efforts with 12 points. The team concluded the day with a 40.5% clip and made 11 threes.
ATU's Jalei Oglesby saw an impressive 34 points while teammate Kaley Shipman recorded 20. Oglesby snagged 17 of the team's 46 rebounds to record her 10th double double of the year. Tech shot 54.4% from the floor, making 37 field goals vs SAU's 30.
Arkansas Tech snagged 15 rebounds in the first quarter, aiding the Golden Suns' offensive domination. Tech outscored SAU 26-15 in quarter one with Oglesby posting 14 points alone for the Suns. Morris got SAU on the board with a layup that tied the game at twos after two unproductive Mulerider possessions. Tech pulled away with another basket but Jessica Jones made up the difference with a layup. Tech ran away with it and outscored SAU 22-11 in the remainder of the quarter. The Golden Suns earned their first double-digit lead of the game as Claudia Bridges sunk a three in the final minute to serve as the final basket of the quarter.
The second quarter saw SAU outscore Tech 29-20 with Tremie leading the effort with eight points. The team recorded their best shooting clip of the game, making 10 field goals at a 52.6% clip. The team bounced back from a first quarter that saw zero threes and made seven in the second alone.
Mychala Linzy sunk SAU's first three with 9:39 to go in the second quarter after the team had struggled drastically from three in the first quarter, making zero of their eight threes. Tremie notched a beautiful three from the right corner to put quite the dent in Tech's lead. The Golden Suns responded with a three of their own, but Tremie made another basket for the Muleriders to once again cut away at the home team's lead. Warren and Tremie made back-to-back threes to record SAU's third and fourth three-pointer in the first three minutes and completely nix the Tech lead and tie the game at 29 each. The Suns took off on a 9-0 run to pull away from the Muleriders once again. Hill put an end to the ATU run and made the first of two consecutive Mulerider baskets as Jones would sink a three to reduce the Tech lead to four points. The following two minutes saw four Tech field goals versus SAU's one and two free throws, allowing ATU to hold a 46-38 lead over the Muleriders with just a minute to play in the first half. Diamond Morris single-handedly cut the Tech lead to just two points after making back-to-back threes in the final 20 seconds.
The Muleriders outscored Tech once again and held the Russellville team below 20 points for the only time in the contest and held them to a game-low 46.2%. Tremie once again posted the most points for the Muleriders, this time seeing five alongside teammate Sisi Reese.
Jessica Jones gained SAU their first lead of the contest with a made three that allowed the Muleriders a one-point advantage. Morris followed with two made free throws to extend the lead, but ATU responded with two free throws of their own. The rival teams followed with two countering layups, allowing SAU to maintain their 1-point lead Jones had attained. ECU tied the game back up after they responded to a singular Warren free throw with a made jumper. Reese regained the lead for SAU, going on a personal 5-1 run that saw two layups and a free throw. Bright followed with a layup that gained SAU a 6-point lead that Tremie extended with a jumper. ATU retaliated with a layup, but Tremie sunk a three for her fifth point of the quarter. Tech responded with a 6-0 run to cut the SAU lead to three points entering the final quarter of play inside the Tucker Coliseum.
The Golden Suns recorded their 10th consecutive point, beginning the fourth quarter with a layup and two free throws that gained the Russellville team the lead once again. The lead bounced back and forth between the rival teams as SAU and ATU made offsetting layups. The Suns pulled away on a 17-0 run to lead by 16. Bright put an end to the 25-2 ATU run with a single made free throw. Jones sunk a three and Reese made two baskets from the foul line to cut the Golden Sun lead to ten points. Three Tech free throws versus Jones' layup allowed the Suns to gain an 11-point advantage. SAU saw six unanswered points that included a three from Morris and three free throws from Warren. The teams each made a layup to set SAU five points behind with 45 seconds to play. Southern Arkansas did all they could to come back, but their effort was too far fetched and Arkansas Tech came away with the win.
