FORT SMITH, Ark. — Mulerider Women's Basketball (1-0 | 0-0 GAC) got their season started in north Arkansas, as the group took on the Newman Jets (0-1 | 0-0 MIAA) for the season opener in the Central Region Challenge, hosted by the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. The Blue and Gold, led by second-year Head Coach Darrick Matthews, had themselves a great night in Fort Smith after taking down and separating themselves from the Jets with an 86-68 final score in the Stubblefield Center. Now beginning his 12th season as a head coach, with the win over the Jets, Matthews claimed his 200th career victory.
Southern Arkansas saw multiple impressive performances across the board with four Muleriders accounting for double-digit nights, which were all led by freshman guard Hope Bump. In her first official collegiate action, the freshman from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, recorded a game-high 28 points against the Jets after making 7-13 from the field (53.8%), 1-2 from beyond the arch (50%), and 13-14 from the charity stripe (92.8%). The Okie was also responsible for four rebounds, an assist, and the second-most steals by anyone on the night with three.
Another true freshman for the Muleriders to have herself an impressive jump off to her career was Blythe Crawley. A native of Oklahoma City, Crawley was second on the team in scoring after recording 15 points. The Sooner State native did so after making 5-14 from the field (35.7%), 3-7 from three-point range (42.8%), and was 2-2 from the charity stripe (100%). Much like Bump, Crawley tallied four rebounds with an assist, but accounted for the most steals on the night with four.
While not starting off her career like the two mentioned before, Kadia Ward (KD) kicked off her season with a double-double after the junior tallied 11 rebounds with 12 points. Ward did so after she went 5-16 from the floor (31.25%) and 2-3 from the charity stripe (66.7%). KD accounted for the teams' second-most assists with three while also being one of six Muleriders to record a steal.
The final Mulerider with a double-digit night was senior Elena Lijo-Rodriguez. The native of Spain accomplished this feat after making 1-3 from the field (33.3%) and 4-4 from the charity stripe (100%). Lijo-Rodriguez also recorded three boards for the night, being one of seven Muleriders with multiple rebounds.
Overall, the Muleriders outshot the Jets with a 41.2 field goal percentage (28-68) compared to Newman's 38.2% (21-55). The major shift in momentum came at the charity stripe, as SAU made 25-30 from the line (83.3%) and NU made just 17-23 (73.9%). Rebounding was pretty even among the two groups as Southern Arkansas only out rebounded the Jets 39-35. Along with free throws, turnovers proved to be an issue for Newman, as Southern Arkansas forced 11 more turnovers than what was forced against them (8-19).
First Quarter (SAU led 17-16)
Southern Arkansas struck first in Fort Smith with a Hope Bump layup, and the freshman quickly pushed the lead to 6-2 with a jumper and two free throws. Newman trimmed it to 6-4 before Kadia Ward tipped in her own miss to make it 8-4. The Jets hit a three, but Elena Lij-Rodriguez answered with a layup for a 10-7 edge. Newman tied it at 10-10, but Bump responded with a three to reclaim the lead. The teams traded buckets and free throws, with Bump continuing to pace SAU, pushing the Muleriders ahead 17-14. Newman added two late free throws, and SAU ended the first quarter up 17-16.
Second Quarter (SAU led 36-29)
SAU opened the second quarter with a Shiloh Fletcher free throw, but Newman briefly took its first lead at 19-18 on an Alexis Martin three. Hope Bump answered with four straight free throws to put the Muleriders back on top, 22-19, before the Jets tied it again with a three. Blythe Crawley hit two free throws to regain the lead, and KD Ward added three more points followed by layups from Ward and Crawley to push SAU ahead 29-23. After Newman scored, Yagmur "Rain" Canguven drilled a three and added a layup for a 34-25 advantage. The teams traded free throws before Martin hit a late three, and SAU carried a 36-29 lead into halftime.
Third Quarter (SAU led 64-53)
Back from the break, Southern Arkansas went on the attack first with a Bump layup to start a back-and-forth bout that ended with the Muleriders on top 42-34. Newman stayed right in the game though with a pair of free throws, but were counted by a three-pointer cashed in by Crawley for the Muleriders to go back up nine, 45-36. The Muleriders remained on the verge of breaking free from the Jets, as the group kept their lead around the 8-9-10 marks, and even went up 11 briefly with a layup by Marlee Bright. The group finally began to break free from Newman after Crawley banged in another three-pointer to go up 12. Even after Newman's Clark countered with a three of her own, freshman Kennedy Moss ended the half with a jumper to increase the lead back to double-digits at 11 points (64-53).
Fourth Quarter (SAU wins 86-68)
From then on, it was all Muleriders, as Crawley begin the final period with another made layup to stretch the advantage to 13 (66-53). The Jets then scored another three ball (66-56), but would see the Muleriders start to pull away with five-straight made free throws (71-56). Newman did not give up though, as the group scored another three-pointer and layup to cut the lead back down to 10 (71-61). Bright then recorded another pair of free throws to increase the lead before being shrunk back to 10. With a Elena Lijo-Rodriguez jumper, the lead would never be decreased back to 10, and would then keep increasing to as much as 18 after KD Ward recorded one more tip in layup for the final of 86-68.
Up Next:
Southern Arkansas takes on the challenge's host in Arkansas-Fort Smith tomorrow for a 2:00 PM tip-off. After beginning the season 1-0, the Muleriders will face the 0-1 UAFS Lions after the group fell to Arkansas-Monticello 60-45.
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