MAGNOLIA, Ark. — The first of the seasonal gauntlet has been completed, and in doing so, Head Coach Darrick Matthews and his Muleriders advanced to 8-3 on the season with a 4-1 record in Great American Conference (GAC) play. With the Blue and Gold's current GAC record, Southern Arkansas heads into their two-week break at second place in the league, only behind 19th-ranked Northwestern Oklahoma State (10-1 | 5-0 GAC). 

While it was quite the defensive game, that played to the Muleriders liking, as the group defeated the Ouachita Baptist Tigers (6-3 | 3-2 GAC) in a 58-50 defensive battle, and marks the fewest points scored by the Tigers this season. With the win, Coach Matthews now moves to 3-0 against Ouachita Baptist and earns the Muleriders' third-straight victory against the Tigers. Also with that win, Southern Arkansas earns its fourth-straight victory, marking the longest win streak in GAC action ever in the program. 

Southern Arkansas saw three players with double-digit afternoons, with the group being led by freshman Blythe Crawley's 13 points. Crawley led the way also from beyond the arc, shooting 3-for-7. Also scoring in the double-digit figures was Hope Bump (11) and Elena Lijo-Rodriguez (10). Not only did Lijo-Rodriguez have an impressive game scoring, but her and Kadia Ward played a solid game off the boards with both having nine rebounds. Finally for Lijo-Rodriguez, she led the game in blocks with three. 

For nearly the first three minutes, the two units battled back and forth, before the Muleriders opened up a larger lead of ten points over the next three minutes, 19-9. While Ouachita Baptist kept trying to reduce its deficit, the Muleriders held up strong for the remainder of the first quarter up 23-15. 

Just thirty seconds into the second period, the Muleriders jumped back out to a ten-point lead, 25-15, but soon after that Ouachita Baptist replied with a three pointer to cut the lead down to seven, 25-18. Not long after that though, SAU went on a five-point stretch, going up 30-18. From this point on to the halftime break, OUA outscored Southern Arkansas 9-4, but did not overtake the Muleriders, with a score of 34-27. 

Coming out of the break, SAU started off hot again, as the Muleriders jumped to an 11-point advantage, 38-27, with a Marlee Bright layup and a Crawley tip-in layup. In the period, Southern Arkansas stretched its lead to as much as 13 points after a Shiloh Fletcher three ball to give SAU a 46-33 lead with 2:59 to go in the quarter. Once again, the Tigers reduced their deficit to seven points, before the Muleriders responded with a three pointer to jump ahead ten, this time though at the buzzer as Crawley gave the Blue and Gold a 49-39 lead heading into the fourth. 

As soon as action started in the fourth period, Southern Arkansas vaulted to a 12-point advantage, 51-39. With the group being backed into a corner, Ouachita Baptist got past a seven-point deficit, decreasing the Mulerider lead to five points, 55-50. That would have been the closest the Tigers got back to the Muleriders before SAU shot four free throws, with two off a personal foul and two on a OUA technical foul. After Elena Lijo-Rodriguez and Shiloh Fletcher combined going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe, Southern Arkansas finished the matchup with a 58-50 final. 

Up Next

The Muleriders have concluded their pre-Christmas schedule, and now take a two-week break before resuming action in Searcy, Arkansas for a contest against the Harding Lady Bisons on January 3, 2026. 

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