MONTICELLO, Ark. — Playing on the road is always a challenge, and that is especially true when playing on the road against your in-state rival. Southern Arkansas (10-7 | 6-5 GAC) took on the challenge inside the Steelman Fieldhouse on the campus of Arkansas-Monticello (6-11 | 1-10 GAC), in which saw the two Natural State foes square off in a battle that ended after two overtime periods of play. The Muleriders ended up coming out on top in the units' first of two meetings this season, as SAU defeated the Cotton Blossoms 77-75.
Leading the Muleriders in scoring and steals was junior Kadia Ward. The Duncanville, Texas native led the Blue and Gold with her 17 points and three steals. Even though the group was out-rebounded in the contest, SAU had the game's leader in boards with Elena Lijo-Rodriguez's 15 rebounds (career-best). Elena was also one of five Muleriders in double figures (13 points), which helped her account for her fourth double-double of the season. Also recording double-digit scoring nights was Southern Arkansas' freshmen scoring leaders in Blythe Crawley (15 points), Kennedy Moss (13 points), and Hope Bump (11 points). Leading the game in assists was Marlee Bright, as the senior accounted for seven assists in the matchup.
Southern Arkansas grasped the lead early with an 8-3 start after a Ward free throw to go up five. In nearly no time at all, the Blossoms recovered with a 9-2 run to claim the lead at 12-10. After a few back-and-forth buckets, UAM ended up on top after one with a buzzer-beater three in the corner, 19-16.
Arkansas-Monticello had a firm hold on its lead, as the Blossoms stretched their advantage to as much as 12 points, going up 39-27 after another made three ball at the 2:42 mark in the second period. Southern Arkansas made an attempt to close the gap before heading into the intermission and would do so to a seven-point game, 41-34 at the break.
In the first four minutes after the intermission, the Blossoms kept their momentum up, doubling their halftime lead to 14 (largest difference of the night), at 50-46. The Muleriders would then begin their climb back into the ballgame, as the unit closed the game back to seven points prior to UAM nailing a couple of free throws to up nine heading into the final period of regulation.
Southern Arkansas got the scoring started in the fourth period before being countered by a layup by UAM, 56-48. The Muleriders then saw the wheels rolling for the squad's momentum, as Ward cut the deficit down to six with a pair of free throws, Lijo-Rodriguez decreased the UAM lead to four with a made jumper, Moss brought it to two with a layup, and then Bump tied the bout up at 56-56 with a pair of free throws. Then for the first time since the 7:03 mark in the first quarter, the Blue and Gold had snatched the lead with a Lijo-Rodriguez layup to go up 58-56. Even after it had seemed that momentum had shifted in the Muleriders' favor, Arkansas-Monticello combated back with a layup and a pair of freebies to go back up two, 60-58. UAM then was able to increase its lead to five with another free throw and layup, 63-58, but the Muleriders were not done yet, as the Crawley tallied a pair of freebies (63-60) and Moss recorded a layup with 24 seconds left (63-62). With back-to-back fouls by the Muleriders, the Blossoms missed three-consecutive free throws before finally hitting one, 64-62. To follow this up, Moss came in clutch again with a made jumper in the face of some great defense to tie the bout up at 64-64, which ended being the score heading into overtime.
Off the rip, Crawley ripped a three ball to go up three, 67-64, which then triggered some back-and-forth scoring and saw the Blossoms go up one with a free throw, 70-69. With just over a minute and a half to go, Moss recorded another layup to go up one, 71-70, which was then followed up by a Ward jumper to go up three again, 73-70, and seemed like a dagger with under half a minute to go. UAM's Alyssa Batton had different plans however, as she nailed a three-pointer with two seconds left in overtime to tie and send the game to a second overtime.
The second overtime was nearly nothing like the first, as the Blossoms' Batton started the scoring with a pair of free throws to go up 75-73. That ended up being the last bit of scoring for the Cotton Blossoms for the night, as Ward recorded two free throws of her own and Bump delivered the go-ahead dagger with 2:25 left to go in the contest, 77-75.
Up Next:
Due to inclement weather in the area, the Muleriders' Saturday matchup at Henderson State has been moved to Monday evening for a 5:30 PM start in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
Follow the Muleriders
For all the latest information on Mulerider Athletics, visit MuleriderAthletics.com. To stay up-to-date, follow the Muleriders on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
