SEARCY, Ark. — Muleriders Women's Basketball (8-4 | 4-2 GAC) resumed Great American Conference play on the road against the 17th-ranked Harding Lady Bisons (10-2 | 4-2 GAC). After a tightly-knit outing with momentum shifting back and forth, eventually ending in a 53-52 final with Harding on top. The loss marks the Muleriders' first loss in nearly a whole month. Both to the Great American Conference's preseason favorites.
In scoring, the Muleriders were led largely in part by Blythe Crawley, as the freshman accounted for 20 points and her fifth-straight double-digit outing with her second 20+ point game in that span. From three-point range, Crawley was letting them fly after shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Leading the way for SAU on the boards was Elena Lijo-Rodriguez, closely followed by Marlee Bright. Elena led Southern Arkansas in rebounds with 11 boards, marking her second 11-rebound game in three games. Bright followed Lijo-Rodriguez in rebounding with nine boards for her most recorded this season.
The Muleriders outdid the Lady Bisons in nearly every category on the stat sheet besides the fouls category. Southern Arkansas accounted for 14 fouls in the game, while Harding recorded just nine and shot 11 more free throws than SAU. The Lady Bisons made 10-of-15 from the charity stripe, while the Muleriders were 1-of-4 for free throws. Even though dropping the contest, the Muleriders held the Lady Bisons to their least points scored this season.
Crawley got the scoring started in the outing with a made jumper just over a minute into the game. Following that initial jumper, Harding went on an 11-0 run before the Muleriders would score again, this time a made layup from Bright, 11-4. After a Shiloh Fletcher three pointer, SAU clawed back to a five-point deficit, 14-9, but was followed by a Lady Bisons 6-2 stretch to end the opening period, 20-11.
Johnna Brockman and Shiloh Fletcher started scoring in the second period, 20-15, before Harding countered with back-to-back layups, 24-15. There was then no scoring for two minutes, as Kennedy Moss broke the silence at the 5:32 mark with a jumper, 24-17. The scoring would go on another 2-minute hiatus before Crawley splashed in from three with 3:20 to go in the half. SAU then brought the game back within three with a Lijo-Rodriguez free throw, 24-21. The final points of the half went to the Lady Bisons, as the group accounted for three free throws made, making 3-of-4, 27-21.
Almost immediately after the intermission, Harding cashed in from three to spread its lead to nine, 30-21. About a minute and a half after the Lady Bisons three, Crawley responded with one of her own, 30-24, and was followed by one from Hope Bump, 30-27. Quickly, the Muleriders gained their first lead since their 2-0 lead at the beginning of the game, after Kadia Ward made a jumper and Bright made a layup, 31-30. Harding quickly tied the game back up at 31-31 with a free throw, but was then followed by a Brockman jumper, 33-31. After another made jumper from the Lady Bisons, Moss responded with a three ball and layup to go up five, 38-33. Harding countered right back with a three ball and two layups to reclaim its lead, 40-38. That wasn't the end of the period though, as Crawley then cashed in from three again, to go up 41-40 heading into the fourth.
The Lady Bisons started the fourth scoring free throws, going up 42-41, but was then followed by another Crawley three, 44-42. As soon as Harding reclaimed the advantage with back-to-back jumpers, 46-44, Crawley hit a jumper to tie the bout once more. Following that though, the Lady Bisons caught some fire with a 7-0 stretch, going up 53-46 with 3:12 left. Crawley got the comeback rolling with a jumper, followed by a Ward layup and another jumper from Crawley, to bring the contest back within one, 53-52 with 1:24 to go. The Mulerider defense was able to hang tough for the remainder of the outing, and with just 1.4 seconds left in the matchup the Lady Bisons fouled Blythe Crawley on a shot, giving the freshman two free throws and a chance to either tie or take the lead. However, Crawley missed both shots, just her second and third misses of the season, and Harding went onto win 53-52.
Up Next:
The Muleriders continue their road stretch into next weekend, as Southern Arkansas will head to Durant, Oklahoma on Thursday (1/8) for a 5:30 PM tip-off, followed by a trip to Ada, Oklahoma on Saturday (1/10) at 1:00 PM.
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