Box Score

MONTICELLO, Ark. – The Cotton Blossoms defeated Ecclesia College tonight, 74-51, to give Coach Tanya Ray her first collegiate head coaching victory.

The Blossoms (1-2) opened the game on a 10-0 run and never looked back defeating the Royals (1-6) in front of the home crowd. Chelsea Johnson sparked the run with a three pointer off a steal from Emili Slamons. Candace Virgadamo added the next five with a three and a layup, and the run was capped 4:21 minutes in with a layup from Channon Haywood.

The Royals got their first points off a layup, and managed to come as close as four at one point, 23-19 with 7:26 remaining in the half, but could never even the score. UAM closed the half on a 17-2 run over the final seven minutes to take the game well in hand, up 40-21 at halftime.

The Blossoms’ lead got as high as 33 in the second half, but the margin ended at 23 when the final buzzer sounded. Channon Haywood led UAM with 13 points on the night, she added three rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes. Ecclesia’s Ashton Abshier led all scorers with 20 points.

UAM got the win despite being out-rebounded 43-29 on the night. The Royals had 20 offensive rebounds, but could not capitalize on the second chances. They converted for just 13 second-chance points in the game. UAM took advantage of 28 Ecclesia turnovers, scoring 32 of their total off takeaways.

The Blossoms will take a few days off before returning Thanksgiving Weekend for the 2011 UAM Hampton Inn Classic. The Classic begins on Friday, November 25 with Ouachita Baptist taking on Central Oklahoma at 5:30 before the Blossoms take on the University of New Orleans at 7:30.