Box Score MONTICELLO, Ark. – The UAM Cotton Blossoms dropped their seventh-straight tonight, falling to East Central 67-75.
The Blossoms (4-11, 0-5 GAC) led for 18:50 minutes tonight, taking their first lead, 8-6, with 17:03 remaining in the first half and holding that lead until two minutes into the second half. Over that period, the Blossoms controlled the tempo of the game, stretching their lead out as high as 11 thanks to an Emili Slamons three pointer with 8:07 remaining in the half.
UAM outscored ECU (4-12, 2-4 GAC) in the paint, off turnovers, on put-backs, and fast breaks. They also put up a blistering 84.6-percent from the foul line, hitting 11-of-13 opportunities. The Tigers took just six in the entire half, hitting three. The halftime lead stood at five, 38-33 thanks to a last-second layup from Chelsea Johnson.
Then the game flipped completely. The Tigers came out breathing fire from the start, tying the score with five unanswered points. They took the lead following a Blossom turnover with 17:40 remaining and did not trail again. The lead for the Tigers climbed as high as 11, just as it had for UAM, and the second half totals for points in the paint, points off turnovers, second-chance points, and fast breaks all flipped to the Tigers’ advantage as well.
The Blossoms did not give up, pulling within four points twice in the final minute of play, but clean foul shooting by the Tigers kept them from completing the comeback.
UAM shot 34-percent on the game, going 21-of-61 from the field including 6-of-24 from three (25-percent). They finished the game at 75-percent from the line, 19-of-25. The Tigers shot 36-percent from the floor, 39-percent from three, and 68-percent from the foul line. They hit 19 of their 22 in the second half.
Channon Haywood posted a double-double on the night with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes. Emili Slamons edged her for the point-high with 12 in 26 minutes. Candace Virgadamo also had 11 points and Alex Hart rounded out those in double figures with 10 points. ECU’s Ashley Robison set the game-high with 28 points in 34 minutes.
The Blossoms will not have to wait long to move on from this one, as they travel to Magnolia on Monday night to take on the Southern Arkansas Lady Riders in a 5:30 matchup.
