Box Score
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DURANT, Okla. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women's basketball team outscored Southeastern Oklahoma State 14-2 in the final four minutes of the second half, but a 20-point deficit earlier in the half proved to be too much to overcome in a 68-63 loss to the Savage Storm on Thursday night inside Sullivan Arena.
UAM (5-15, 1-13 Great American Conference) trimmed its 20-point deficit at the 11:55 mark down to three points with 29 seconds remaining on a layup from sophomore Courtni Gibson to cap a 14-0 scoring run in the previous four minutes. An offensive rebound on a missed three-pointer from sophomore Jordan Goforth with three seconds remaining went off senior Raija McWright's leg and out of bounds, forcing UAM to foul. Southeastern's Shelby Hill made a pair of free throws on the other end to ice UAM's late rally.
Southeastern (12-7, 9-4 GAC) shot above 70 percent from the field in the first 10 minutes of the second half and to reach that 20-point advantage at nearly midway point of the half. That 20-point lead was cut to 10 at the 8:16 mark on a jumper from freshman Vivanna Carter to cap an 11-2 run. Carter had six of UAM's points during that run.
The first half featured nine lead changes with UAM leading by as many as seven points after opening the game with seven straight points in the first three minutes.
Southeastern responded with a 9-2 scoring run to take its first lead of the game, a one-point advantage on a layup by Haley Schaefer at the 14:08 mark. UAM answered with a 9-4 run over the next five minutes to get on top 18-14 on jumper from sophomore Jordan Goforth at the 9:08 mark.
The Savage Storm closed out the final eight minutes of the half outscoring the Blossoms 18-6 to take a 32-24 lead at the break. UAM was plagued by 12 turnovers in the first half and committed seven more fouls than the Storm in the first 20 minutes. Southeastern converted for 12 points off those turnovers and went 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the first half.
The Blossoms finished the game shooting 46 percent from the field (25-for-54), 38 percent on three-pointers (6-for-16) and 78 percent on foul shots (7-for-9). Southeastern shot 49 percent from the field (24-for-49), 41 percent on three-pointers (9-for-22) and 73 percent on foul shots (11-for-15).
Goforth tied Southeastern's Emily Williams for the game-high in scoring with 22 points each. Goforth was 8-for-13 from the field.
The Blossoms are back in action on Saturday, February 8 on the road against East Central. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Ada, Okla.
