Box Score (HTML)

MONTICELLO – A career-high 24 points from junior Nikki Mullen and double-doubles from sophomore Tori Nichols and junior Jordan Goforth helped the University of Arkansas at Monticello women's basketball team capture an 82-65 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State at home on Thursday.

Mullen bested her previous career-high by one point and finished the night 8-for-12 from the field, 5-for-8 on three-pointers and 3-for-4 on foul shots. She led all scorers.

Goforth followed with her second-straight double-double and fourth of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Nichols finished one rebound shy of tying her career-high with a game-high 15 in Thursday's win, while also adding 11 points for her third double-double of the year.

The Blossoms (6-7, 4-4 Great American Conference) never trailed in the game despite two tie scores created by the Rangers (4-10, 3-5 GAC) in the first half. UAM's largest lead of the first period came at the 6:41 mark on a trey by Mullen to cap an 11-2 run and put her team up 25-13.

Another Mullen trey put UAM back on top by double-digits early in the second half. The Blossoms maintained at least a 10-point lead for the final 13 minutes of the contest, including their largest lead of 19 on a pair of free-throws by Goforth with 1:28 remaining in regulation.

UAM finished the game with a season-best 52 percent shooting performance (26-for-50). The Blossoms made 8-of-16 three-pointers and 22-of-28 foul shots, including an 11-for-12 outing by Goforth at the line, all in the second half.

NWOSU finished at 42 percent from the field (22-for-53). The Rangers made 7-of-19 three-pointers and 14-of-20 foul shots. Kalea King led NWOSU with 15 points, followed by Jonae Isaac at 11 points.

The Blossoms are back in action on Saturday at home against Southwestern Oklahoma State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. inside Steelman Field House.