MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women's basketball team fell on the road at Southern Arkansas University on Thursday night from the W.T. Watson Center in Magnolia, Arkansas, 79-74.
Berniezha Tidwell led all scorers with 21 points in the loss.
"I am disappointed with the loss, but proud of the fight this team has," said head coach
Greg Long. "When we start putting a full game plan together, there is no telling what this team can do. We have a lot to work on and that's what we're going to do. We have to develop a mindset where we are just tougher than everyone else."
The Blossoms had a lot of fight in them throughout the contest and showed it to finish the first half and the end of the third quarter. Unfortunately, a few mistakes late cost UAM the contest.
Early in the game, UAM found itself down 9-0. The Blossoms would later go on to take a lead to conclude the quarter. Down 16-8 with 2:41 left in the first,
Mekaylan Hicks made a basket in the paint to cut it to six. She then got a steal on the other end and made another basket.
Kayla Bradley followed that up with a basket off a steal a little later to make it a two-point contest and would hit the and-one free throw to cut it to one.
With 1:08 left, Tidwell got in on the action with an and-one basket of her own, giving UAM the lead, 18-16. Tillman followed with a basket and Tidwell closed out the quarter with another two-pointer to take a six-point advantage into the second period, 22-16.
The Blossoms improved upon their lead in the second quarter, but SAU kept within striking distance. At one point, it was a seven-point UAM advantage, but the Muleriders chipped away. In the final seconds of the period, it was Tidwell again with a fastbreak basket, but with 22 seconds left, SAU tallied a basket to tie the game into halftime, 36-36.
UAM started the second half by taking a two-point lead, but it was actually SAU who took over most of the third quarter. It wasn't until the fourth that UAM made a late push. With six minutes left in the game, UAM cut the lead to three, 64-61 after a basket by Hicks. SAU did get the lead back to seven, but it felt like the Blossoms were still in it.
With 3:16 left, UAM made a push. Tidwell got a nice basket inside and Kizzee followed up a SAU free throw with a big three-pointer to cut the lead to three. After another SAU bucket, Bradley got a basket inside to get it back to three. SAU responded with another basket and later and with 24 seconds left,
Mackenzie Tillman hit a bucket to make it a three-point game one more time. SAU then lost the ball and gave the Blossoms a chance with 19 seconds left.
After a timeout, UAM drew up a play, but turned the ball over. UAM would be forced to foul and unfortunately the Muleriders would hit both free throws, putting the game out of reach. The Blossoms went on to lose, 79-74.
Tidwell led all scorers with 21 points. She also had seven rebounds, three assists and six steals.
Tillman finished with 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists, while Bradley registered 10 points, three assists and three steals.
With the loss, the Blossoms fall to 10-5 overall and 5-4 in league games.
UP NEXT
The Blossoms will return home for a Great American Conference matchup against Ouachita Baptist University. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
