SHAWNEE, Okla. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women's basketball team won a Great American Conference road contest by a 17-point margin at Oklahoma Baptist University on Thursday by a score of 67-50. The Blossoms saw 10 of their 11 players who played in the contest tally at least basket.
 
"I'm extremely happy for the win on the road. I was not pleased with the way we started the game," said Greg Long. "You can't win in the postseason starting like that. I was really pleased with the focus after the half. We came out and executed and played hard," he continued. "The group at the end of the game I felt were not locked in and we have to have everyone if we are going to win the tournament. This team continues to leave its mark and we have more work to do."
 
The Blossoms actually found themselves trailing to start the game, but took an advantage into halftime. They then held the Bison to just seven points in the third quarter and continued to score on offense resulting in the commanding win.
 
In the first, UAM was down 12-5 early, but went on an 8-2 run to finish off the quarter. Mackenzie Tillman, Nina Kizzee, Shania Smith and Kayla Bradley aided in that run to get the momentum on the Blossoms' side.
 
When the second quarter rolled around, UAM made some moves thanks to some solid play from Mekaylan Hicks, Berniezha Tidwell, Jaida Muhammad and Kizzee taking a seven-point lead. The Bison then answered, but UAM still took a 29-23-point advantage into the break.
 
To Start the third, the Blossoms pumped their lead up to double-digits getting it all the way to 30 with scoring all over the floor. Oklahoma Baptist did not score a point in the second half until there was 1:35 remaining in the third quarter.
 
In the fourth, the Bison cracked the board a little more, but the Blossom lead was too significant, and they went on to win the game, 67-50.
 
It was a solid overall day for Hicks as she led UAM scorers with 13 points. She also added five rebounds and two blocks and two steals on defense.
 
Muhammad also finished in double-figures with 12 points going 4-of-6 from downtown.
 
Kizzee had 10 points and six rebounds along with a trio of assists and a pair of steals.
 
With the win, UAM improves to 18-9 overall and 13-8 in GAC play while OKBU falls to 5-22 overall and 1-20 in conference games. The Blossoms are currently tied for fifth in the GAC with one game left to go on the schedule. Final seeding for the tournament will be officially determined following the final games on Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
UAM will finish off their regular season with a GAC matchup at Southern Nazarene University on Saturday at 1 p.m.