BETHANY, Okla. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women's basketball team suffered a 64-49 loss at the hands of Southern Nazarene University on Saturday from Bethany, Oklahoma, to conclude their regular season. The Blossoms, however, will still play as the sixth seed in the Great American Conference Tournament next week in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
 
"Give credit to SNU. They played with a lot of heart and they are really good team. When you put those things together, you are almost unbeatable," said UAM head coach Greg Long. "I was not pleased with our effort from the start. This team has to learn to win on the road. With that said, I am extremely happy about going to the conference tournament. Everyone is 0-0 now," Long continued. "We are going to prepare and go up there and give it everything we have."
 
Despite the loss, the Blossoms will play as the sixth seed in the tournament beginning next Friday in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
 
They fall to 18-10 overall and 13-9 in league games. The Crimson Storm improve to 17-9 overall and 14-8 in GAC games.
 
Throughout the contest, the Blossoms were paced by Mekaylan Hicks who shot the ball pretty well despite UAM shooting just 32.7 percent from the field as a team. Hicks finished with a season-high 21 points, had three rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
 
Jaida Muhammad also finished in double-figures with 11 points going 2-of-5 from downtown.
 
SNU and UAM were close for most of the game, but it was not until the third quarter that the Crimson Storm made a push and got too far out of reach. Hicks and Muhammad hit some shots down the stretch going into halftime, but UAM found itself down by two at the break, 26-24.
 
UAM was still within striking distance after Hicks hit a layup to cut the lead to two with 8:27 left in the third quarter. However, SNU went on a big run at the end of the period to take a big lead, 43-29.
 
UAM tried to rally starting the fourth, but Southern Nazarene remained in control keeping the lead in double-digits throughout. Ultimately, the Blossoms fell by 15 points, 64-49.
 
UP NEXT
UAM will aim to continue their season Friday at 8 p.m. from Bartlesville at the GAC Tournament when they play the three seed, Southwestern Oklahoma State University.