SEARCY, Ark. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women's basketball team dropped a Great American Conference battle on the road at Harding University on Thursday from the Rhodes-Reaves Field House in Searcy, Arkansas.
Mekaylan Hicks paced the Blossoms offense in the loss, 72-62.
"This was a very tough loss. We got some help in the conference tonight, but we have to figure some things out fast," said head coach
Greg Long. "We cannot rely on other teams winning or losing to help us out. We have to help ourselves."
In the first, the Blossoms found themselves down in the first after a late Harding run. With a little over a minute remaining,
Dezirae King hit a layup, but the Lady Bisons scored five straight points to end the first with the lead, 19-11.
The Blossoms were still down double-digits until they went on their own run win the last minute and a half. After King scored three points after a bucket and a foul,
Nina Kizzee made it a nine-point deficit with a layup inside. To change the momentum,
Kayla Bradley hit a three to make it a six-point lead into the half, 34-28.
The Lady Bisons kept their lead until the final few minutes as the Blossoms made a move. Down by four,
Berniezha Tidwell tallied a couple of buckets on a fastbreak, and Hicks then helped them take the lead with a layup inside, 43-42. Harding went back up a few minutes later, but Bradley hit some big shots down the stretch to go into the fourth tied up, 49-49.
In the fourth, Harding got hot to start and took a seven-point lead. They then made it double-digits again in the last few minutes. Eventually, they went on to win the game, 72-62.
Hicks paced the attack with 16 points while also leading in rebounds with eight.
King finished with 15 points and a pair of assists.
Bradley was 6-of-10 from the field finishing with 14 points.
Tidwell led the team in assists with eight.
With the loss, UAM drops to 13-7 overall and 8-7 in GAC play, while Harding improves to 14-7 overall and 11-4 in conference play.
UP NEXT
The Blossoms will finish their road trip at Arkadelphia, Arkansas when they play at Henderson State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
