Box Score MONTICELLO, Ark. – A furious rally in the second half gave the Blossoms a chance down the stretch, but they fall just short 72-66 on the road against rival Southern Arkansas. The Blossom outscored the Muleriders 39-33 after the half, shooting 47 percent from the field and forcing 15 turnovers.

UAM got the first bucket of the game with 8:20 to play in the first quarter after a sloppy start by both teams, but the Blossoms would never hold again after SAU responded with a 10-0 run. UAM struggled to find points in the opening quarter, hitting just 25 percent of its shots from the field.

The Blossoms found a bit of a rhythm in the second quarter behind seven points on 3-of-4 shooting by Dezirae King. However, UAM had a hard time protecting the ball turning it over 11 times in the half surrendering 18 points off of those turnovers and take a 39-27 deficit into the locker room.

UAM came out with a sense of purpose in the second half, starting the third quarter with an 11-0 run to cut the Muleriders lead to 39-38 with 6:35 to play in the quarter. The Blossoms were able to cut their halftime deficit in half heading to the fourth quarter thanks to 14 points in the paint. 

Another run for the Blossoms cut the SAU lead down to three with just under two minutes to play, but turnovers ultimately kept UAM from being able to complete a comeback. The Blossoms turned the ball over 28 times in the game resulting in 35 points for the Muleriders. In the end, UAM dropped the contest 72-66.

King led the way for the Blossoms with 17 points while also tallying six steals. Nina Kizzee joined her in double digits with 11 points as well as three assists and three steals.

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The UAM men's and women's contests against Ouachita Baptist on Thursday have been canceled. The Blossoms will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when they visit Henderson State. You can watch that game HERE or listen live on KHBM 93.7.