CHRIS GILLIAM
Sports Editor
There were five technical fouls and two players disqualified during the Southern Arkansas Lady Muleriders and Arkansas Tech Golden Suns battle Thursday night at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
When it was over, Tech walked away with an 87-62 GAC win over SAU.
"We had a difficult time getting any rhythm going tonight. Arkansas Tech has some good ball-handlers and we were playing uphill the whole time," said SAU head coach Julio Pacheco.
The coach said he was proud of his girls and that they played hard.
"I thought we were very tough and played with a lot of pride. But Tech's press caused us some problems," he said.
The Lady Muleriders managed to lead 13-7 midway through the opening quarter, but trailed 19-17 when the buzzer sounded.
They struggled in the second period as the Golden
Suns used a 16-0 run to gain control.
Up 32-17 with 4:50 on the clock, Olivia McWilliams finally scored for SAU.
Tempers then flared at the 3:46 mark which involved some pushing and shoving.
McWilliams was hit with a technical foul and the Golden Suns managed to go up by 18.
SAU got a couple of buckets from Ramiah Henry and trailed 37-24 at half-time.
Tech controlled the third period and led by 21 at one point.
Leading 60-40 heading into the final quarter, tempers flared again that prompted coaches and security officers to come onto the floor.
Once things calmed down and officials discussed the matter, McWilliams was tagged with another technical foul.
SAU's Kimberly Crown and Brette Wacha also received technicals, as well as Arkansas Tech's Jacie Higgins.
Tech knocked down five of six free throws, while McWilliams and Higgins were disqualified.
The Golden Suns managed to build a 29-point lead with just over three minutes to play and eventually won by 25.
McWilliams led SAU in scoring with 20 points, while Crown added 13. Henry finished with nine.
Lyrik Williams led Tech with 20.
The Lady Muleriders (8-16, 7-11 GAC) will play at Harding on Saturday.
Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.