Lady Muleriders rally to beat Christian Brothers

Five players registered double figures in scoring highlighted by a hefty double-double effort of 15 points and 14 rebounds from senior Kisi Young and Adam Collins' Southern Arkansas squad clamped down defensively in the second half to rally past Christian Brothers 88-83 on Saturday afternoon from inside the W.T. Watson Center.

There was no holiday hangover for the Lady Muleriders (4-1) following the tip as SAU jumped out to a 10-0 lead and led for the game's first seven minutes of action. The Lady Bucs (1-4) fought back to tie the game at 16 with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter and finished the opening ten minutes on a 7-4 run, including the quarter's final five points.

Christian Brothers carried the momentum into the second quarter and saw its advantage grow to its largest of the afternoon at 13 points with a 42-29 lead with 4:48 to play prior to the intermission. Immediately after leading by a baker's dozen, Southern Arkansas employed a game-shifting 13-0 run jumpstarted by two Kenzie Ezekiel free throws and highlighted by five points apiece from juniors Kylie Warren and Diamond Morris with the former's trifecta at the 2:19 mark bringing the deficit down to a single possession.

CBU managed to build its lead back to nine at the break and it grew to 12 with an early bucket to start the third quarter. Southern Arkansas, after giving up 51 first-half points, allowed only 16 in each of the final two quarters which helped the squad again climb from down 12+ to eventually take the lead which happened on the final play of the third quarter as Warren drove inside with time winding down to put SAU up 69-67.

That bucket followed a game-tying transition basket by Doriana Brown off an assist from senior Ariana Guinn which was facilitated by a steal from sophomore Tearra Cook. Moments prior, Guinn knocked down a trifecta that brought the Lady Muleriders to within two points of the lead in the final 90 seconds of the quarter.

The Lady Muleriders added to its advantage with a 7-2 run through the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to take a 76-69 lead, but CBU answered with a 7-0 run which was ended with Ezekiel knocking down a three-point shot at the 4:24 mark. Christian Brothers would fight to pull within two points of the lead on four different occasions in the final 3:30 of play, but the Lady Muleriders would hold off the pursuit with free throws from Warren and Guinn in the game's final twenty seconds.

Southern Arkansas edged CBU in points off of turnovers 26-21 with a dozen of those coming in the third quarter, while 19 of the Lady Bucs' 21 came in the first half. SAU narrowly outscored Christian Brothers inside 50-48 with 30 of the Muleriders' such points coming in the second half.

The defensive effort in the second half saw the Muleriders hold the Lady Bucs to a 33.3% shooting clip from the floor after CBU shot over 50% in each of the first two quarters of play including a 56.25% effort in the first ten minutes of play. SAU grabbed 58 rebounds with 29 on each end of the floor.

Warren and Guinn each delivered 16 points as both knocked down three three-point attempts. Warren added three rebounds and a steal, while Guinn secured six rebounds, collected three assists and a steal. Young grabbed eight of her 14 rebounds on the offensive end to go along with four assists, two steals and a block. Ezekiel and Morris each scored ten points. Brown and Cook picked up three steals apiece.

Southern Arkansas turns its attention to the Great American Conference opener on Thursday, December 2 in Searcy against Harding. Tip-off from inside Rhodes Reaves Fieldhouse is set for 5:30 p.m.

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