SAU Women Rusty in 86-58 Loss to McMurry

Courtesy SAU Athletics Department

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas had trouble shaking the rust off from its 10-day holiday break as visiting McMurry (Texas) ran away with an 86-58 win in non-conference action Saturday at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Keisha Collins scored a game-high 25 points and Bridget Dorn pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the War Hawks (4-7).

Claire Bruffey added 14 points and Jamie Wilson scored 12, while Rikeita Thomas dished out six assists.

Freshman center Tori Nichols (Houston, Miss.) led the Lady Muleriders (0-9) with her third double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Sophomore guard Katherine McBride (Lucas, Texas) scored 13 points and had six boards.

McMurry led throughout, building a double-digit lead in the first four minutes and holding a 20-point margin in the first two minutes of the second half. They were up 29 points with a minute left in the game.

SAU used a 23-9 run to trim a 58-30 deficit at 15:37 to 67-53 with 7:42 remaining in the game, but couldn’t get closer. The War Hawks then responded with an 18-3 run of their own for an 85-56 margin at 1:04.

McMurry led 41-28 at the half.

Southern Arkansas shot just 34 percent for the game, hitting 19 of 56 from the floor, including only 2 of 14 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc. They also hurt themselves at the foul line, connecting on just 18 of 40 for 45 percent.

The War Hawks were 42.2 percent from the field on 27 of 64, and hit 30 of 41 (73.2 percent) free throws.

The two teams combined for 61 fouls, with six players fouling out. McMurry was whistled for 31 and lost two players, while the Lady Muleriders had 30 and lost four.

SAU committed 27 turnovers that the War Hawks converted into 34 points.

Southern Arkansas returns to Great American Conference play January 3 when they travel to Durant, Okla., for a 5:30 p.m. meeting with Southeastern Oklahoma State