Nationally 13th-ranked Arkansas Tech University extended its women’s basketball winning streak to 10 games with a 66-49 Great American Conference victory over Southern Arkansas University at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center in Magnolia on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Suns (11-1 overall, 7-1 GAC) limited the Lady Muleriders to 14-of-46 (30 percent) shooting from the field and forced SAU into 22 turnovers.
“I thought we played well,” said Arkansas Tech head coach Dave Wilbers. “It was a good defensive game for us. I told our team we would face some adversity sometime on the road, and it’s about how we respond.”
Arkansas Tech took a 14-12 lead after one quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating, 45-foot shot by Calli White. The Golden Suns never trailed again.
Tech outscored Southern Arkansas 9-2 over the final 4:28 of the opening half to claim a 31-21 advantage at the intermission.
Defense allowed the Golden Suns to add to their lead in the third quarter. Tech limited the Lady Muleriders to 3-of-13 field goal shooting in the period, and the Suns took a 49-30 edge to the fourth quarter.
The Suns maintained at least a 15-point spread the rest of the way as they improved to 65-9 all-time against SAU.
Anissa Pounds paced Tech in scoring with 18 points. She was 4-of-8 from the field and 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Cheyenne North added 12 points, 10 rebounds, a season-high seven assists, five blocked shots and three steals.
“That was a total game,” said Wilbers when asked about North’s performance. “She is delivering for us every night.”
Anna Djedjemel scored a team-high 12 points for the Lady Muleriders (3-9, 1-7), who suffered their fourth consecutive defeat.
The Golden Suns will visit Harding University for a 5:30 p.m. GAC contest in Searcy on Monday, Jan. 16. First place in the GAC women’s basketball standings will be on the line. The Lady Bisons (11-2, 8-0) maintained sole possession of first place with a 76-72 double overtime win at Ouachita Baptist University on Saturday.
Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will provide live play-by-play coverage of Monday night’s Tech-HU game.
