DURANT, Okla. — Fatima Adams scored a team-best 18 points, while both
Aujana Dawkins and
Fabiana Monte chipped in 11 points apiece as the No. 23 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team (7-2, 5-0 Great American Conference) won a back-and-forth battle over Southeastern Oklahoma (3-8, 1-4 GAC) on Thursday at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
NEXT UP- Arkansas Tech continues its Oklahoma swing with a 1 p.m. game at East Central on Saturday, Jan. 9.
HOW IT HAPPENED- Arkansas Tech was held off the board for the first 3:22 of the game – scoring its first points at the 6:38 mark on a pair of free throws by Adams – ending a 5-0 swing by Southeastern to open the game. Tech's first field goal came at the 6:12 mark on a jumper by Anissa Pounds to cut the Southeastern lead to 7-4.
- Tech tied the game at 24-24 on a Bre Brooks jumper at the 7:18 mark of the second quarter and pulled ahead less than a minute later on a Kelsey McClure layup.
- The Golden Suns took a 34-33 lead into the half.
- Southeastern Oklahoma outshot Tech 44.4 to 37.1 percent in the first half. However, the Savage Storm connected on just one of nine 3-pointers while Tech connected on four of nine.
- Tech held the lead for 3:39 in the opening half.
- The Savage Storm scored the last four points of the first half to narrow a 34-29 game to 34-33.
- Adams and Tierani Richardson were Tech's leading scorers in the first half with six points apiece.
- Tech took a one-point (51-50) lead into the fourth quarter.
- After the Savage Storm pulled ahead in the fourth quarter, Anna Lea Little forced a key turnover and hit a layup on the subsequent possession to put Tech ahead 61-60 with 4:58 to play.
- A pair of free throws by Calli White with 33 seconds to play broke a 65-65 tie and put the Golden Suns ahead for good.
- The Golden Suns held Southeastern Oklahoma off the scoreboard for the final 3:13 of the game.
NOTABLES- Adams reached double figures for the 38th time in her tenure at Arkansas Tech.
- Monte turned in a season-high 11 points.
- Dawkins' 11 points and 12 rebounds gave her a double-double for the first time.
- Brooks dished out five assists.
- There were 12 ties and 11 lead changes in the contest.
- Southeastern Oklahoma led for 21:17 in the contest compared to Tech's 10:13.
COACH WILBERS SAYS- On the play during the stretch run – "Our defense really came alive. We had some girls come off the bench that did an outstanding job for us, especially defensively at the end."
- On the defense on SE's Emem David – "She does a good job of sealing and getting position. She got good position on us, but I think our posts did a lot better in the second half."
- On the key fourth-quarter sequence with Anna Lea Little forcing a turnover, then grabbing an offensive rebound with a putback on the next possession – "Crucial plays. It's the end of the game, and someone has to make a play. Anna Lea has stood the course her whole career… she is growing into herself, she is doing a fantastic job. I remember those two plays vividly, and they were big plays in the basketball game."
- On the play of Fabiana Monte – "She's earning more playing time, and it's all because of practice. She does a great job in practice every day. She's more comfortable, she knows what we expect, and she hit a couple of big shots in the first half."
-FIGHTON-
