RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Lyrik Williams turned in a 20-point, eight-rebound performance and Cheyenne North had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double as the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team (10-2, 6-2 Great American Conference) rallied to take a 73-69 win over Southern Arkansas (3-11, 2-6) on Saturday afternoon at Tucker Coliseum.
 
NEXT UP

• Arkansas Tech will travel to Searcy, Ark., on Monday, Jan. 15 for a matchup with Harding University that will be streamed live on ESPN3 as part of the Division II Basketball Showcase. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Southern Arkansas opened the game hot, stretching its lead out to nine (16-7) after the opening quarter.
• The Lady Mulerider lead hit double figures (18-7) in the opening seconds of the second quarter after a Kimberly Crown layup at the 9:47 mark.
• Ke'Vonshaye Stackhouse buried a 3-pointer on the next possession to pull Tech to within eight (18-10), and Tech outscored SAU 9-1 over the next 1:30 to cut the deficit to just one point (20-19) with 8:00 remaining in the half.  
• The Lady Muleriders pushed ahead by five (24-19) over the next minute, but the Golden Suns fought back and knotted the game at 26-26 with 4:40 remaining in the second quarter.
• SAU again surged ahead by five (31-26) three minutes later, and carried a three-point (33-30) lead into the half.
• Three minutes into the third quarter, Tech took its first lead since its early 3-2 advantage as a Southern Arkansas technical foul allowed a three-point play to become a four-point play, fiving the Suns a 38-37 advantage with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter.
• The Golden Suns took the advantage, stretching the lead to as many as seven (44-37) down the stretch in the third quarter before SAU was able to pull back within four (53-49) at the quarter break.
• Olivia McWilliams opened scoring in the fourth quarter for SAU with a long 3-pointer to pull the Lady Muleriders back within one.
• The Golden Suns were able to push ahead again, grabbing a seven-point (66-59) advantage with 6:22 to play after a layup by Jacie Higgins.
• SAU was able to pull to within three, including narrowing the margin to 72-69 with 12 seconds to play, but Cheyenne North's free throw on the ensuing possession put the game out of reach for SAU.

NOTABLES

• SAU held a 16-13 advantage in points off turnovers, and a 12-10 advantage in bench points. Tech held a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint, a 13-9 advantage in second-chance points, and a 6-4 advantage in fast-break points.
• Jayana Sanders turned in a 15-point effort, to become the third Golden Suns player to hit double figures in the game.
• Kylie Ladd led Tech with six assists.
• Tech outshot SAU 42.9 to 38.3 percent, and held a 44-37 rebounding advantage.