ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State had an opportunity to take the lead in the final seconds on Saturday afternoon but could not get a shot off and fell to Arkansas-Monticello 64-62 at the Duke Wells Center.

The Reddies (15-7, 10-6) got off to a good start at home and opened up a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but UAM responded, and shot 47% from the floor in the second to out-score Henderson 19-10 in the period and carry a 27-25 lead into the break. HSU was held scoreless for nearly six minutes in the second quarter.  

The third did little to separate the two sides, as the cold shooting continued on both ends. Henderson finally found some momentum at the end of the quarter, however, and closed the period on a 7-4 spurt to tie things at 45-45 heading into the game's final 10 minutes.

Momentum swung back and forth down the stretch as the game saw six lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter alone. With the score knotted at 59-59 and 1:55 remaining in regulation, UAM put together a back-breaking possession and used four offensive rebounds to put up four looks from the field, the last of which went through at the 1:04 mark, to give the Blossoms a 61-59 lead.

Pink Jones put the Reddies back in front on the next trip down the court when she got a jumper to go down, drew the foul and cashed in the free throw to make it 62-61 with 43 seconds left, but UAM hit another basket on the other end to go back in front 63-62 with just 17 seconds to go.

Needing a basket to stay alive, HSU could not get a shot and turned the ball over out of bounds with two seconds on the clock. A quick foul, followed by a 1-of-2 trip at line for UAM, gave the Reddies a sliver of hope after advancing the ball to the front court with a timeout, but Blu Jones' pass with 0.8 seconds remaining was knocked away to end it in the Blossoms' favor.

Five players scored in double figures for HSU. Pink Jones had a team-high 13 points while Whaley finished with 12 and 11 rebounds, Estes notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards, Blu Jones added 12 and Maci Mains had 10. The Reddies held UAM to 35.3% shooting but shot just 37.3% on the other end of the floor.

Henderson returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 13 when it crosses the street to take on rival Ouachita Baptist at 5:30 p.m.