MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Henderson State, short-handed and plagued with foul trouble, was defeated Monday evening in a non-conference bout with the Southern Arkansas Muleriders, 69-53. This was the second meeting between the two teams, with HSU taking the first contest.
 
Henderson State was again without Karrington Whaley and was without leading-scorer Ashley Farrar for much of the second half due to foul trouble. The Reddies were led by Sonni Martin's 15 points, followed up with Tamia Templeton's 12. Templeton has scored in double figures in back-to-back games. Maci Mains had her highest scoring outing since her season-opening 35 points with 11 tonight.
 
The rematch began with Southern Arkansas sprinting right out of the gate thanks to two Henderson State turnovers within the first 30 seconds, coming out on a 12-0 run to start. The Muleriders were ahead 12-2 going into the first media timeout.
 
The Reddies were able to catch their breath coming out of the timeout, going on an 11-4 run to cut the lead to three. However, SAU closed the quarter rattling off six-straight and ended the first period with the 16-13 advantage. The three-point deficit was due to Henderson State's ability to flip the script from the first 30 seconds, forcing eight turnovers to its own five.
 
Both teams started off the second ten minutes slow with HSU sporting a 7-3 run that lasted the first five minutes. Southern Arkansas woke up for the last five minutes, closing the half in similar fashion to the way it closed the first quarter, putting together a 14-6 run to head to the locker room up 39-26. Martin led the way for the Reddies with 13 of her team-high 15 points.
 
Both teams were relatively cold from the field with HSU shooting 35.3% compared to SAU's 39.4%. Despite both teams also having a similar amount of turnovers at the break, it was the Muleriders' running of the floor that gave them the edge. SAU saw a 12-point advantage in fast break points (15-3). Southern Arkansas also frequently found itself at the free-throw line with 15 attempts compared to Henderson's three (3), outscoring HSU at the charity stripe 12-1.
 
Minutes into the second half, disaster struck the Reddies as Farrar was called for her fourth foul, forcing Henderson State head coach Jill Thomas to sit her for a long stretch of the second half. Around the same time, Templeton picked up her third, leaving Henderson without a forward to close out the quarter. 
 
Despite the adversity, HSU responded and began to cut away at the lead, eventually trimming it to a single digit deficit with two minutes left in the period for the first time since the first half.
 
An and-1 by SAU's Kenzie Ezekiel plus a last-second layup pushed the Mulerider lead back to double digits as they sat at 55-40 heading into the 4th.
 
Southern Arkansas' continued use of its full court press wore on the Reddies as the Muleriders were able to extend their lead, eventually taking the rematch 69-53.
 
Henderson State will see the Muleriders for the third time Saturday, Feb. 6 inside the Duke Wells Center for the Reddies' next home game. Before that, HSU will head to Russellville, Arkansas to take on Arkansas Tech Thursday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m.