MONTICELLO, Ark. – A 24-6 third-period surge by Arkansas-Monticello proved to be the difference maker in Henderson State's 69-57 defeat to UAM on Saturday inside the Steelman House.
 
HSU shot just 20.0 percent from the field in the third quarter and turned the ball over 11 times, while the Blossoms went 8-of-16 and were 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Henderson finished the game shooting 32.7 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from deep with 36 rebounds.
 
Olivia Allen paced the team with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Ashley Farrar followed with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Bobbi Bazzle had eight points and a team-high 11 boards, including ten offensive rebounds.  
 
A slow start by the Reddies saw them trailing the Blossoms 6-1 in the first two and a half minutes after going 0-4 for their first four field goal attempts. HSU soon found its range on a 7-0 run capped off by a three-pointer from Brynlee Huggins to tie the game 8-8. Moments later, Allen knocked down a triple to push Henderson in front for the first time 12-11. The two sides traded baskets in the final two minutes, with UAM leading 22-21 at the end of the first period.
 
Farrar opened the scoring in the second quarter, pushing Henderson back on top 23-22. After Allen made a pair of free throws at 8:01, both sides failed to find the basket for the next two minutes and forty-one seconds. Arkansas-Monticello ended the drought and tied the game 27-all on a 5-2 run. The Reddies broke the deadlock with a jumper from Huggins, followed by a three-pointer by Sam Basson, which would help give HSU a 35-31 lead at halftime.
 
Arkansas-Monticello took control of the second half in the third quarter behind 50.0 percent shooting, which saw the Blossoms take a 55-41 lead. An early layup by Farrar extended the Redides' edge to seven, but it would not hold after a 7-0 run by UAM, who took the lead 40-38. The Blossoms' hot shooting continued as they closed out the last five minutes of the period on a 15-0 run to stretch the lead to 14 points.
 
Four points from Farrar and another seven by JJ Eddens trimmed the Blossoms's advantage to nine, 63-54 at 5:46 in the fourth quarter. Bazzle made a pair of free throws with 2:49 left in the game to make it an eight-point contest, but UAM's lead would be too much to overcome, as Arkansas-Monticello held on to win.
 
Henderson State (15-9, 11-7) makes its final trip to the Sooner State next week to take on East Central on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m.