ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Reddies began their season with a victory over the Eagles of Texas A&M-Texarkana tonight, securing the 85-81 win.

The Reddies (1-0, 0-0) had four players with double-digits points tonight, with Natalie Cardenas leading the way with 25 points on 42.8 percent shooting from the paint, and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc. Freshman Macy Willis put up 22 points, finishing 6 for 12 from the field and 2-3 from three. Brynlee Huggins and Kadee Keaster both supplied 12 points, while Grayson Fairless led the team with 12 rebounds, and Cardenas added 10 for a double double.

Game Recap
The Reddies started off the night with Cardenas putting up two free-throws to give Henderson a 2-0 lead, then Willis added a jumper to make it 4-1. The Reddies stretched their lead with two threes by Huggins and Keaster to make it 15-7. The Eagles were able to lower the lead to 17-12, before Henderson pushed, and held a 25-15 lead after the first.

The Reddies stayed hot out of the break, as Willis and Fairless both scored to extend the lead to 29-17. TAMUT fought back, taking the lead 37-36 with less than a minute left in the half, and extended their lead to 39-36 going into halftime.

TAMUT continued their aggression, as they pressed the lead to more than five, but the Reddies refused to let them take more than a nine-point lead, as a key three by Willis brought the score to 51-45 with 5:28 left in the quarter. Henderson kept up the pressure, narrowing the lead to 53-50 before the Eagles extended their lead again, holding it at 55-51. TAMUT held the Reddies scoreless for most of the quarter, until Fairless secured a layup to end the quarter with the score 57-53.

In the final quarter, the scoring hit a fever pitch, as three straight three-pointers with two from the Reddies started it off. A free-throw by Willis tied the score at 60-60, but TAMUT refused to release the lead as they scored five straight unanswered points to pull ahead. They continued to extend the lead, while the Reddies tried to climb back. TAMUT held a 78-68 lead, but three straight three-pointers by the Reddies pushed the lead to only 80-77, and the Eagles were only able to muster one more point, as Sam Basson nailed a clutch three-pointer to tie 81-81. Cardenas and Willis both made two free-throws to extend the lead, and the Reddies won the game 85-81.

Up Next –
The Reddies host Mississippi College as part of a double-header on Wednesday November 19th in the Duke Wells Center at 5:30 PM.