ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Reddies continued their home stand, facing off against the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas, and pulled out a win, 66-64.

The Henderson State (12-8, 8-8) offense was led by 22 points from Natalie Cardenas. Jayla Lewis added on 14, while Grayson Fairless had 12. Cardenas secured her first double-double of the season, as she collected a team-leading 10 rebounds, while Fairless added on eight. The offense was led by Sam Basson, who led the team with three assists. Three Reddies, Fairless, Macy Willis, and Lewis each recorded two blocks for the Henderson State defense.

Game Recap
In the first quarter, the Reddies got started early, scoring the first points off a layup by Basson. The two teams exchanged points, until Cardenas scored five straights to take an early lead with six minutes left, 9-4. The Muleriders surged and captured the lead 14-13 with 3 minutes left. Henderson attempted to push back but managed only four more points to trail 19-17 going into the second quarter.

SAU opened the second quarter outscoring the Reddies 7-4 in the first three minutes, extending their lead to 26-21. Another five unanswered points gave SAU a ten-point lead, but Henderson State kept pushing, pushing the lead back to nine points going into the last two minutes of the half. A three by Lewis narrowed the lead to six, but the Muleriders held off a Reddie push and led going into halftime 41-31.

Coming out of the half, the Reddies began to push hard against the Muleriders. Fairless opened the scoring with three. Outscoring SAU 9-6 in the first five minutes shrunk the Mulerider lead to 47-40. While Southern Arkansas was able to extend their lead to 12 points, The Reddies continued to put up more points, managing to trail 54-47 going into the final quarter.

The fourth began with both teams exchanging points, for the first five minutes, before Fairless scored a tough two points that began the Reddie comeback. Cardenas scored five with Lewis supplying two to take the lead 64-62 with 2:47 left in the game. While the Muleriders managed to tie it again. Strong defense by the Reddies prevented them from scoring again in the contest, and Lewis scored two free throws to secure the win for Henderson State 66-64.

Up Next –
Women's Basketball hosts Ouachita Baptist in the Battle of the Ravine on February 12th in the Duke Wells Center. Tip off is scheduled at 5:30 PM.