ARKADELPHIA -- Senior guard Sue Key put up a career-high 40 points as she led Southern Arkansas to a 78-63 victory over Henderson State Saturday afternoon, snapping the Reddies' seven-game Great American Conference winning streak at the Duke Wells Center.
The Reddies (11-5, 7-3) took the lead early, but the Lady Muleriders (4-12, 3-7) rallied behind a 29-7 run, fueled by Key's 21 points which included three treys and a 16-point run in the final three minutes of the period. Key put up 24 points in the opening quarter, leading Southern Arkansas to a 20-point lead, 32-12.
Henderson State cut the deficit to 35-21 with 6:37 remaining in the half off a 9-3 run, but the Lady Muleriders bounced back with an 11-0 run of their own to stretch their lead to 46-21 before carrying a 52-29 lead into the locker room.
The Lady Muleriders were fueled by 30 points from Key in the opening half along with 12 from Kimberly Crown as they shot for 55.6 percent from the field, 20 of 36, and 5-for-9 from distance, 55.6 percent, all five of which came from Key.
The Reddies attempted to claw their way back into the competition in the second half, matching SAU's 16 points in the third quarter and outscoring the Lady Muleriders 18-10 in the final period, but the rally was too little, too late as SAU killed Henderson's program-record conference winning streak that began in November.
Haleigh Henson paced the Reddies with 19 points, including three from distance. Pink Jones, who was on the court just 16 minutes after foul trouble in the first half, added 11 points. Hailey Estes finished with nine points, one point shy of her fifth double-double in six games, and added 11 rebounds.
Henderson shot for 34.5 percent in the game, but improved in the second half with 11 of 28 shooting compared with the 9 of 30 in the first half.
Key shot for 60 percent from the field including 5-for-8 from distance, 62.5 percent, while grabbing six rebounds for the Lady Muleriders. Crown picked up a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
SAU finished with 47.6 percent, 30 of 63, shooting, outscoring the Reddies 32-22 in the paint while outrebounding them 41-35.
The Reddies get no break as they take the short trip across Highway 7 to face Ouachita Baptist (9-6, 5-4) in the Battle of the Ravine. The game was rescheduled from last Tuesday after snow and ice shut down both universities. Tip-off Tuesday is set for 5:30 p.m. in Bill Vining Arena.
The Lady Muleriders play host to Arkansas-Monticello Tuesday with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off inside the W.T. Watson Center.
Sports on 01/21/2018