SOUTHAVEN, Miss.,
– Arkansas-Monticello used a decisive
rebounding advantage and timely three-point
shooting to hand the North Alabama women’s
basketball team an 84-69 loss in the first
round of the Gulf South Conference
Tournament Thursday evening at the DeSoto
Civic Center in Southaven, Miss.
The Cotton Blossoms (19-7) hit six
three-pointers in the first half to help
build a 43-28 lead, then dominated the
boards over the final 20 minutes to secure
the win. Five UAM players reached double
digits in scoring, including Monica
Perkins-Miller, who pulled down 21 of the
team’s 50 rebounds.
The Lions (15-13) were led by Dana Jackson’s
20 points. Amber Rutherford and Jameica York
added 19 points each.
Despite hitting just six field goals in the
second half, UNA was able to connect from
the free throw line and trim a 17-point
deficit to just three points. After trailing
55-38 at the 13:20 mark, an 18-4 UNA run cut
the Cotton Blossoms lead to 59-56 with 5:24
remaining.
UAM, however, responded with eight straight
points before a pair of free throws by
Jackson made the score 67-58 with 3:34 left.
The Cotton Blossoms then reeled off nine
straight points to push the lead to 20 and
seal the victory.
For the game, UAM out-rebounded the Lions
50-33, including 18 offensive boards that
led to 19 second- chance points. The Cotton
Blossoms also held a 36-20 advantage in
points in the paint.
The loss is the third straight first-round
defeat for UNA at the GSC tournament. It
also marks the final game for senior Amber
Rutherford, who finishes her career at UNA
as the second-leading scorer and rebounder
in program history. Her 1,588 career points
and 740 rebounds trails only Amber Deline in
the school record books.
Rutherford will leave UNA with career free
throw records at the school, conference and
NCAA levels. During her four-year tenure,
she hit 526-of-570 foul shots. The 92.3
percent career average is tops in any
division of NCAA women’s basketball.
