Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Arkansas-Monticello’s stifling defense carried the sixth-seeded Blossoms to a 63-55 victory against third-seeded Southwestern Oklahoma State in Friday’s last Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal matchup from Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
The Blossoms (19-10) held the Lady Bulldogs (21-8) to their lowest point total in more than five years and limited them to just 27.5 percent shooting. Further more, they held SWOSU’s four All-GAC selections – Tyra Aska, Makyra Tramble, Bethany Franks and Taber Beer – to a combined 13-for-53 shooting.
 
Trailing by six three minutes into the fourth quarter, UAM started is comeback thanks to a layup and a 3-pointer by Jaida Muhammad. Mekaylan Hicks put the Blossoms ahead for the first time in quarter on an offensive rebound put back.
 
With the game tied at 51, GAC Defensive Player of the Year Berniezha Tidwell picked the pocket of Tramble and scored for a 53-51 lead. Aska answered with a layup of her own. A Kayla Bradley steal and layup put the Blossoms ahead for good. Another Tidwell steal led to a Bradley layup. Bradley finished her own personal 6-0 run on a layup with 59 seconds remaining.
 
Tidwell filled the stat sheet as she totaled 19 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Muhammad, Bradley and Hicks all scored eight points.
 
Tramble, the Freshman of the Year finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. The Lady Bulldogs entered the GAC Championships fifth in the Central Region rankings. They await Sunday evening’s selection show to determine if they will garner a third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Arkansas-Monticello scored just its second win at the GAC Championships and the first since 2015. The 19^th win represented the most for the program since they won 21 in 2008-09. They ended an eight-game losing streak to the Lady Bulldogs and won against them for just the fourth time in 19 meetings as GAC members.
 
Having defeated one three-time GAC champion on Friday, Arkansas-Monticello takes the league’s other three-time champion, Arkansas Tech, in Saturday’s 8:00 PM semifinal contest. During the regular season, both the Blossoms and Golden Suns won on their home courts. Tech scored a 72-57 win on December 7. UAM answered with an 84-72 victory on February 15.