Blossoms Secure No. 2 Seed on Senior Night
Michael Thomas
Staff Writer
The Cotton Blossoms seniors finished their last game at Steelman Fieldhouse with a win over Southern Arkansas 83-78 and claimed second place in the Gulf South Conference West division.It took an extra period for the Cotton Blossoms to secure the victory against the last place Lady Muleriders. University of Arkansas Monticello defeated SAU by 19 in the first meeting and the Lady Muleriders came into Steelman Fieldhouse seeking revenge on senior night.
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| Photo by Danielle Kloap |
| Out on top - Senior Addie Lees leads the charge against SAU as the Blossoms secure the no. 2 seed in the GSC Tournament. The Blossom basketball team went out on top Saturday night. |
SAU kept the game close and had the lead 67-63 with just over a minute left in regulation.
"I got kind of down, but it also motivated me," senior guard Andrea Dubose said. "To lose to the last place team (SAU) in the conference would have made us look really bad and would have put us in a bad position."
Dubose responded with two assists to cut the lead 67-65 and helped set up junior Monica Perkins-Miller for the game-tying shot with 16 seconds on the clock.
Senior Blossom Sharlene Murphy shot 50 percent from the field and added two steals on her special night.
"It was special. My son and family was here supporting me. It was a great feeling," Murphy said. "I was just disappointed in the way we played. We have to pick it up next week in order to win conference."
Senior Addie Lees provided the spark the Blossoms needed with a steal and layup that started an 6-0 run, allowing UAM to finally pull away from the Lady Muleriders.
"It was rewarding because SAU was up on us and they shouldn't have been up," Lee said. "It was the effort that brought us through."
Lees added, "This was our last night and two or three years from now we will remember this game and I wasn't about to let us lose."
Lees sat out all last season for health reasons and she contemplated quitting basketball and not returning, but her mother and divine intervention kept her at UAM for her final season.
"It was an amazing feeling because of some of my health problems," Lees said. "At times I wanted to stop playing, but it was my mom and of course the Lord that kept me going."
The Blossoms looks to keep the winning going as they head into the GSC tournament March 4-8 holding on to the No. 2 seed. UAM will face No. 3 seed North Alabama from the East division Thursday March 5 in Southaven, Miss. at the Desoto Civic Center.
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