CLEVELAND, Miss. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women’s basketball team suffered its first conference loss of the season at the hands of the Delta State Lady Statesmen by a final count of 59-45 Thursday night.

As a team, UAM shot only 26 percent for the entire game and only 25 percent from three-point range, while the Lady Statesmen shot 50 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range and 71 percent from the foul line.

The lone bright spot for the Blossoms was their free-throw shooting. The team sunk 11-of-13 attempts for a final 85 percent mark, which also marks the highest percentage for the Blossoms this season in a single-game.

In the first half, UAM had as much as a five-point lead with 10:39 left, but the shots stopped falling for the Blossoms. From the 9:47 mark in the first half, until just over 16 minutes left in the second half, the Blossoms were held scoreless, allowing DSU to gain a significant advantage.

From that point, UAM was forced to play catch-up while the Lady Statesmen continued their hot shooting, extending their lead to as much as 17 points with 1:13 left in regulation.

The Blossoms were led by senior Andrea Dubose (Hickory, Miss.) with 15 points. Dubose connected on 6-of-19 field goals, 2-of-9 from three-point range and 1-of-2 from the foul line. Sophomore Erika Brown (Shreveport, La.) was the team’s next highest scorer with eight points.

DSU was led by Bug Cooper, who also scored 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Cooper made 4-of-9 field goal attempts and 7-of-8 foul shots.

The Blossoms drop to 9-4 overall and 1-1 in GSC games, while the Lady Statesmen improve to 12-5 overall and 2-0 in the GSC.

UAM continues conference play with a home match-up against Ouachita Baptist this Saturday, January 17. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Steelman Fieldhouse.