Lady Muleriders’ Hobbs Honored on All-Region Team
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas center Kmaria Hobbs (5-11, So., Clarksville, Texas) has been named a second team selection on the 2009-10 Daktronics women’s basketball All-South Region team that was released Wednesday.
Hobbs led the Gulf South Conference in scoring during the regular 
season and was 10th nationally at 20.7 points per game, and also ranked fourth in the conference in minutes played (32.8) and ninth in both rebounds (6.5) and free throw percentage (.774). She shot 49.2 percent (192-390) from the floor this season, dished out 25 assists, blocked 10 shots and had 31 steals.
Hobbs’ 538 total points scored this year put her in elite company, joining only five other former Lady Muleriders to ever break the 500-point barrier, and is the fifth-highest point total in a season at SAU and the highest season total in 16 years. Combined with her freshman season she now has 897 career points to rank 19th on the all-time Southern Arkansas career scoring list.
During the season Hobbs scored a career-high 32 points in an 80-78 overtime loss at home to Ouachita Baptist, set both school single-game (16) and season (151) free throw records and was named to the West Florida Holiday Classic All-Tournament team.
Fellow GSC West Division members Delta State (Miss.) and Arkansas Tech placed two players each on the Daktronics team, with the No. 8 ranked Lady Statesmen landing both on the first team in sophomore center Veronica Walker and junior guard Sarita “Bug” Cooper. This year’s conference champions and No. 4 Golden Suns are represented by junior guard Jenny Vining on the first team and sophomore forward Natalia Santos on the second squad. Barry (Fla.) senior forward Mariesa Greene was voted as the South Region player of the year.
SAU Softball Games Canceled
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas softball team’s 2010 season home-opener will have to wait a few days as their scheduled 2 p.m. doubleheader Wednesday with Lyon College has been postponed due to the threat of thunderstorms forecast for the area.
The doubleheader with Lyon has been rescheduled for March 30, but will be played in Batesville with a start time of 1 p.m. The Lady Muleriders won’t play at home now until April 1-2 when they host Ouachita Baptist in Gulf South Conference doubleheaders each of the two days.
SAU was scheduled to open GSC play this past weekend at Arkansas Tech, but those games had to be postponed due to a flu outbreak on the Southern Arkansas team. They have been rescheduled for March 23-24 in Russellville with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday and a noon start for Wednesday’s twin-bill. The Lady Muleriders were originally scheduled to play at Central Baptist College in Conway on March 23, but that doubleheader has been canceled and won’t be made up. The Lady Muleriders will open league play this weekend at Delta State. Saturday’s doubleheader begins at 3 p.m., followed by a noon doubleheader on Sunday.
SAU’s Hobbs an All-GSC Selection
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas center Kmaria Hobbs (5-11, So., Clarksville, Texas) has been named a first team selection on the 2009-10 All-Gulf South Conference basketball team that was released Tuesday by the conference office.
Hobbs earns her first spot on the team in only her sophomore season. She leads the league in scoring and is currently 10th nationally at 20.7 points per game, and also ranks fourth in the conference in minutes played (32.8) and ninth in both rebounds (6.5) and free throw percentage (.774). Hobbs shot 49.2 percent (192-390) from the floor this season, dished out 25 assists, blocked 10 shots and had 31 steals.
Hobbs’ 538 total points on the year puts her in elite company, joining only five other former Lady Muleriders to ever break the 500-point barrier, and is the fifth-highest point total in a season at SAU and the highest season total in 16 years. Combined with her freshman season she now has 897 career points to rank 19th on the all-time Southern Arkansas scoring list.
During the season Hobbs scored a career-high 32 points in an 80-78 overtime loss at home to Ouachita Baptist, set both school single-game (16) and season (151) free throw records and was named to the West Florida Holiday Classic All-Tournament team.
Southern Arkansas falls to UAM in Biley’s Finale
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Arkansas-Monticello jumped out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back as they rolled on to a 70-55 win over Southern Arkansas Saturday at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center. The game was Lady Mulerider Head Coach Sam Biley’s final time on the sideline, 
retiring from coaching after 15 years as head of the women’s program.
Chelsea Johnson’s three-pointer at 17:16 gave the Cotton Blossoms the 13-0 lead and they eventually built a 36-13 margin with 48 seconds left in the first half. SAU sophomore center Shenelda Levingston (El Dorado) hit one of two free throws for the halftime score of 36-14.
UAM continued the onslaught in the second frame, holding a 50-23 advantage at 14:03. Southern Arkansas managed to close out the final 2:24 of the game with an 8-0 run for the final 15-point margin.
Arkansas-Monticello was 25 of 54 from the floor for 46.3 percent, including 4 of 15 (26.7) from beyond the arc, and hit 16 of 26 (61.5) free throws. The Lady Muleriders were just 18 of 55 (32.7) overall, and 2 of 19 (10.5) on treys, but knocked down 17 of 20 (85.0) from the foul stripe, including 10 of 10 from sophomore center Kmaria Hobbs (Clarksville, Texas).
The Cotton Blossoms used a 39-33 rebound advantage to outscore SAU 40-24 inside. The two teams combined for 45 turnovers, UAM with 24 and Southern Arkansas 21.
Hobbs led all scorers with 20 points, which places her 19th on the 
all-time SAU scoring list with 897 in her two years.
Freshman forward Raven Jones (Fordyce) posted a double-double for the Lady Muleriders, recording 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Yelitza Rivera led Arkansas-Monticello with 16 points, Johnson had 14, and Erica Williams finished with 10 and six boards. Monica Perkins-Miller and Jerica Hubard also pulled down six rebounds apiece.
Biley completes a 30-year coaching career at Southern Arkansas after also serving as long-time men’s assistant to former head coach Monroe Ingram from 1980-1995. He then took over the reins of the women’s team for another 15 years. Biley led the Lady Muleriders to four Gulf South Conference tournament appearances and was named the league’s coach of the year in 2003.
Biley was an all-district and all-conference player in the final two seasons of his four-year career (1973-77) for the Muleriders.
SAU assistant coach Carrie Slaton will assume the head coach’s position.
Lady Muleriders Dropped by Lady Buccaneers in OT
By: Houston Taylor
MEMPHIS – Only three points were scored in overtime and they were all Christian Brothers’ as they held off Southern Arkansas 64-61 in the extra period Saturday at Canale Arena. It was the Lady Muleriders’ fourth straight loss and 10th in their past 11 games.
Both teams were brutal from the floor in overtime, with the Lady Buccaneers missing all three of their attempts, but hit 3 of 6 free throws for the win. SAU missed all seven of their shots and also had three turnovers.
Southern Arkansas fell into the same old trap they’ve suffered all season, watching a big lead disappear in the second half. They held an 18-point margin of 43-25 at the half, but CBU had whittled it down to single digits at 55-46 with 10:22 left in the game. Junior guard Keysha Hill (Hot Springs) put the Lady Muleriders back up by 11 just seconds later, but Christian Brothers rattled off a 15-4 run over the final 10 minutes to send it to overtime.
SAU bolted out of the gate, with junior forward Cha’Kia Lee’s (Springhill, La.) jumper at 18:13 giving them an 11-0 start to the game.
Southern Arkansas shot only 24 percent in the second half, hitting just 8 of 33, after connecting on 50 percent (16-32) in the first frame. They finished 24 of 72 (33.3) for the game, and had only nine free throw attempts, but canned them all.
The Lady Buccaneers hit 25 of 54 (46.3) for the game, behind 15 of 26 in the second half, and were 12 of 28 (42.9) at the foul line.
Sophomore center Kmaria Hobbs (Clarksville, Texas) led all scorers with 27 points for the Lady Muleriders, including hitting all five of her freebies. Her scoring pushed her to 20th on the all-time SAU scoring list, totaling 877 points so far in only her second season. Hobbs also pulled down eight rebounds in the contest, blocked a shot and had six steals.
Lee finished with 10 points and seven boards, and freshman forward Raven Jones (Fordyce) also grabbed eight rebounds.
CBU had only five players in the scoring column, with Tameka Wooten collecting 19 points, Sheena DeBose scoring 17 and Normanique Johnson tallying 16. Jasmine Ellis finished with a game-high 14 rebounds.
Southern Arkansas wraps up their season Saturday, hosting Arkansas-Monticello in a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. The game will mark the end of a long journey for Lady Mulerider head coach Sam Biley, who’s leaving the sideline after 30 years to retire from coaching. Biley served 15 years as the right-hand man for former men’s coach Monroe Ingram, before taking the helm of the women’s program in 1995 for another 15 seasons.
Southern Arkansas’ Rodenroth Receives GSC Softball Honor
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas outfielder Kelsey Rodenroth (Fouke) has been named the Gulf South Conference West Division 
softball player of the week for her performance in the period ending Sunday.
A 5-5 true freshman, Rodenroth led the Lady Muleriders to a 3-2 record on the week, going 7 for 19 in hitting .368 with a .947 slugging percentage. She belted three home runs, had a triple and drove in eight runs, while scoring six. Rodenroth had three hits, including two home runs, with five RBI in SAU’s opening 15-4 win at Southeastern Oklahoma State. The dingers were back-to-back in the third and fourth innings, three-run and two-run shots, respectively. She gave SAU its lone run with a solo homer in their final 8-1 loss to SOSU.
Sunday Lady Mulerider Softball Games Canceled
By: Houston Taylor
DURANT, Okla. – Sunday’s final softball games in the Southeastern Oklahoma State Festival were canceled due to rain overnight, making the fields too wet to play on.
Southern Arkansas was scheduled to play two more games Sunday, against both the host Savage Storm and Texas A&M International.
The Lady Muleriders (3-4) finished the festival 2-1, picking up 15-4 and 5-4 wins over SOSU and International, respectively, before dropping an 8-1 decision to Southeastern Oklahoma Saturday.
SAU travels this weekend to Denton, Texas for the Texas Woman’s Tournament. They will play Incarnate Word (Texas) and host Texas Woman’s each on both Friday and Saturday, at 2 and 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday. Following those four games, Southern Arkansas will face East Central (Okla.) in Ada on Sunday in an 11 a.m. doubleheader.
