Southern Arkansas University Athletics

Gail Buffington-Kimbell played three years at Southern Arkansas University after transferring from Louisiana Tech University.  Reportedly, then Louisiana Tech coach, Leon Barmore, said at the time he recruited Gail Buffington out of Stephens, Ark., that she was the best player he ever recruited for the national NCAA Division I powerhouse Lady Techsters.

Transferring to Southern Arkansas after a freshman season at Louisiana Tech, Gail Sanders at that time, set the career scoring record at Southern Arkansas in three years with 1,913 points in 89 games for a 21.5 scoring average in 1984-88.  Her record stood until 1996 when Rachel Young bettered the mark with 1,920 points in 96 games, a 20.0-point average, breaking the record in her final game as a Lady Mulerider, but she did it over a four-year period (1992-96).

 Kimbell led Southern Arkansas in scoring all three years she was with the Riderettes, as the women’s team was named at the time.  She had 336 points in 16 games for a 21.0-point scoring average in 1985-86, 642 points in 27 games for a 23.8-point average in 1986-87, and 602 points in 25 games for a 24.1-point average in 1987-88.

Kimbell is the only Lady ‘Rider in the 600-Point Scoring Club, and she is in it twice with 642 points in 1986-87 and 602 in 1987-88.  She is also in the 300-Point Club with 336 points in 1985-86. She was First Team Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) as a sophomore and was a unanimous First Team All-AIC choice as a junior and senior.

In high school, Gail paced Stephens to the state championship. A resident of Stephens, she is now married to Andrew Kimbell and they have two children, Sherria Lewis and Terrance Sanders.