Southern Arkansas Lady Muleriders (7-4, 3-2 GAC)

at Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm (6-6, 3-3 GAC) Saturday, January 11 @ 2 p.m Bethany, Okla. (Sawyer Center) Live Audio | Live Stats | Live Video

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Game Notes (PDF)

Setting the Stage
The Southern Arkansas women's basketball team hits the road for the second time in conference play as they travel to Bethany, Okla. to take on Southern Nazarene University on Saturday, January 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
The Lady Muleriders (7-4, 3-2 GAC) should be more rested than the Crimson Storm (6-6, 3-3 GAC) as SAU was the only GAC school to not play a game on Thursday night as part of the league's rolling bye schedule. The Lady Muleriders will also look to capture their third road win this season as they come into Saturday's game 2-2 away from the W.T. Watson Center.
 
The Coaches
Southern Arkansas' first-year head coach Rusty Rainbolt continues to push the Lady Mulerider basketball program in a different direction as his 2013-14 squad has already won more games (7) than the previous three years combined. This will be Rainbolt's first game against Southern Nazarene.
 
Southern Nazarene's Derek Dorris is in his second year as the head coach of the Crimson Storm. Last season, Dorris led the Crimson Storm to a 21-10 overall record and a 14-6 mark in their first season in the GAC. Despite not being eligible for GAC or NCAA post season play last year, Dorris and the Crimson Storm went on to post season play as part of the NCCAA . That run would culminate in a NCCAA National Championship.     
 
Last Time Out
The Lady Muleriders are coming off of a thrilling 84-83 come-from-behind overtime win against East Central in their last action on Saturday, January 4. In that game, the Lady Muleriders trailed by as much as 17 points with 6:42 left in the first half before they went on a 21-8 to close out the half and trail by just four points at the break, 49-45.
 
The comeback effort would continue in the second half, but it would not be until the Lady Muleriders ripped off an 11-0 run that they would capture the lead. Eventually SAU's Allie Wade would have to knock down a clutch three-pointer in the closing seconds of the second half to tie the game and send it into overtime. The three-pointer was Wade's first make of the game; she has missed her eight prior attempts from long range.
 
In overtime, SAU would out-last the Lady Tigers and earn the one-point win, 84-83.
 
Last Time vs. Southern Nazarene (February 14, 2013)
In their last meeting, the Lady Muleriders scored a season-high 80 points, but it was not enough as Southern Nazarene was still 15 points better, scoring 95. SAU held a one-point lead at half time, 39-38, but an offensive onslaught by SNU pushed them past the Lady Muleriders.
 
In that game SAU's Katherine McBride scored a career-best 30 points to lead all scorers. McBride also led the team with seven (7) assists and six (6) steals in the game.
 
Checking the Standings
The two teams will enter Saturday's contest right in the middle of the Great American Conference standings. SAU enters in a tie for third place with a 3-2 GAC record while SNU enters in fourth place with a 3-3 GAC record. The Crimson Storm are not eligible for the GAC Tournament, but are eligible for a regular season championship. Therefore, their conference standing will not count towards tournament seeding. 
 
Rainbolt Era Bringing Culture Change
Since his hire in April of 2013, first-year head coach Rusty Rainbolt has worked hard to change the culture surrounding the Southern Arkansas women's basketball team. In the few months since, Rainbolt's efforts are beginning to show early returns as fans and players alike are buying into his "family-first" atmosphere.
 
Evidence of that from a fan perspective is the fact that the average home attendance is up from a year ago through the first six home games.
 
Evidence of the players buying in is in the fact that 12 players average 9.8 or more minutes of playing time a game. Additionally, the Lady Muleriders have won more games (7) than the previous three seasons combined.    
 
Gotta Start with One
Mired in a 35-game losing streak, the revamped 2013-14 Lady Muleriders wasted little time in snapping that lengthy streak as they won their home-opener over Rogers State by a score of 86-72. The win was the first for the program since January 26, 2012 and was the first for Rusty Rainbolt as the Lady Mulerider head coach.
 
Full-Court Pressure
Early on in the season, one thing that can be expected from the SAU women's basketball team is that they will play a lot of full-court pressure defense. That up-tempo style of defense has frustrated opposing offenses to commit 248 turnovers. 137 (55%) of those forced turnovers have been a result of a steal by the Lady Muleriders. Those 137 steals are tops in the GAC.
 
Give Me A Break
Five times this season, the Lady Muleriders have held a lead heading into halftime. In those games, the Lady Muleriders are 4-1. In games in which they either trail or are tied at the half, the Lady Muleriders are 3-3.
 
Spreading the Wealth
Only one player is averaging double figures on the season, but that is not to say that the Lady Muleriders are not scoring. On the year, SAU is averaging 70.9 points per game, and those points are coming from a variety of sources as seven players are averaging five or more points a game.


Logging the Minutes
So far this year, all 13 active players have started at least once game, but no player has started every game. This has led to a fairly even distribution of minutes among the players. Evidence of this is the fact that 12 players average over 9.8 minutes a game and six average over 19 minutes per game. 
 
Wade Makes School History
On December 23, 2013, junior guard Allie Wade made school history as she became the first Lady Mulerider basketball player to be named Player of the Week in the Great American Conference. SAU has been a member of the GAC since the 2011-12 season.
 
Chanel No. 3
Despite only starting four games, junior forward Chanel Miller has been the Lady Muleriders' top scorer over the first 11 games this season as she averages 15.2 ppg. In all but two games, Miller has scored in double-figures and has scored 18 or more points six times.
 
Crashing the Boards
Through 11 games, the Lady Muleriders are showing the ability to pull down rebounds at a high clip. On the year, SAU is 4th in the GAC in total rebounds per game (44.6) and rank first in offensive rebounds per game (18.1).
Helping lead the charge in rebounding is Miranda Grier, Chanel Miller, Mariam Ridgwell, Allie Wade, and Barvion Wyatt. Those five average over four rebounds per game and collectively, they are responsible for 24.6 (55%) of the team's 47.6 rebounds per game.
 
Quick Hands
With a GAC-leading 12.5 steals per game on the season, the Lady Muleriders are showing that they are very active and have quick hands on the defensive end of the court. As with most stat categories, the steals come as a team effort as eight players have at least 10 steals on the year. Leading the way individually is Allie Wade with 24 steals.
 
Growing Up
Last year, the Southern Arkansas women's basketball team was one of the youngest teams in the GAC as they had 12 freshmen or sophomores, only two juniors and no seniors. This year, thanks to only three returners and
10 transfers, the Lady Muleriders' roster boasts 12 juniors, one senior, and no freshman or sophomores.
 
Dialing Long Distance
Three-point shooting has not been a strong suit of the Lady Muleriders so far this season as they are connecting on just 26% of their tries from long range. While the percentage is low, the Lady Muleriders also do not shoot many three's as is. So far, only 22% of their field goal attempts come from beyond the arc.