Southern Arkansas LADY MULERIDERS (7-8, 3-6 GAC)

vs Arkansas-Monticello COTTON BLOSSOMS (5-10, 1-8 GAC) Thursday, January 23 @ 5:30 p.m Magnolia, Ark. (W.T. Watson Center) Live Audio (SAU Feed) | Live Stats | Live Video (SAU Feed)

GAME NOTES (PDF)

Setting the Stage
The Southern Arkansas women's basketball team welcomes in Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday evening for a pivotal game in the Great American Conference. The Lady Muleriders are currently mired in a season-long four-game losing skid, but SAU is two games ahead of UAM in both the win and loss columns for the eighth and final seed in the upcoming GAC Tournament.
 
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 games against Harding and Arkansas Tech.
 
Arkansas-Monticello is coached by Tanya Ray. Now in her third year, Ray has compiled a 17-37 overall in her two previous seasons at UAM. Prior to coming to UAM, Ray was an assistant coach at Arkansas State from 2002-2011.
 
Last Time Out
The Lady Muleriders are coming off of an 87-98 loss on the road against Henderson State on Tuesday night. In that game, Chanel Miller scored a career-high 34 points and the Lady Muleriders collectively shot 49% for the game. Both efforts were not enough, however, as Henderson shot 52% for the game and got a 34-point performance of their own from Aungelique Sledge.
 
Last Time vs. Arkansas-Monticello (February 28, 2013)
The last time these two teams met was on February 28, 2013 at the W.T. Watson Center. It was a game that was controlled from the outset by the Cotton Blossoms as they scored the game's first points and eventually took a 36-point lead into halftime. The Lady Muleriders would match the scoring output of UAM in the second half, but the eventual final was 76-40 in favor of UAM.
 
Checking the Standings
Southern Arkansas enters this tonight's action with a 3-6 record in the GAC and is currently in ninth-place, but stands to be the No. 7 seed in the tournament should the season end today.
 
Arkansas-Monticello enters play tonight with a 1-8 mark in the GAC and is 11 in the conference standings. If the season were to end today, Arkansas-Monticello would not make the GAC Tournament.
 
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 seven home games. Evidence of the players buying in is in the fact that 11 players average 10.0 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 323 turnovers. 179 (55%) of those forced turnovers have been a result of a steal by the Lady Muleriders. Those 179 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 3-7.
 
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 69.1 points per game, and those points are coming from a variety of sources as seven players are averaging 5.0 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 11 players average over 10.0 minutes a game and five average over 20 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 six games, junior forward Chanel Miller has been the Lady Muleriders' top scorer over the first 15 games this season as she averages 16.6 ppg. In all but two games, Miller has scored in double-figures and has scored 18 or more points eight times. In her most recent game, Miller scored a career-high 34 points.
 
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 freshmen or sophomores.
 
Crashing the Boards
Through 15 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 (43.6) and rank first in offensive rebounds per game (17.7). Helping lead the charge in rebounding is Miranda Grier, Chanel Miller, Mariam Ridgwell, and Barvion Wyatt. Those four average 4.6 or more rebounds per game and collectively, they are responsible for 20.6 (47%) of the team's 43.6 rebounds per game.
 
Quick Hands
With a GAC-leading 11.9 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 11 steals on the year. Leading the way individually is Allie Wade with 33 steals.
 
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 24% 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.