Southern Arkansas LADY MULERIDERS (9-8, 5-6 GAC)

vs. Southwestern Oklahoma LADY BULLDOGS (10-6, 7-3 GAC) Thursday, January 30 @ 5:30 p.m Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Audio (SAU Feed) | Live Stats | Live Video (SWOSU Feed)

GAME NOTES (PDF)

Setting the Stage
The Southern Arkansas women's basketball team hits the road for its most important road trip of the season over the weekend as they first head to Weatherford, Okla. to take on the GAC's top-scoring team, Southwestern Oklahoma. The Lady Muleriders are coming off of consecutive home wins last week while the Lady Bulldogs are winners of four straight.
 
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.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma is coached by Kelsi Musick. Now in her fifth season, has improved the teams win total in all four seasons she's been at SWOSU, taking the team from three wins her first season to 25 in her fourth year and she is the two-time defending Great American Conference Coach of the Year.
 
Last Time Out
The Lady Muleriders are coming off of a 66-55 win at home against Ouachita Baptist on Saturday afternoon. In that game, the Lady Muleriders led by three points at halftime, but opened up the second half on a 10-1 run to begin to separate themselves. SAU would eventual beat the Lady Tigers by 11 points, 66-55. Eight players scored for the Lady Muleriders with three ending in double figures. Barvion Wyatt continued her recent run of being the team's top-scorer as she poured in a team-high 16 points. Behind Wyatt in scoring were Stevi Copper and Katherine McBride as each scored 10 points. McBride and Wyatt tied with Erin Luton for the most rebounds in the game with five boards each. Cooper led the team in steals with five.
 
Last Time vs. Southwestern Oklahoma (November 23, 2013)
The Lady Muleriders and Lady Bulldogs have already met this season, and it was the Lady Bulldogs who came out on top as they beat the Lady Muleriders by a score of 76-62. In that initial matchup, the Lady Muleriders played from behind most of the game, but launched several serious comeback efforts in the second half to make the outcome close.
 
Checking the Standings
Southern Arkansas enters this today's action with a 5-6 record in the GAC and is currently in seventh-place, but stands to be the No. 6 seed in the tournament should the season end today.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma enters play tonight with a 7-3 mark in the GAC and is 3rd in the conference standings. If the season were to end today, Southwestern Oklahoma would remain the 3rd-seed in 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 nine home games. Evidence of the players buying in is in the fact that 12 players average 9.4 or more minutes of playing time a game. Additionally, the Lady Muleriders have won more games (9) 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 378 turnovers. 204 (54%) of those forced turnovers have been a result of a steal by the Lady Muleriders. Those 204 steals are tops in the GAC.
 
Give Me A Break
Seven times this season, the Lady Muleriders have held a lead heading into halftime. In those games, the
Lady Muleriders are 6-1. 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 69.5 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.
 
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.
 
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 9.4 minutes a game and six average 20 minutes per game.
 
Chanel No. 3
Despite only starting seven games, junior forward Chanel Miller has been the Lady Muleriders' top scorer over the first 17 games this season as she averages 15.4 ppg. In all but three games, Miller has scored in double-figures and has scored 18 or more points eight times. Against Henderson State (1/21/14), 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 17 games, the Lady Muleriders are showing the ability to pull down rebounds at a high clip.
On the year, SAU is 5th in the GAC in total rebounds per game (42.9) and rank first in offensive rebounds per game (16.8). Helping lead the charge in rebounding is Miranda Grier, Chanel Miller, Mariam Ridgwell, and Barvion Wyatt. Those four average 4.4 or more rebounds per game and collectively, they are responsible for 20.0 (47%) of the team's 42.9 rebounds per game.
 
Quick Hands
With a GAC-leading 12.0 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 nine 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 25% 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 21% of their field goal attempts come from beyond the arc.