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SETTING THE STAGEThe Southern Arkansas women's basketball team is set to hit the road for the first time in Great American Conference play as they are traveling to Russellville to take on perenial GAC power, Arkansas Tech. The Lady Muleriders are also looking to close out their pre-Christmas break GAC slate of games on a high note as they enter play with a 2-2 mark in the GAC and a 4-4 record overall. This will be the Lady Muleriders' second game against a ranked opponent this season as Arkansas Tech comes into play newly ranked in a tie for 18th nationally according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll.
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SCOUTING ARKANSAS TECH
ABOUT ATU:Following a bit of a down year last season, the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns have gotten off to a red-hot start this season as they are a perfect 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the GAC. Their unbeaten start to the season has resulted in the Golden Suns cracking the WBCA Top-25 poll for the first time this year as they are ranked in a tie for 18th in the latest poll that was released on December 9.
As a team, the Golden Suns lead the GAC in four statistical categories and rank in the top three in 10 others. Two of the categories in which the Golden Suns lead the GAC in are scoring offense and scoring margin as they are averaging 81.4 ppg while allowing just 57.4 ppg (+24.0 margin).Â
Individually, the Golden Suns have three players averaging double figures in scoring with Fatima Adams leading the team at 22.4 ppg. Behind Adams is Katrina Hayden at 13.9 ppg and Anissa Pounds chips in 12.6 ppg. The 22.4 ppg for Adams currently leads the GAC and ranks eighth in DII. Adams also ranks in the top-three in the GAC in rebounding (10.7 rpg | 3rd), field goal percentage (.534, 55-of-103 | 3rd), offensive rebounds per game (3.9 | 1st), and defensive rebounds per game (6.9 | 3rd).Â
From long range, the Golden Suns are not as potent as they have been in the past as they rank 10th in the GAC in three-pointers made per game, but their top threat thus far this season is Katrina Hayden as she is averaging 1.9 makes per game and is shooting .481 (13-of-27) from beyond the arc. Hayden also leads the team and ranks fourth in the GAC in assists at 3.4 per game.Â
COACH:The Golden Suns are coched by Dave Wilbers who is now in his eighth season at the helm. In his time at Tech, Wilbers has continued the grand tradition that is Golden Sun basketball as he has amassed a 175-42 (.806) overall record and has won four conference championships, including each of the first two regular season crowns in the GAC.
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SCOUTING THE MULERIDERSRainbolt Era: Year Twoouthern Arkansas head women's basketball coach
Rusty Rainbolt is now in his second season and in his short time, Rainbolt has taken major strides towards building the Lady Muleriders into a top-tier team within the Great American Conference. Last year, in his first season, Rainbolt won 12 games and led the Lady Muleriders to their first conference tournament game since 2006-07. Those 12 wins surpassed the win total for the program over the past three years combined.
Stealing is a Good ThingA continuing trend from last season is the fact that the Lady Muleriders are ranked in the upper echelon of the GAC and the NCAA in steals per game. Last season, the Lady Muleriders led the GAC and ranked 15th in DII in steals per game with 11.3. This season, the Lady Muleriders are second in the GAC and rank 16th in DII in steals per game at 13.0Â
Cause and Effect: TurnoversAs fans grew to expect last season, head coachÂ
Rusty Rainbolt will employ a hard-nosed, full-court press defense for much of a given game. As a result of that up-tempo and aggresive style of defense, opponents have grown frustrated within their offenses and it has caused them to turn the ball over 197 times with 104 (53%) of those forced turnovers coming via the steal.
SAU's Threat from Deep: EarlsIn SAU's exhibition game against Louisiana-Monroe on November 30, true freshman
Carlee Earls sunk five 3-pointers for a team-high 15 points. While those numbers don't count towards her season total, the success from long range in the game has given Earls some confidence and she has began to establish herself as the Lady Muleriders' top threat from long range. In the two game since, Earls is the lone Lady Mulerider with multiple three-pointers as she has knocked down five triples. Four of those makes
came in SAU's 69-67 win over Ouachita Baptist.
Bryant Emerging as Scoring ThreatJunior newcomer
Rosa Bryant has become one of SAU's top scoring threats this season as she is one of two Lady Muleriders currently averaging double figures
in scoring (10.5 ppg). Five times this season, Bryant has scored 10 or more points in a game with her season-high of 19 points coming against Texas A&M-Commerce.
Equal-Opportunity ScoringIn eight games played this season, SAU's bench has outscored its opponent's bench six times. In those games, the Lady Muleriders are 4-2. Additionally, the Lady Muleriders have grown to rely rather heavily on their bench scoring as currently 60% of their scoring is coming from their bench.
Substitutions Hockey StyleThe Lady Muleriders are quickly becoming known for their style of subsitutions within a game. Most subs that take place for SAU see five players coming onto the court and five leaving the court. That unique style of subbing has resulted in 13 of the 17 active players logging more than 10 minutes per game. Additionally, eight players are averaging 15 or more minutes of playing time
