Southern Arkansas LADY MULERIDERS (3-3, 1-1 GAC) Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio Links above will provide live feed for both games.
vs. No. 20 Harding LADY BISONS (4-2. 1-0 GAC) Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014 | 5:30 p.m. Magnolia, Ark. (W.T. Watson Center) SAU Notes | HU Notes	vs. Ouachita Baptist LADY TIGERS (3-3. 0-0 GAC) Saturday, Dec. 6 | 2 p.m. Magnolia, Ark. (W.T. Watson Center) SAU Notes | OBU Notes

 

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SAU Highlights:

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. Rainbolt's efforts are beginning to show early returns as fans and players alike are buying into his "family-first" atmosphere. Evidence of the players buying in is in the fact that 12 players average 9.0 or more minutes of playing time a game.

What you giveth I shall taketh away
A continuing trend from last season, the Lady Muleriders are ranked in the upper echelon of the NCAA in steals per game. SAU currently ranks 20th in Division II in steals per game (12.4) Junior Cemetra Jenkins has been a major catalyst in that statistic, leading the Lady Muleriders with 1.8 steals per game, good for sixth-best in the GAC.

Stout Defense
In addition to boasting a high steals per game statistic, the Lady Muleriders also rank atop the GAC in scoring defense, allowing a third-best 61.2 points per contest.

This stat is complemented by being fifth-best in the GAC in FG Pct. Against, allowing opponents to shoot just 38.5 percent from the field.

Full-Court Pressure
Throughout 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 152 turnovers. 79 (52%) of those forced turnovers have been a result of a steal by the Lady Muleriders. SAU is currently second in the GAC in turnover margin (+4.8).

Earls Dials in from Long Distance
Although it was just an exhibition game, freshman Carlee Earls sunk five 3-pointers for a team-high 15 points in the Lady Muleriders' most recent outing against ULM. This could lead to more minutes for the freshman from Alexander, Ark.

Move Over Dwayne, Meet Allie
Senior Allie Wade has shown explosiveness on both sides of the ball since the second half of the Rogers State game where she recorded eight points and five rebounds in just 10 minutes on the floor. In SAU's next contest versus TAMUC, Wade nearly recorded a double-double, collecting 10 points and grabbing eight boards, including four on the offensive end. Wade also recorded three steals against the Lions.

Bryant Emerging as Scoring Threat
Junior Rosa Bryant dropped a game-high 19 points in SAU's recent outing versus TAMUC in senior Chanel Miller's absence. Known for showing an array of skill moves on the fastbreak, that 19-point performance jumped Bryant into the top-20 scorers in the GAC, ranking 19th with 11.3 ppg. Miller currently sits 12th with 13.4 ppg.

Powerful Pine
SAU's bench has outscored its opponent's bench in five of six games this season. In the Lady Muleriders' recent outing versus Rogers State, the SAU bench produced 61 of 73 total points, accounting for 84 percent of scoring. 

Quick Recap: TAMUC
The Southern Arkansas women's basketball team welcomed in Texas A&M-Commerce to the W.T. Watson Center for a nonconference game on Saturday afternoon, but it was A&M-Commerce that would leave with a victory as they out-lasted SAU by a score of 54-52.

Saturday's game would be a defensive struggle between the two squads as each team held the other under 40% shooting from the floor while also generating at
least 29 turnovers while on defense. Statistcally, the Lady Muleriders would have three players score in double figures with Rosa Bryant leading all scorers with 19
points on 7-of-10 shooting. Shunta Nevitt added 13 points while Wade rounded out double-figure scoring with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds and three steals.
 

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Scouting the Opponent: Harding
The 20th-ranked Lady Bisons are led by senior forward Arielle Saunders, who averages a double-double per game (16.7 points,10.3 rebounds) in addition to a GAC-best 4.7 assists per contest. Correy Moyer (10.8 ppg), Montana Lewis (10.7 ppg) and A'ndrea Haney (9.7 ppg) round out Harding's high-powered offense, which boasts the second-best scoring offense in the GAC at 81.7 ppg. The Lady Bisons are also second-best in the GAC in field-goal percentage (.454).

Harding has also showed an innate ability to attack the glass and dish the ball, leading the GAC with a +12.5 rebounding margin while also entering as second-best in the GAC in assists per game (17.5).
 

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Scouting the Opponent: OBU
The Lady Tigers are led by sophomore Katie Kapler, who nearly averages a double-double with 12.8 ppg and 9.0 rpg. Kapler also ranks second in the GAC in offensive rebounds per game (3.5) and third in the GAC in field-goal percentage (.588). Junior Breanna Harris rounds out the double-digit scorers for OBU with 10.3 ppg. 

The Lady Tigers are coming off of an 82-59 loss to Midwestern State University, who is receiving votes in the WBCA Coaches Poll, on Nov. 30 and will travel to face an undefeated Arkansas Tech squad on Dec. 4 before facing the Lady Muleriders on Dec. 6.