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Southern Arkansas LADY MULERIDERS (10-9, 6-7 GAC) |
at East Central LADY TIGERS (13-6, 8-5 GAC)
Thursday, February 6 @ 5:30 p.m
Ada, Okla. (Kerr Activities Center)
Live Audio (SAU Feed) | Live Stats | Live Video (ECU Feed) |
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
Setting the Stage
The Southern Arkansas women's basketball team heads to Ada, Okla. in search of their third conference season sweep of the year as they take on East Central on Thursday night. After being held winless in the Great American Conference a year ago, the Lady Muleriders have already won six games in the GAC and have secured season sweeps against Ouachita Baptist and Northwestern Oklahoma.
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 (10) than the previous three years combined.
East Central is under the direction of first-year interim head coach Emily Holombek. Holombek spent last season as an assistant coach at East Central and helped improve the Lady Tigers from 8-19 in 2011-12 to 19-9 in 2012-13.
Last Time Out
The Lady Muleriders are coming off of a 69-62 come-from-behind win against Northwestern Oklahoma. The win over the Rangers gave the Lady Muleriders a season sweep over NWOSU, their second against a GAC opponent this season. In that game, the Lady Muleriders ripped off a 24-0 second half run to overcome a 15-point deficit.
Four players ended in double figures for the Lady Muleriders with Chanel Miller and Barvion Wyatt leading the way with 14 points each. Mariam Ridgwell and Aarika Reyna would follow with 11 points each. Wyatt also narrowly missed out on a double-double as she pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Ridgwell was next in that category with eight boards.
Last Time vs. East Central (January 4, 2014)
The first meeting between these two teams went into overtime and it was the Lady Muleriders who out-lasted the Lady Tigers for an 84-83 win. In that game, the Lady Muleriders trailed by as much as 17 points in the first half, but a 21-8 run to close out the half pulled them back into the game.
In the extra frame, SAU would fall behind early as the Lady Tigers' Erin Walling scored the first points of overtime. That lead would not last long, however as SAU's Chanel Miller knocked down a jumper on the other end of the court, knotting the game up at 81-all.
One of two made free throws by Miranda Grier with 2:45 left in overtime gave SAU a one-point lead, 82-81. ECU would take the lead once more soon after, but a good jumper by Grier with 50 seconds left gave the Lady Muleriders their final lead of the game as that shot would prove to be the game-winner, giving SAU an 84-83 overtime win against East Central.
Checking the Standings
Southern Arkansas enters Thursday's action with a 6-7 record in the GAC and is currently in sixth-place in the GAC standings.
East Central enters play Thursday with an 8-5 mark in the GAC and is 4th-place in the conference standings.
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 9.0 or more minutes of playing time a game. Additionally, the Lady Muleriders have won more games (10) 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 421 turnovers. 225 (53%) of those forced turnovers have been a result of a steal by the Lady Muleriders. Those 225 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 4-8.
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 5.3 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 9.0 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 19 games this season as she averages 15.9 ppg. In all but three games, Miller has scored in double-figures and has scored 18 or more points nine times. Against Henderson State (1/21/14), Miller scored a career-high 34 points.
Crashing the Boards
Through 19 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 (42.2) and rank second in offensive rebounds per game (16.2). 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 20.2 (48%) of the team's 42.4 rebounds per game.
Quick Hands
With a GAC-leading 11.8 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 35 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 freshmen 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 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 20% of their field goal attempts come from beyond the arc.
