SOUTHERN ARKANSAS LADY MULERIDERS (4-12, 2-8 GAC)

OUACHITA BAPTIST LADY TIGERS (6-11, 2-8 GAC)

Saturday, January 23 | 1 P.M. Bill Vining Arena | Arkadelphia, Ark. LIVE STATS | | LIVE AUDIO SAU GAME NOTES

 

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SETTING THE STAGE
The Southern Arkansas women's basketball team begins the second half of their Great American Conference slate on Saturday as they travel to Arkadelphia to take on Ouachita Baptist. This is the second meeting this season between the two teams and it was SAU who came out on top, beating OBU by a score of 69-67 back on December 6.
 

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SCOUTING OUACHITA BAPTIST
The Ouachita Baptist women's basketball team enters play with a 6-11 overall record and are 2-8 in the GAC. The Lady Tigers are looking to bounce back from a 75-46 loss on the road to Henderson State in the first installment of the Battle of the Ravine this past Thursday.

Statistically, the Lady Tigers are averaging 62.9 points per game and are shooting 37% (353-of-952) overall from the floor. Their scoring per game ranks in 10th in the GAC while their shooting percentage also ranks 10th in the league. Currently two Lady Tigers are averaging double figures in scoring with Brenna Harris leading the way at 11.7 ppg. The other Lady Tiger in double figures is Katie Kapler at 10.8 ppg. As a team, the Lady Tigers rank sixth in the GAC in shooting from beyond the arc at 32% (124-of-383)
and rank fifth in the league at the free throw line at 72% (239-of-333).

Defensively, the Lady Tigers are allowing their opponents to score an average of 69.9 points per game while also allowing a 41% (429-of-1045) success rate from the floor. Their opponents' points per game average ranks ninth in the GAC and their -7.1 scoring margin ranks 11th.

In terms of rebounding, the Lady Tigers rank seventh in the GAC with 37.9 boards per game. On the other end of the court, the Lady Tigers are allowing 40.4 boards per game and their -2.5 rebounding margin ranks ninth in the GAC.

As far as steals and assists, the Lady Tigers rank 11th and fifth in the respective categories. On the year, OBU is averaging 5.6 steals per game while averaging 12.7 assists.

COACH
The Lady Tigers are coached by Gary Crowder, who is in his 20th season at Ouachita and 36th season overall. In his previous 19 seasons at OBU, Crowder has amassed a 299-225 record. His 300th win at Ouachita came in the Lady Tigers' first game of the season, a 76-74 win over Southwest Baptist.

LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
This is the second meeting this season between the two teams and it was SAU who came out on top, beating OBU by a score of 69-67 back on December 6. In that game, four Lady Muleriders would score in double figures with Brianna Sifford and Carlee Earls leading the way at 12 points each.

THE SERIES
This is the 32nd meeting since the 1999-00 season between Southern Arkansas and Ouachita Baptist. During this recent stretch, OBU holds a 19-12 lead. In the games played in Arkadelphia, OBU holds a commanding 12-3 advantage, but the Lady Muleriders won in their last trip to Bill Vining Arena.

ON TAP
The Lady Muleriders return home for a GAC game against nationally-ranked Arkansas Tech on Thursday, January 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 

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SAU NOTES

Rainbolt Era: Year Two
Southern 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 Thing
A 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 25th in DII in steals per game at 10.9

Cause and Effect: Turnovers 
As fans grew to expect last season, head coach 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 317 times with 174 (55%) of those forced turnovers coming via the steal.

Bryant GAC Player of the Week
Southern Arkansas junior forward Rosa Bryant was named the GAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the week-ending January 4, 2014. Bryant, a native of Bastrop, La., earned the weekly conference honor after a highly-efficient shooting performance against Henderson State. In that game, Bryant would go 10-of-11 from the floor (.909) on her way to scoring a team-high 21 points in the game. Her field goal% for that game was the highest in a game (min. 10 FG made) since the 2006-07 season when Kim Davis went 11-of-13 vs. UAM.

Bryant Emerging as Scoring Threat 
Junior 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 (12.7 ppg). 10 times this season, Bryant has scored 10 or more points in a game and she has scored 20 or more in four times, including a season-high 24 against #18 Arkansas Tech.

Equal-Opportunity Scoring
In 16 games played this season, SAU's bench has outscored its opponent's bench 11 times. In those games, the Lady Muleriders are 4-7. Additionally, the Lady Muleriders
have grown to rely rather heavily on their bench scoring as currently 46% of their scoring is coming from their bench.

Chanel No. 3
Chanel Miller returns to the Lady Mulerider basketball team for her senior season after the Waxachachie, Texas turned in a sensational junior campaign at SAU in which she was honored as the GAC's Newcomer of the Year. Last season, Miller lead the team in scoring at 15.3 ppg and shot at a 44% clip overall from the floor (149-of-336), 22% from beyond the arc (4-of-18), and 76% from the free throw line (96-of-127). This season, Miller is once again one of the team's top scorers as she is averaging 12.7 ppg. Additionally, Miller is among the most efficient overall scorers in the GAC as she is shooting 50% overall from the floor (60-of-120), 35% from long range (9-of-26), and 87% from the charity stripe (34-of-39).

Right There
While the Lady Muleriders have lost 12 games to this point in the season, that is not to say that they haven't been in a position to win most of those games. Out of the 12 losses, the margin of defeat has -been six points or fewer seven times.