SOUTHERN ARKANSAS LADY MULERIDERS (8-16, 6-12 GAC)	ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO BOLL WEEVILS (12-11, 10-8 GAC)
Thursday, February 26 | 5:30 P.M. W.T. Watson Center | Magnolia, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO

 

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GAME NOTES | SAU | UAM

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SETTING THE STAGE
The Southern Arkansas women's basketball team is at home for the final time in the 2014-15 season and are looking to stretch their three-game winning streak out to four as they take on rival Arkansas-Monticello. Being that Thursday night's game is the last at the W.T. Watson Center this year, the SAU women's basketball team will honor its eight seniors on this year's team at the conclusion of the game. The eight seniors being honored are: Miranda Grier, Rebekah Knudson, Chanel Miller, Aarika Reyna, Ashley Riggles, Brianna Sifford, Allie Wade, and Barvion Wyatt.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
The Arkansas-Monticello women's basketball team enters play with a 12-11 overall record and are 10-8 in the GAC. The Cotton Blossoms have lost their last three road games and are 3-8 this year away from home.

Statistically, the Cotton Blossoms are averaging 63.3 points per game and are shooting 40% (512-of-1,274) overall from the floor. Their scoring per game ranks eighth in the GAC while their shooting percentage ranks sixth in the league. Currently three Cotton Blossoms are averaging double figures in scoring with Jordan Goforth leading the way at 18.2 ppg. Nikki Mullen and Nelsha Peterson are next in scoring on the team at 10.6 and10.2 ppg, respectively. As a team, the Cotton Blossoms rank first in the GAC in shooting from beyond the arc at 36% (122-of-339) and rank second in the league at the free throw line at 75% (311-of-416).

Defensively, the Cotton Blossoms are allowing their opponents to score an average of 61.5 points per game while also allowing a 41% (508-of-1,241) success rate from the floor. Their opponents' points per game average ranks third in the GAC and their +1.9 scoring margin ranks fourth

In terms of rebounding, the Cotton Blossoms rank 10th in the GAC with 34.8 boards per game. On the other end of the court, the Cotton Blossoms are allowing 35.4 boards per game and their -0.7 rebounding margin ranks sixth in the GAC.

As far as steals and assists, the Cotton Blossoms rank fourth and 10th in the respective categories. On the year, UAM is averaging 8.7 steals per game while averaging 11.2 assists.

COACH
The Cotton Blossoms are coached by Tanya Ray, who is in her fourth season at UAM. In her previous three seasons, Ray has led the Cotton Blossoms to a 25-55 overall record. This season, Ray has the Cotton Blossoms with a 12-11 overall record and currently in fifth-place in conference play at 10-8 in the GAC.

LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT
This is the second time this year that the Lady Muleriders and Cotton Blossoms will meet. In the first meeting, Arkansas-Monticello defended their home court and came away with a 77-69 win over SAU. In that game, four of UAM's starters would score in double figures with Jordan Goforth leading all scorers with 27 points. The leading scorer for SAU was Chanel Miller as she scoed 13 points.

THE SERIES
This is the 33rd meeting since the 1999-00 season between Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello. In the that period of the series, UAM holds an 18-14 advantage overall, but SAU holds a slim 8-7 lead when the game is played in Magnolia.

ON TAP
The Lady Muleriders will conclude their regular season on the road at Henderson State on Saturday, February 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside the Duke Wells Center.
 

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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.

Defense Standing Tall Down the Stretch
The Lady Muleriders, thanks in large part to their stout defensive efforts, have won their last three games to keep themselves in line for a berth into the Great American
Conference Women's Basketball Tournament during the first week of March. In those three games, the Lady Muleriders have allowed their opponents to score an average of 49.0 ppg while also forcing them to turn the ball over an average of 19 times per game.

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 first in the GAC and rank 24th in DII in steals per game at 10.8

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 464 times with 260 (56%) 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 (12.9 ppg). 16 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 then #18 Arkansas Tech.

Equal-Opportunity Scoring
In 24 games played this season, SAU's bench has outscored its opponent's bench 18 times. In those games, the Lady Muleriders are 8-10. 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 12.0 ppg. Additionally, Miller is among the most efficient overall scorers in the GAC as she is shooting 48% overall from the floor (92-of-191), 33% from long range (12-of-36), and 91% from the charity stripe (57-of-63).