GAME NOTES

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider basketball team is preparing to make their second-consecutive appearance in the Great American Conference Tournament, which is set to begin Thursday, March 5 and run through Sunday, March 8 at the Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
 
SAU finished the regular season 9-17 with a 7-13 record in the GAC. The Lady Muleriders enter the tournament as the eighth-seed and will open play on Thursday against top-seeded Harding University (20-6, 16-4 GAC).
 
The return trip to the conference tournament came courtesy of a strong, late season finish that saw Southern Arkansas post a 4-1 record down the stretch including wins against three teams that have clinched a spot in the conference tournament.
 
A fast-paced, full-court defense benefitted the Lady Muleriders throughout the season as they held opponents to 57.6 ppg in their nine wins, while finishing the season as the conference leader in steals averaging 10.6 per game, 35 more than the next best team. In their 26 games, SAU collected 10 or more steals 18 times with an average of over 12 steals per game in their nine wins.
 
After a 71-68 overtime road loss to Southern Nazarene on February 7, SAU posted consecutive home wins against East Central and Southwestern Oklahoma State. The win over ECU embodied the desired result of the up-tempo, full-court press defense as SAU held the Lady Tigers to only nine points at halftime; a GAC record. Two nights later, the Lady Muleriders held SWOSU (71.5 ppg) to only 18 halftime points and 53 total points in the win.
 
Southern Arkansas would pick up a much-needed road win with a nine-point victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State, before falling to Arkansas-Monticello a week later. The Lady Muleriders closed out the year with their highest scoring performance of the season with an 89-point output in a six-point road win over Henderson State.
 
Offensively, Southern Arkansas has been led by junior forward Rosa Bryant (13.1 ppg) and senior forward Chanel Miller (12.7 ppg) as both finished the regular season in the top-15 in scoring at 10^th and 12^th respectively.
 
Bryant (7^th) and Miller (8^th) were joined by Tierra Tucker (10^th) as all three Lady Muleriders registered top-ten finishes in Field Goal Percentage, each shooting over 46% from the field, while Miller finished second in the GAC in Free Throw Percentage with a clip of 85.9%.
 
Southern Arkansas dropped the two previous meetings against Harding during the season, but look to pick up their first win in Bartlesville. Tip-off from Bruin Fieldhouse is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 5. For fans interested in making the trip to support the Lady Muleriders and Muleriders, check out http://greatamericanconference.com/sports/2015/2/5/BKB_0205154723.aspx for ticket information, brackets, directions, and tournament merchandise.