Arkadelphia, Ark. - The Muleriders return to action this weekend with a pair of matchups against in-state competition in the forms of Henderson State on Thursday and Arkansas Tech on Saturday. The Muleriders will travel to Arkadelphia for the former game before coming home to host the latter. 

The Henderson State Reddies (14-6, 9-5 GAC) enter this weekend after splitting a pair of home games last weekend, losing to Southern Nazarene 55-48 before beating Oklahoma Baptist 73-64.  The last time these two met, the Reddies were victorious over the Muleriders 63-42 at the W. T. Watson Center. Karrington Whaley was the high scorer on the night, scoring 16 points. The Reddies have four players who average more than ten points per game, including the aforementioned Whaley (10.1 points per game) and Pink Jones, who's 14.8 points per game ranks her eighth overall in the GAC. Hailey Estes (13.7 points per game) and Blu Jones (12.0 points per game) are the other Reddies to average double-digit scoring. Estes also ranks second in the conference in rebounding with 8.7 rebounds per game; Whaley ranks second in field goal percentage (62.1 percent from the floor); and Jones ranks second in the GAC in assists (4.7 assists per game). Estes also leads the GAC in defensive rebounds (7.3 per game). Whaley leads the defensive effort for the Reddies, blocking 1.3 shots per game. As a team, the Reddies shoot 42 percent from the floor, 32.5 percent from three-point range and 73.5 percent from the free-throw line. 

The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns (8-12, 5-9 GAC) enter this weekend coming off a split weekend at home where they defeated East Central 64-56 before dropping their matchup to Southeastern Oklahoma State 71-69. The Golden Suns, currently sitting eighth in the GAC standings, beat the Muleriders last time these two teams played in Russellville by a score of 74-52 in a game where Ke'Vonsha Stackhouse, Jacie Higgins and Lyrik Williams all scored 16 points each. Stackhouse and Higgins are two of the Golden Suns' top-three scorers, with the other being Hannah Villines, who is averaging a team-high 12.8 points per game. Villines, who is tied for 16th in the conference in scoring, was only held to four points in their last matchup, shooting 2-9 from the field. Jayana Sanders is tied for fourth in the conference in assists with 3.7 assists per game, and Villines is fifth in the GAC in steals with 2.2 per game. As a team, they are shooting 40.1 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from three-point range and 66.7 percent from the line. 

The Muleriders (2-18, 1-13 GAC) enter this matchup off the back of a pair of losses at home - first, a 25-point loss to the top team in the GAC Standings, SWOSU, followed by a four-point loss to NWOSU. The last time the Muleriders faced these two teams, Kylie Warren (13 points vs. Henderson) and Ariana Guinn (16 points at Arkansas Tech) were the top scorers. On the season, Guinn is the top scorer for the Muleriders, averaging 10.3 points per game. Senior Alyssa Crase is the top rebounder with 5.4 boards per game, Brette Wacha is the top assister (1.7 assists per game). As a team, the Muleriders shoot 36.6 percent from the floor, 27.6 percent from deep and 69.6 percent from the free-throw line.

After this weekend, the Muleriders host rivals Arkansas-Monticello before traveling back to Arkadelphia to take on Ouachita Baptist.