MAGNOLIA - The SAU Women's Basketball team will take part in their second round of divisional matchups starting tomorrow against Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia; then, after a Saturday off, will travel to Monticello next Monday before hosting Harding and Arkansas Tech next Thursday and Saturday.
MULERIDERS THIS SEASON
*The Muleriders are 1-2 on the season, with a home win over Arkansas-Monticello sandwiched between road losses to Henderson State and Arkansas Tech
*The Muleriders are one of four teams in the Eastern Division with a 1-2 record; Arkansas Tech is 4-0 and Ouachita has yet to play a game
*Scoring 83.3 points per game, the Muleriders are third in the conference in scoring offense
*The Muleriders are third in rebound in the conference, grabbing 46.0 per game
*Averaging 14.0 steals per game, the Muleriders picked up where they left off a season ago when it comes to forcing turnovers
*The Muleriders average 19.7 offensive rebounds per game, the most in the GAC
*
Jessica Jones is fifth in the conference in three-pointers made, averaging 2.3 makes per game
*
Jerica Bell and
Lillie Moore are both in the top ten in the conference in offensive rebounds
*
Kisi Young scored 19 points in her season debut, a win over Arkansas-Monticello
*
Kenzie Ezekiel scored 17 points against Arkansas Tech
*The Muleriders open this round of fixtures by traveling to Arkadelphia to face Ouachita Baptist, who will be taking part in their first game of the season
*The Muleriders game against Henderson State, scheduled for January 23rd, has been cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within the Reddies team. The men's game will now start at 2 p.m.
*The Muleriders then travel to Monticello to face the Blossoms; this will represent the first time the Muleriders will play an opponent for the second time
*The Muleriders host Harding in their first matchup of the season, and the Bisons have yet to win on the road in two attempts
*This round of games for the Muleriders closes when they host Arkansas Tech; the Suns recieved 15 votes in the most recent D2SIDA poll
*In their previous meeting, the Muleriders and the Suns combined for 209 points, the second-most in a single game in conference history
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
*This is the first game of the season for the Tigers, who missed the first round of games due to COVID-19 issues
*The Muleriders have won the past two meetings against the Tigers, with a 20-point win in their last game in Arkadelphia
*The Tigers return four starts from last year's team that won only four games
*The Tigers were picked tied for fifth in the GAC preseason coaches' poll
SCOUTING THE REDDIES
*The Muleriders and the Reddies game scheduled on January 23rd at the W. T. Watson Center has been cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within the Reddies team. Both men's teams will now play at 2 p.m.
SCOUTING THE BLOSSOMS
* The Blossoms are 1-2 in conference and 1-4 overall, with their sole win being a 76-71 victory over preseason divisional favorites Harding
*The Blossoms are second in the conference in free throw percentage, shooting 80 percent from the line - however, they've attempted the least number of free throws in the conference (35)
*The Blossoms have the best three-point percentage defense in the conference, with opponents only shooting 20.4 percent from deep against them
*Kayla Bradley is third in the GAC in steals, with 3.0 per game
*Dezirae King is fifth in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 57.9 percent from the field
SCOUTING THE BISONS
* The Bisons are 1-2 on the season, with a win over Henderson State and a pair of close losses to Arkansas-Monticello and Arkansas Tech
* Head coach Tim Kirby picked up his 300th career win in their victory over Henderson State
*The Bisons lead the conference in blocked shots, rejecting 4.3 shots per game
*Kennedy Cooper leads the conference in offensive rebounds, averaging five per game
* Freshman Sage Hawley is second in the conference with eight blocks in her first three games, averaging 2.7 per game
SCOUTING THE SUNS
* The Suns are atop the Eastern Division, sitting at 4-0 in conference play and 5-0 overall
* The Suns and the Muleriders combined for 209 points in their last game, the second-most points scored in a single game in GAC history
* The Suns lead the conference in field goal percentage and field goal defense
* Jayana Sanders is second in the conference in assists, with 5.6 assists per game, and second in field goal percentage (61 percent)
*Kaley Shipman and Ashlei Lopez are third and fourth in the conference in scoring, with Shipman averaging 17.6 points per game and Lopez averaging 17.2 points per game
BY THE NUMBERS
209 - The Muleriders and the Golden Suns combined for 209 points in their game on January 14th, the second-most points between two teams in a single game in conference history
23.7 - The Muleriders have forced 23.7 turnovers per game in their three games this season, the second-highest mark in the conference this season
19 - Points scored by
Kisi Young in her season debut versus Arkansas-Monticello, a 72-66 win for the Muleriders
