MAGNOLIA, ARK. – Christmas time is here, and the Southern Arkansas University women's basketball team will look to gift two losses to Ouachita Baptist University and Champion Christian College in their final home action before the Christmas Break. SAU will host OUA in Great American Conference showdown on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. followed by a non-conference matchup on Tuesday night with CCC at 5:30 p.m.
The Muleriders (5-2, 1-1 GAC) currently have the second best scoring offense among the NCAA DII ranks with 92.0 ppg, and they have scored 90+ points in four of their seven games this season. SAU is shooting 41% from the field (250-558). The Muleriders have done a nice job from behind the arc this season as they have nailed down 69-of-206 three point attempts for 33%.
SAU has five players that average double figures in scoring, as they are led by
Kisi Young (15.6 ppg) and
Ariana Guinn (14.0 ppg).
Diamond Morris (11.0 pgg),
Kylie Warren (10.7 ppg) and
Kenzie Ezekiel (10.3 ppg) round out the top scorers for the Muleriders.
Ezekiel and Warren have both connected on 15 of their three point attempts, while Guinn has knocked down 10 three balls. The Muleriders have hit 115-of-158 free throw attempts for 72%. SAU has five players that have a 70% or better free throw percentage with 10+ attempts. Young (16-21, 76%), Guinn (26-33, 78%), Morris (22-30, 73%), Warren (10-11, 90%) and
Doriana Brown (10-12, 83%).
SAU still finds themselves within the top 10 nationally with 26.43 forced turnovers per game which is good for 10
th in the nation. The Muleriders are first in the GAC with 103 steals (14.7 spg) and 15
th in the nation. Ezekiel leads SAU with 19 steals followed by Warren with 12. Morris, Brown,
Jerica Bell, and
Tearra Cook all have nine apiece.
The Muleriders lead the GAC with 137 total offensive rebounds (19.6 per game), which is also tied for third among NCAA DII teams. Young is tied for third in the GAC with 8.9 rebounds per game, as she has collected 62 on the season. Warren average 4.4 rebounds per game and has pulled down 31 boards on the year, while also leading the team with five of the 11 SAU blocks.
The Mulerider defense will have their hands full on Saturday afternoon as they will try to slow down the nation's leading scorer in Aspen Thorton (27.0 ppg) who will make her first trip to Magnolia, along with the rest of the Ouachita Baptist women's basketball team (3-3, 1-1 GAC).
The Tigers are coming off of two straight wins as they took down Harding (82-60) for their first GAC win last Saturday, and William Baptist (80-59) this past Wednesday. Ouachita is averaging 79.3 points per game, and they have shot 40% from the field (165-413) and 29% from three (44-148). In addition to Thorton, Makayla Miller (17.2 ppg) and Laney Mears (11.5 ppg) have also played well for the Tigers.
Saturday's contest could see an undefeated Champion Christian team roll into the W.T. Watson Athletic Center as the Tigers are currently 5-0 with a game against Baptist Bible College this evening. Champion has picked up wins over Bacoone College, Campbellsville University-Harrodsburg, Texas A&M-Texarkana, Dallas Christian College and Arkansas Baptist College. The Tigers have also taken on five NCAA teams going 1-4 in those matchups, which do not count against their record due to them being a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association.
