Magnolia, Ark. – The Muleriders are riding high going into their Monday night matchup at home following back-to-back wins against Lincoln University of Missouri and Arlington Baptist University. Southern Arkansas will look for redemption against the University of Texas at Tyler after suffering a loss to the Patriots in the 2021 season-opener.
In their previous matchup, the Muleriders led 34-30 at half, but the Patriots tied the game up in the third quarter before pulling away in the fourth to win the match 78-72. In the 2021 contest, Senior Kylie Warren produced 14 points and connected on four shots from behind the arc. The Muleriders' 78% from the free throw line drastically topped the Patriots' 29%.
Liah Davis led the Patriots with 22 points in last years' game, and has returned to the team as a part of the coaching staff alongside Kelsey Crouse who faced the Muleriders last year as well. Only one of the four who scored double digits against Southern Arkansas returned to the Patriot squad in Destini Whitehead. The team added five transfer students to their roster as well as five freshmen.
Southern Arkansas's previous two victories have come in the form of triple digit wins over their last two opponents. The team's first win came as a 100-89 victory over Lincoln University of Missouri at the Central Region Challenge in Fayette, Iowa. Warren saw 20 points while senior Diamond Morris recorded 19 and Kylie Minter 16. Their most recent win was a 104-44 domination over Arlington Baptist University in Magnolia. Junior Mychala Linzy had herself a heck of a night, recording a career-high 23 points and going six for eight on three pointers. Three other Muleriders scored triple digits in Warren and freshen Minter and Riley Stanford.
The Patriots are on a three-game winning streak as they return from the Puerto Rico Tournaments where they topped Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, PR-Bayamon and PR-Rio Piedras. UT Tyler is holding opponents to 54.6 points per game, but the Muleriders are scoring 92.7 points per game and are shooting 40.8% from the floor.
The teams will tipoff at 5:00 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center. Tickets and live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
