MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas Women's Basketball team will take on league rival Arkansas Tech in a 1 p.m. showdown on Saturday, December 17 before rounding out the 2022 part of the season on Monday, December 19 against the University of the Ozarks. The Muleriders are coming off a 112-74 victory over Arkansas Baptist on Wednesday at home which represents their fourth triple-digit scoring game through eight played this season. The Wednesday night victory served as the end of the Muleriders' four-game losing streak and improved their overall record to 3-5.
Junior Addy Tremie led team scoring in the Wednesday nigh matchup, dropping 16 points on the night to accompany her five rebounds, four turnovers and two steals. Diamond Morris notched five assists and four steals while recording double digit scoring figures for the fifth game in a row. The senior breached the hundred-point mark and leads the Mulerider squad with 110 points on the season at an average of 13.8 per game.
The Muleriders have leaned heavily on their three-point scoring this season. Of their 607 attempted shots, more than half (310) have been from three and they have shot 34.8% from behind the arc. The team has made 16 or more threes in a game in four matchups through their eight games. In the 2021-22 season, SAU did not reach that mark a single time. Freshman Kylie Minter, senior Mychala Linzy and Tremie have been the most impactful when it comes to their three-point shooting, all shooting above a clip of 40% (25 attempted minimum).
Arkansas Tech
Southern Arkansas has the opportunity Saturday to earn their first conference win of the season and deal Arkansas Tech with their second conference loss. Arkansas Tech enters the weekend game 4-3 overall (2-1 GAC) with their solo conference loss coming in their most recent matchup versus Henderson State. ATU's last three outings have been against GAC opponents, including their 67-78 loss versus Henderson as well as an 80-77 overtime win against Ouachita and a 75-63 win over UAM.
SAU looks to put an end to their six-game losing streak against Arkansas Tech and improve their matchup record. The Muleriders' most recent victory over the Golden Suns was a 96-95 overtime victory in February 2020 in Russellville.
In every Golden Suns loss, the team has been held under 70 points. On the other hands, their four wins have including scoring over 70 points. Their largest win margin came as a 94-45 victory over Champion Christian in their season opener on November 14 which also represents their most points scored this season. Jalei Oglesby leads team scoring with 129 points through their seven games and is averaging 18.4 points per game. Only one other Golden Sun is averaging double digit figures in Kaley Shipman with 11.1 ppg.
The Golden Suns' scoring Margin just edges the Muleriders (8.9) at 9.4. Despite that slight statistical advantage, the Muleriders have a leg up when it comes to shooting threes- the Golden Suns have attempted and made the second-least threes in the conference (37-128) for a team shooting clip of 28.9%.
University of the Ozarks
The Eagles and Muleriders will clash for the first time in school history on Monday night in the W.T.. The University of the Ozarks brings a 5-5 overall record and 2-2 road record into the weekend and will play Hardin-Simmons on Saturday before making the trip to Magnolia for the Monday afternoon matchup.
Their most recent game came as a 72-70 win on Thursday, December 15 against McMurry. Freshman Layla Powell recorded the most points for the Eagles, putting up 19 points off the bench. Judy Forbes and Amanda Turpin also recorded double digit scoring figures in their Thursday game. Turpin leads team scoring at 14.8 points per game followed by McKenzie Greeson who is averaging 9.5 ppg.
The Eagles are averaging 4.6 made threes per game at a 29.9% shooting clip and are holding opponents to a 28.2% three-point percentage and 38.4% field goal percentage.
Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Monday. Admission will be free for both games. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
