MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas will head to Arkadelphia on Saturday to take on Ouachita Baptist after dropping their last three games in overtime, including two GAC matchups. The Muleriders need to change their fate in Saturday matchup in Arkadelphia in order to secure their first conference win and begin to repair their 2-4 record.
SAU remains the top team in the nation with the most three pointers per game at 13.8. Their most recent outing against Harding helped bolster that number even more, with the Riders making 20 threes highlighted by senior Jessica Jones's seven. Southern Arkansas's scoring offense is averaging 85.8 points per game and ranks fifth in DII Women's Basketball.
The Harding matchup saw standout performances by both Jones and true freshman Kylie Minter. In her third season as a Mulerider, Jones recorded a career-high 24 points and seven 3-point field goals made. Kylie Minter is making quite the splash in her rookie season. The freshman from League City, Texas has recorded three double-digit outings between the team's six season games. Minter has been an absolute force off the bench, ranking third on the team with an average 10.5 points per game and first with her .520 3-point percentage.
Senior Diamond Morris continues to captain the team on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. She leads team scoring with 84 points (14.0 pts/g) and 23 assists (3.8 ast/g) while also leading with 46 rebounds (7.7 avg/g). Morris ranks fifth in the conference with her rebound numbers and third with her assists. Teammate Braydyn Hill is first in the GAC with her 3.8 assist to turnover ratio while Morris is third (1.8).
Ouachita enters the Saturday matchup with a 3-3 overall record. The Tigers fell short in their first two GAC matchups, losing 51-66 against Harding and 77-89 in overtime against Arkansas Tech. Three athletes for both the Tigers and Muleriders are averaging double digits per game. Leading team scoring for the Tigers is Madeline Tipton with an average 14.3 points per game.
The Muleriders' impressive scoring offense (85.9 avg ppg) is succeeded by Ouachita's 80.7 average points per game. While Southern Arkansas may have an advantage when it comes to offensive scoring, Southern Arkansas is allowing an average 72.5 points per game while Ouachita is only allowing 65.3. Ouachita has yet to dip into triple digit scoring while the Muleriders have put up 100 or more points thrice thus far (six games played).
SAU and OUA stand as two of the five teams who have yet to record a win in conference play thus far, the question is who will continue that record and who will walk away with their first GAC win? Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Bill Vining Arena in Arkadelphia. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
