MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Muleriders will continue their road stint as they head to Monticello for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against the University of Arkansas-Monticello inside the Steelman Fieldhouse. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
The Muleriders bring a 3-7 conference record into the Monday evening matchup against the Cotton Blossoms following a loss to Harding on the Road while UAM also seeks redemption after a Saturday afternoon loss to Henderson in Arkadelphia. The Blossoms' 72-63 loss sticks them with a 4-6 conference record that ranks seventh in the GAC.
The Muleriders have won their last four against the Blossoms, with their last three coming as 20+ point victories. In their most recent matchup in February 2022, senior Jessica Jones led team scoring with 18 points while senior teammates Diamond Morris and Kylie Warren each notched 11 points.
Two of the Blossoms' four double digit scorers from the February match, Shania Smith and Bailey Harris, returned to the Blossoms. Harris leads team scoring at 15.4 points per game and carried UAM scoring in their most recent matchup in Arkadelphia with 14 points. Joi Montgomery stands at the singular other Blossom to average more that ten points a game at 11.1. Montgomery, a junior transfer from Three Rivers College has recorded double digit scoring figures in her last two games while also recording a block in each. She has surpassed ten points in ten games and has breached the 20-point mark in two.
Morris surpassed 200 points on the season in the Muleriders' most recent game on Saturday. The senior is averaging 12.6 points per game to rank top-20 in the conference. Senior Mychala Linzy is averaging 11.7 ppg, with almost 75% of her points coming from threes. She continues to rank in the top-15 in the nation with her three-point percentage that improved to 45.9%. Linzy is just one of many Muleriders that aids the team's impressive three-point play- four total Muleriders rank in the conference top-15 with three points per game.
Southern Arkansas is the solo team in the conference to have made more than 200 threes thus far. They also stand as the only team in the conference to average double digit threes made per game at 13.2. With 211 made threes on 604 attempts, their 34.9% field goal percentage ranks third in the GAC.
The Muleriders continue to post the best scoring offense in the GAC while UAM is the 11th team in the league in scoring at an average 65.3 points per game. Arkansas-Monticello ranks sixth with their 31.5 3-point field goal percentage and are holding opponents to 28.6% from three. The Blossoms are forcing an average 15.7 turnovers per game at a -0.94 turnover margin while the Riders margin ranks first at 5.94 with an average 24.1 forced turnovers per game. SAU is also leading the conference with an average 13.06 steals per game.
