MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Buckle up. CHAOS is looming. Southern Arkansas Women's Basketball, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Adam Collins, is set to open the 2023-24 season at home on Friday and Saturday as host of the Central Region Tip-Off Challenge. The Muleriders are set to meet Newman (11/10; 5 p.m.) and Lincoln (Mo.) (11/11; 7 p.m.) over the next 48 hours, while fellow Great American Conference foe Arkansas-Monticello will play both regional opponents in Magnolia as well. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

'RIDER REWIND: ONE FINAL LOOK BACK
>>> The Muleriders posted a 12-17 overall record in 2022-23 with its second-straight 8-14 mark in GAC Play.
>>> SAU was picked to finish 11th in last season's preseason poll, but grinded to a four-way tie for eighth place where it grabbed the final berth as the eighth seed for its sixth trip to the league tournament.
>>> The Muleriders were beat by Top-seeded southern Nazarene.
>>> Diamond Morris was named a GAC Honorable Mention selection, while two Muleriders, graduated senior Kylie warren and returning junior Chloe wilbanks, were named GAC Distinguished scholar-athletes
>>> Two players, morris and warren, eclipsed the 1,000-point scoring mark last season. both are natives of Arkansas.
>>> Graduated Senior Mychala Linzy, now an assistant on the squad, broke the single-season 3pt record with 72.
>>> Southern Arkansas led the GAC last season in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0), assists per game (17.6), scoring offense (79.1), steals per game (12.3), three point attempts per game (35.0), three Point Makes per game (12.1) and turnovers forced per game (13.3).
>>> the Muleriders' marks in assists per game, three point attempts Per game and three point makes all led the Central Region.
>>> SAU ranked second in the league with a +4.93 turnover margin.
>>> SAU's 13.5 Offensive rebounds per game and three point percentage of 34.6% both ranked third in the GAC. 
>>> The Muleriders led the country in three-point attempts per game and three-point makes per game last season. SAU Attempted 35 or more trifectas in a game 16 times in 2022-23 with four games at 50 or more. The Muleriders sank 10 or more three point shots 20 times, made 15 plus on eight occasions and saw 20 three-point attempts bottom the net five times with four of those instances coming against GAC foes.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
>>> Guard-heavy with athletic-length at forward sums up the roster for Collins in year six. Five of six states that Share a Border with Arkansas are represented, while over half of the roster consists of student-athletes that joined the program from the High School Ranks. The seven players that previously spent time at other institutions are Tied for the most on any Collins-led Muleriders team. 

'23-24 SLATE BREAKDOWN
>>> The Muleriders are set to open the '23-24 season at home for the first time since the 2018-19.
>>> SAU will play five of its first six games of the season and FIVE of its final eight games inside the W.T. Watson Center where it has an overall record of 26-19 since the start of the 2019-20 season. The Muleriders will play in magnolia 15 times this season.
>>>Six of SAU's first 10 games are non-conference matchups with five of those contested at home. SAU is 8-1 in non-conference home games since 2019-20.
>>> Among the non-league tilts is a road matchup with UT-Tyler which enters the season ranked inside the nation's top 10. The Patriots made a run to the elite eight last march. Texas at Tyler topped SAU 71-65 last season in an overtime thriller in Magnolia.
>>> SAU has just one home game in the month of December.
>>> The Muleriders play on leap day 2024. SAU enjoyed a 30-point win over Oklahoma Baptist on Leap Day 2020; the only leap day matchup in its NCAA Division II Membership.

ENTERING YEAR SIX
>>> Head Coach Adam Collins enters his sixth year at the head of the bench for Southern Arkansas. He is the fourth-longest tenured head coach in program history.
>>> In five seasons, Collins holds a 49-79 (.383) Record, while SAU's ledger since the 2019-20 season stands at 46-54 (.460).
>>> His 49 victories at SAU are the fourth-most in program history.
>>> On December 16, 2022, the Muleriders jetted past Arkansas Baptist 112-74 to give Collins his 200th win at the NCAA level and his 40th on the sidelines at SAU.
>>> Since his first season of 2018-19, the Muleriders have won double-digit games in three of those seasons with a high of 17 during the 2019-20 campaign. That win total is the third-most in a single season in the program's NCAA Era (1995-96).
>>> The Muleriders have won a combined 25 games over the past two seasons crossing over the dozen mark each year. It marks the first back-to-back 10+ win seasons since 2005-06 and 2006-07 and is the first time its happened in the GAC Era.
>>> SAU has won 32 GAC Games Under Collins with a season-high 11 wins in 2019-20 and eight wins in each of the previous two seasons.

FRESH CAMPAIGN OF CHAOS
>>> Since the First season of the Great American Conference action in 2011-12, Southern Arkansas is 3-9 in season openers, with two of those three wins coming in the last four seasons.
>>> SAU sports a 7-5 record in home openers with four straight wins.
>>> Eight letterwinners from a season ago return for the 2023-24 season highlighted by All-GAC Performer Diamond Morris. An even number of newcomers join the fold highlighted by five transfers and three standout freshmen.
>>> Tequaza Chambers (Louisiana-Monroe) and Haylee Mitchell (Drury) come to magnolia from four-year institutions. Chambers Played in 21 games for ULM last year averaging seven minutes per game, while Mitchell saw action in 13 games for the 31-2 Panthers.
>>> Zykeria Anderson (Co-Lin JC), Lynn Griffin (Southwest Mississippi JC) and Jessica Clemons (Eastern Oklahoma JC) arrive from the JUCO ranks. Anderson played in 51 games at Co-Lin averaging 34.0 minutes and 14.0 ppg while shooting 37.9%. In 27 games last season, Griffin shot 44.9% from the floor and averaged 7.7 ppg and 6.1 RPG. Clemons Grabbed 225 rebounds last season at 8.0 per game and collected 52 steals, while averaging 8.1 ppg.
>>> An impressive freshman class includes McDonald's All-American nominee Layla Carter from Vicksburg, Mississippi, former All-State and All-Star performer Kyleigh Scoggins From up the road in Nashville and Former two-sport All-State standout Addison Walker from Gilmer, Texas.

SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND
>>> Senior guard Diamond Morris and sophomore guard Marlee bright headline the returners for southern Arkansas as chaos enters year six. Morris led the team in seven major statistical categories last season, was the lone Mulerider to average double figures in scoring and scored 10 or more points 18 times in '22-23. Bright was just that in her first season in Magnolia. The Amity, Arkansas native made the most of her 11.8 minutes per game over 27 games played. Bright recorded four or more assists in a game ten times. If she wasn't dishing, she was taking. Bright dimmed the efforts of opponents night in and night with 41 total steals and eight games with three or more. She nearly delivered a double-double in assists and steals in the win over Ozarks Behind season-best efforts (10-7).

FIRING ON ALL CHAOS
>>> A relentless effort on the defensive end of the floor, volume shooting from the perimeter and quality ball movement are just a few staples of Southern Arkansas' #CHAOS. And the stats back it up. In 29 games in 2022-23, the Muleriders recorded a dozen steals or more 12 times, collected a dozen or more assists two dozen times and attempted 35 or more three pointers 16 times. 

POINTS, POINTS, POINTS
>>> Despite just one player with a double-figure scoring average last season, the Muleriders' points distribution was deep as six other players averaged at least 6.0 ppg. Six players with at least 125 attempts from the floor shot 40% or better including three that had at least 219 shot attempts. Over 29 games, southern Arkansas scored 70+ points twenty times last season, crossed over 80 points a dozen times and reached the century mark on five different occasions. 

BAAAAANNNNNNGGGGGGG!
>>> No team in NCAA Division II and only two Division III programs attempted more three pointers in 2022-23 than southern Arkansas. The Muleriders averaged 35.0 trifecta attempts per game which led the country and ranked third across all levels of NCAA. With that kind of effort, good things happen and good things certainly happened beyond the arc for the Muleriders to the tune of 12.1 three-point makes per game which led all three divisions of the NCAA. Of the team's 352 made three point attempts last season, 112 are back in the form of returners. The squad's 3pt% of 34.6% ranked 30th in Division II. 

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS BY THE NUMBERS
2,560- The number of minutes from the 2022-23 squad that are returning for the Muleriders in '23-24. SAU produced a collective 5,875 minutes among 16 players with the eight returners accounting for 43.6%. Diamond Morris averaged 25.8 minutes per game to lead SAU in the statistic and along with Addy Tremie's 20.0 minutes per game, the pair are the only players back with a minutes per game average above 12.0.
1,134- The number of career points for senior guard diamond morris. the Sheridan, Arkansas native became the program's fifth NCAA player to cross over the 1,000-point scoring mark on January 23, 2023. She is the first player in program history to reach the mark having played entirely in the GAC, while she became the fifth to earn the accomplishment since 2000. Her current total is the 14th highest in program history and she is 240 points back of the top five all-time.
100- The Muleriders crossed the century mark in Five of their first ten games of the '22-23 season which matched the 100-point games by the squad the season prior. In 2020-21 and 2021-22, the Muleriders reached the century mark in scoring ten times. Prior to the start of the 2021-22 campaign and since becoming a member of the GAC in 2012-13, SAU had managed just two 100-point scoring games. Of the dozen 100+ scoring games over the past eleven seasons, Collins' squads have orchestrated 11 of them.
79.1- Southern Arkansas' points per game average last season which ranked second among the 42-team central region. The total stood as the eighth-best scoring rate nationally and was just over 4.5 points back of region-leader Minnesota state which averaged the second-highest scoring clip in the country at 83.7 ppg. SAU has ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring in each of the previous three seasons with a high of 83.0 ppg coming in 2020-21. That clip ranked 5th in DII.
22- On December 17, 2022, The Muleriders were edged at home by Arkansas Tech, but not before erupting for a program-record 22 made three-points attempts on 37.9% shooting from deep. Of the near two-dozen trifectas made in that game, only three return in the former of current players. SAU finished the regular season with 10+ made three pointers in 19 games.
4- The number of consecutive seasons, which started with the 2019-20 campaign, that SAU Has been ranked inside the nation's top 10 in steals per game at season's end. In Collins' second season, SAU ranked second nationally at 15.1. The next season, SAU's rate was 12.3 which ranked ninth in DII. In 2021-22, the Muleriders posted 12.6 per game for the tenth-best clip. Last season, Southern Arkansas' 12.3 steals per game was the tenth-highest in DII. SAU has led the league Each season.
2.13- The assist-to-turnover ratio for freshman guard Marlee bright in her collegiate rookie season. The mark led the great American conference, ranked 11th in the Central Region and was the 35th-best mark in the Country. Bright recorded the third-most assists on the team with 81 to just 38 turnovers. She ranked second on the team in assists per game with 3.0 and is the top returning distributor entering 2023-24. 

NEWMAN AND THE JETS
>>> SAU opens its 2023-24 campaign with just its second meeting all-time against the Jets and its first in nearly 15 years. 
>>> The Jets Return five players from last year's squad and have ten underclassmen on this year's roster.
>>> Newman ranked first in the MIAA in three-point percentage Last season with a clip of 35.2% which ranked 21st nationally. NU WAs also third in the MIAA in three pointers per game with 7.4; a top 50 mark nationally.
>>> Carissa beck is one of just two seniors for the Jets and she was the squad's best three-point shooter last season with 52 three pointers (9th MIAA) at 1.86 three pointers per game (8th MIAA).
>>> The Jets lose the assistance of 2022-23 All-MIAA Third-Team selection Britney Ho and 2022-23 All-MIAA Honorable Mention Maddie Spagnola. Ho led Newman in Multiple categories including field goal percentage (49.6 | 4th MIAA), field goals made (206 | 3rd MIAA),  points per game (17.8 | 3rd MIAA), and rebounds per game (6.6 | 10th MIAA) among others. Spagnola led the Jets in total minutes (856), three-point attempts (131), assists (93 | 10th MIAA), and  assists per game (3.3 | 10th MIAA). Spagnola was also the second-best shot from deep as she recorded 51 three pointers (10th MIAA) and averaged 1.82 per game (9th MIAA). 

THE SHOW ME LAND OF LINCOLN
>>> The Muleriders and the Blue Tigers meet for the sixth time with the five previous matchups all coming since the 2017-18 campaign and all five in the opening month of the season. The two programs have played in five different gyms across three states. 
>>> Like NU, Lincoln also features a roster with ten underclassmen.
>>> In 2022-23, The Blue Tigers ranked 6th in the MIAA in turnovers forced per game with 15.21. LU was 7th in steals per game with 8.0. Lincoln landed in the middle of the MIAA Pack in field goal percentage at 40.0%. 
>>> Sophomore Saniya Simmons returns as the Blue Tigers' leader in assists (87 | 12th MIAA), assists per game (3.1 | 12th MIAA), steals (50 | 8th MIAA), and steals per game (1.79 | 8th MIAA). 
>>> AJ Bradley makes a return as one of three seniors for Lincoln as she led the Blue Tigers in free throw percentage last season after connecting on 77.6% of her attempts from the stripe. 
>>> Ashlyn Alloway is the top leading scorer back for the Blue Tigers after she averaged 9.0 ppg last season on 45.2% shooting. Her 141 rebounds led the team in 2022-23.
>>> The Blue Tigers lose key players in Niyah Jackson (FGM), Kelsey Mitchell (3fgm), and Le'Yanna McGinnis (Team Leader in PPG last Season).