MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Two weeks left in the regular season and hopes are still high for the Mulerider Women's Basketball team as they head back to Oklahoma one final time for a shot to stay alive in the Great American Conference Tournament conversation. On Thursday, Southern Arkansas is set to rematch the Oklahoma Baptist Bison in Shawnee after having lost in heart-breaking fashion inside the W.T. Watson on January 20. On the following Saturday, SAU makes its final journey in Oklahoma as they venture to Bethany to take on the No. 10 Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm.
 
The Muleriders currently sit at 12-12 overall (2023: 12-17) and 7-11 within conference play. With the conference record, Southern Arkansas would be eligible for the tournament if the season were to end now as they are tied for seventh along with Ouachita Baptist and Oklahoma Baptist.
 
As a team, the Muleriders have accounted for 1,703 points while allowing competitors 1,548. Diamond Morris has been the lead of that stat as she has recorded 305 points thus far and average 12.7 per contest. Addy Tremie is the only other Muleriders who has exceeded the 300-point mark as well as she has 301 points to her merit. While Morris has been the superior interior scorer, Tremie continues to lead the squad in three-point shooting with a percentage of 39.7%.
 
Southern Arkansas has recorded 861 rebounds, in which they have been outrebounded by 78 boards (939 opposing rebounds). Jessica Clemons continues to lead squad in boards as she has accounted for 115 receptions off the rim/backboard and is one of just three Muleriders to exceed 100+ rebounds.
 
Vs. Oklahoma Baptist (10-14 | 7-11 GAC)
The Bison, entering the rematch against the Muleriders, are coming off a very significant win at home against the vote receiving Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers on Saturday where they won 62-52. OBU since they defeated Southern Arkansas in January has gone 2-6 with wins against Ouachita Baptist and NWOSU.
 
In January, Oklahoma Baptist outlasted the Muleriders in a tightly-knit game that finished by the score of 63-58. Now SAU heads to Shawnee, Oklahoma on Thursday with a chance for a trip to FireLake Arena.
 
For the Bison, Jaedyn Getman leads the group in scoring as she has made 45.2% of her shots from the field (159-352), 41.5% from three (22-53), and 86.6% at the charity stripe (84-97). Getman has accounted for 424 points (17.7 points per game), which amounts to 29.7% of Oklahoma Baptist's scoring.
 
Getman also leads OBU in rebounds as she has accounted for 154 boards, which is 52 or more than anyone on the team or the team/deadball rebounds. She is just one of two players that has hit the century mark in rebounds.
 
Among the conference, Oklahoma Baptist ranks fourth in blocks per game (4.2) and free throw percentage (75.3). The crew is fifth in the GAC for turnovers per game with 15.8. The Bison are sixth in the league for steals per game as they have average 8.3 per contest.
 
Vs. No. 9/7 Southern Nazarene (23-1 | 17-1 GAC)
The Crimson Storm is looking to make the final claim of the top-spot within the Great American Conference after having received their first and only loss of the season against No. 5/3 Harding two weeks prior. Since then, Southern Nazarene has run past Oklahoma Baptist by 22 points and East Central by 14. SNU begins the week against Arkansas-Monticello in Bethany, Oklahoma on Thursday and will see the Muleriders on Saturday.
 
In the last matchup between the Storm and Southern Arkansas, SAU created a tight competition at half time as the Muleriders were down by just two points (35-33), but were slowly overcome in the second half after being outscored in the third and fourth quarters. Southern Nazarene secured the victory by a score a 72-59.
 
SNU has three different players that have recorded 300+ points that include Lauryn Reither (399), Hannah Giddey (313), and Emily Monaghan (303). Each player averages at least 12.6 points per game with Reither averaging 16.6 per contest. Reither has made 52.7% of her attempts from the field (137-260), 42.1% from three (40-95), and 80.2% at the line (85-106).
 
Giddey, who averages 13 points per game, leads the Storm in rebounds with 244 (2^nd GAC | 18^th nationally). She is currently averaging 10.2 boards per outing. While Giddey is the lone 200+ rebounder on Southern Nazarene, three other team members have recorded 100+ boards in Reither (140), Abbie Jiles (124), and Monaghan (104).
 
The Crimson Storm among the GAC ranks first in defensive field goal percentage (34.4% | 7^th nationally), fouls per game (14.3 | 22^nd nationally), scoring defense (53.8 | 7^th nationally), and three-point percentage (35.0 | 24^th nationally). Southern Nazarene also ranks second in many categories in the league such as assist/turnover ratio (0.99), assists per game (14.2), blocks per game (4.6 | 17^th nationally), defensive rebounds per game (28.4), and scoring margin (14.1 | 16^th nationally).
 
Times for games this week are set at 5:30 p.m. against Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday and 1:00 p.m. against Southern Nazarene on Saturday. For more information on Mulerider Women's Basketball, check out www.MuleriderAthletics.com