MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Following a split-weekend, and a rollercoaster of a season, the Mulerider Women's Basketball squad regroups for one final week of regular season action in which they will face in-state competition such as Ouachita Baptist on the road in Arkadelphia on Thursday night and then Arkansas Tech back inside the W.T. Watson Center for a CHAOS-filled afternoon on Senior Day.
 
All Southern Arkansas can do is worry about the game in front of them I order to secure a bid to the Great American Conference Tournament in Shawnee. The Muleriders are currently tied for eighth in the league with Oklahoma Baptist at 8-12. Ouachita Baptist currently sits at 7-13 and requires a victory over the Muleriders on Thursday to stay in the tournament conversation. If Southern Arkansas were to secure a win in Clark County against the Tigers, SAU will have punched their ticket to FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma for the second consecutive season.
 
This season, the Muleriders have lost to both the Tigers and the Goldens Suns as OUA took game one of the season in overtime by a final score of 72-67 after Southern Arkansas had come back down nine in the second period. SAU traveled to Russellville for their last outing against the Suns where ATU held control the entirety of the contest and claimed victory by a final score of 95-72.
 
Arkansas Tech has yet to clinch their spot in the tourney as they sit at 9-11 in the conference and require one final win to put their name on the ballot of potential GAC Champions. The Suns will first have to get past the Reddies of Henderson State at home after having lost to HSU in Arkadelphia in December by a final of 84-80.
 
Addy Tremie is coming off a very solid weekend after having recorded 35 total points and making eight of her 13 attempts from three-point range. The Sulphur, Louisiana native accounted for a career-high 24 points on Thursday against Oklahoma Baptist while also making all five of her shots from downtown. Tremie scored 11 against the No. 9/7 Crimson Storm while on the road as she made three of her eight tries from beyond the arc.
 
Tequaza Chambers had herself a pair of double-digit performances versus the squads from Central Oklahoma as the junior accounted for ten points against the Bison on Thursday along with a couple of steaks and three rebounds. The native of Plain Dealing, Louisiana recorded 17 points against the top-ten Southern Nazarene on Saturday as she also made all six of her attempts at the charity stripe in which she led the team in free throws made.
 
Due to her productivity in the last few weeks, Tremie now leads the team in scoring as she has scored 336 thus far this season. The senior's scoring efforts primarily are shown through her effectiveness from three-point range as she has made 60 of her 144 attempts (.417 | 18^th nationally). Tremie ranks second in the GAC in three-point percentage, three-pointers made, and three-pointers per game (2.31). She is third in the league for her attempts from downtown.
 
Southern Arkansas ranks first among the conference for bench points per game (27.5), steals per game (14.2 | 6^th nationally), and turnovers forced per game (24.42 | 6^th nationally). The Muleriders are second in the league their turnover margin as they average forcing 6.5 more turnovers than the opposition (10^th nationallY0. SAU is third in many categories such as assists per game (13.6), fouls per game (15.4), free throw attempts per game (19.65), offensive rebounds per game (13.8) and three-point attempts per game (22.2)
 
Ouachita Baptist (9-15 | 7-13 GAC)
The Tigers since their last win that came against the then No. 18 Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers, have gone 0-4 as they have dropped games to Henderson State (76-78), Arkansas Tech (63-66), Southeastern Oklahoma State (68-75), and East Central (48-61)
 
The Muleriders are down in the all-time series since becoming Great American Conference members against Ouachita Baptist as the Tigers currently hold a record of 17-10 over Southern Arkansas. SAU has fallen the last three meetings against OUA with the Muleriders last victory against Ouachita Baptist coming in 2022. In that season ('21-'22), Southern Arkansas swept the Tigers for just the fourth time since joining the GAC.
 
Ouachita Baptist's leading scorer is No. 22 Laney Mears. The junior has accounted for 323 points as she also leads her squad in three-point efficiency having made 52 of her 162 attempts (.321). Mears has been the most efficient among the league in free throw shooting as she leads the conference FT percentage at .924 (61-66 | 2^nd nationally).
 
The Tigers have a pair of 100+ rebounders in No. 20 Grayson Fairless and No. 13 Joey Babel. Fairless, listed at 6'0", has recorded 148 boards with 103 of those coming off the defensive glass. Babel, listed at 5'4", has been responsible for 128 rebounds with 81 of hers being recorded on defense. The sophomore has also been the leading passer for the Tigers as she has been on the delivery of 70 made shots (assists) for Ouachita Baptist.
 
 
Arkansas Tech (12-12 | 9-11 GAC)
The Golden Suns are 2-2 in their previous four outings with a loss to #6/4 Harding (65-80), win against Ouachita Baptist (66-53), a win over Southwestern Oklahoma State (80-70), and a loss to Northwestern Oklahoma State.
 
Arkansas Tech is led scoring by No. 25 Alex Hill as she has recorded 288 points thus far and is just one of three Suns to have scored 200 or more points. The junior has been the primary look for the Golden Suns offense as she has made 90 of her 257 shots from the field (35.0%), 24 of her 98 attempts beyond the arc (24.5%), and 84 of her 120 free throw trips (70.0%). No. 22 Dana Thompson and No. 23 Hayleigh Wyrick are the two other Tech players to have accounted for 200+ as Thompson is responsible for 226 points and Wyrick has recorded 206.
 
Thompson, listed at 6'0", is responsible for 20.2% of the Golden Suns' rebounds as she has recorded 206 boards with 129 of them coming off the defensive glass and 77 rebounds while on offense. In her 22 games played, junior from Miami, Florida (Thompson) is currently averaging 9.4 rebounds per contest (3^rd GAC | 35^th nationally).
 
While she has been an on again; off again starter for ATU, No. 3 Maisa Marcal has been a key orchestrator for the Suns' offense as she has recorded 72 assists. Hill sits just behind Marcal in the category as she has been responsible for 60 assists while also starting every game thus far.
 
Arkansas Tech is first in the league for blocks per game (5.3 | 6^th nationally), defensive rebounds per game (29.2 | 17^th nationally), and rebounds per game (42.38 | 17^th nationally). While the Golden Suns are 9-11 within the Great American Conference, they are still a fairly well-balanced group as they are third in the league in field goal percentage (41.6%) and defensive field goal percentage (35.3%). The group has been efficient in the paint as they are 11^th in the league in three-point attempts and are third in the conference for free-throw attempts per game due to all the drawn fouls at the basket.
 
Southern Arkansas looks to keep their season alive following Saturday with the upcoming competition. The Muleriders take on Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and the travel back home for Senior Day against Arkansas Tech at 1:00 p.m. For information on upcoming events, check out www.MuleriderAthletics.com