MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas (7-5 | 2-4) welcomes in a couple of programs from the Sooner State this week as Southeastern Oklahoma (7-5 | 4-2) and East Central (4-6 | 2-4) venture to the W.T. Watson Center for a 3:00 PM tip-off on Thursday and a 1:00 PM tip-off on Saturday.
Series History
The Muleriders against both SE and ECU are down to the pair of Oklahoma schools as the Savage Storm holds a 9-27 advantage against SAU and the Tigers hold an 11-19 record versus the Blue and Gold. Even at home, Southern Arkansas has just a 4-11 record against Southeastern while the Muleriders do hold a lead at home against East Central of 7-6.
The last meeting between the Muleriders and Southeastern was inside the W.T. Watson Center last February as the Southern Arkansas controlled the contest with a 76-61 victory.
East Central last saw SAU in Magnolia last February which had the Muleriders come out on top in a defensive showdown and a final score of 59-53.
Southern Arkansas at a Glance:
The Muleriders look to recover after falling to the conference-leading Harding Bisons last Saturday by a final of 68-79. After a stellar first period of play which saw SAU tied up with Bisons, Harding's second period is what secured them the victory as the group outscored the Muleriders by ten and would be able to counter all of Southern Arkansas' advances to bring the game closer.
Leading the team in scoring was senior
Tequaza Chambers with 18 points and a 70% field goal percentage (7-10). The Plain Dealing, Louisiana native also led the team at the charity stripe after making four of her five attempts from the line. Three other Muleriders accounted for double-digit scoring which included
Chloe Wilbanks who was 5-6 from the field and recorded 13 points as the group's second-leading scorer.
This season, the Muleriders have been led in scoring by
Addy Tremie, who is averaging 12.9 points per game and has recorded a total of 155 points. Two other members of the unit averaging double-digit scoring are
Crystal Ortiz with 11.8 (141) and
Tequaza Chambers with 10.6 (127). The top rebounder and blocker for SAU has been
Elena Lijo-Rodriguez as the Spanish native has recorded 82 boards and averages 6.8 per game. For blocking, she is second in the GAC for total blocks (23 | 25
th DII) and blocks per game (1.92 | 22
nd DII).
Southeastern at a Glance:
Southeastern Oklahoma has seen quite the early turnaround from a year ago as the Savage Storm comes off a victory against in-state rival Southwestern Oklahoma 62-48 to start the new year. A season ago, SE managed just six conference wins and ten for the whole season, but they are already off to a better beginning than the 2023-24 campaign, as they are 7-5 with a 4-2 record in the Great American Conference.
The Savage Storm's leading scorer has been Caitlin Kobiske who has been averaging 18.9 points per game (2nd GAC | 18th nationally) and is leading the conference in free throw attempts (80) and free throws made (69).
East Central at a Glance:
The Tigers from Ada, Oklahoma saw some promise early on this season as East Central started 2-2 against non-conference foes before beginning 2-0 in the GAC with wins against Ouachita Baptist (62-48) and Henderson State (66-61) in the first week of league play. Since then, ECU has dropped four consecutive contests against conference opponents, all from the Sooner State besides Southeastern. Most recently, the Tigers looked to pull off the upset at home against Southern Nazarene but came up short 49-56.
Katie Edelen has been East Central's top scorer as the sophomore is averaging 15.8 over ten games and is third in rebounding for the Tigers with 54 this season.
Next Up:
Southern Arkansas hits the road to west Oklahoma where the Muleriders will face Southwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday at 5:30 PM which will be followed up with a trip to Alva for a match-up with Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday at 3:00 PM.
Broadcast Details
You can follow all the action with live stats at MuleriderAthletics.com or watch it live on the official SAU Mulerider Athletics YouTube page.
