MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Mulerider Women's Basketball is ready to get back into action for the slate the group has in front of them this weekend. Southern Arkansas is set to make its furthest drive this season, and its only trip to the Lone Star State, as the Muleriders will partake in the Fairfield Inn Classic hosted by Lubbock Christian in Lubbock, Texas. The classic is set to take place over Friday and Saturday (Nov. 21-22). For Friday, the Blue and Gold will take on the University of Texas-Permian Basin at 3:30 PM. For Saturday, Southern Arkansas will face the classic's host in Lubbock Christian for the night cap 6:00 PM tip-off.
Broadcast Information
The weekends' matchups will be broadcast on FloCollege through the Lone Star Conference. All coverage links will be provided at www.MuleriderAthletics.com/Coverage.
SAU Notables
>>> The Muleriders are being given the opportunity to get back in motion, as Southern Arkansas comes off its first loss of the fresh season while at Delta State on Tuesday. This weekend, the Muleriders head to Lubbock, Texas for the Fairfield Inn Classic, in which the Blue and Gold will take on the University of Texas-Permian Basin on Friday (3:30 PM) and Lubbock Christian University on Saturday (6:00 PM). Against both Lone Star Conference opponents, the Muleriders make their introduction, with Friday and Saturday being the two's initial meetings.
>>> While the Muleriders fell in a lowscoring affair in Cleveland, Mississippi, Southern Arkansas saw an incredible performance by senior Elena Lijo-Rodriguez. The Spanish native led the Muleriders in scoring and boards against the Lady Statesmen on Tuesday, as SAU's 6'5" forward tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds for the senior's first double-double this season and her third of her Southern Arkansas University career. It didn't take Lijo-Rodriguez many opportunities to acquire her point total, as Elena was 61.5% from the floor after going 8-13.
>>> Southern Arkansas will be taking on groups from the Lone Star Conference for the first time since the 2023-24 season, when the Muleriders faced the University of Texas at Tyler on the road and fell to the Patriots 67-59. Those two units took on each other the year prior as well, with UT-Tyler winning that one inside the W.T. Watson Center in overtime 71-65. The two units faced off again the year prior in Tyler, Texas, which saw another single-digit loss to the Patriots with a 78-72 final. Before then, the most recent Lone Star Conference opponent for Southern Arkansas was back in the 2015-16 campaign, when the Muleriders defeated Texas A&M-Commerce (East Texas A&M) 76-74. That game also marked the last time SAU had defeated a group from the LSC, with just four meetings with the conference in a decade.
>>> Just three games into the year, the Muleriders have been highly efficient from three-point range. The group already leads the Great American Conference in three-point percentage, at 39.1%, which is also the 23rd-highest percentage in all of NCAA DII.
UTPB Notables
>>> Entering the weekend at 1-1, the Falcons come off their opening weekend, in which they defeated Metropolitan State University of Denver (66-53) and fell to 21st-ranked Colorado Mesa University (57-49) in an overtime battle. This weekend will be UTPB's first road matchups of the season after hosting for opening weekend.
>>> Kenadi Rising and Mikalah Buckley lead the Falcons in scoring, with Rising totaling 24 points thus far and Buckley following with 23. With at least 10 shots taken this campaign, Rising is also the group's leader in field goal percentage at 52.6% (10-19).
>>> Leading Permian Basin in rebounds this season has been Arial Ford, as the senior from Indianapolis, Indiana leads her squad with 17 rebounds, with three offensive and 14 defensive boards.
LCU Notables
>>> The Chaps have begun the new season hot, as the unit sits at 4-0 with wins over (RV) Adams State (66-57), Missouri Western (82-75), Colorado Christian (63-53), and Colorado State Pueblo (61-42). After a solid start to the year, Lubbock Christian looks to start home play with a bang, as the group is set to host the Fairfield Inn Classic to begin play inside the Rip Griffin Center.
>>> LCU has been incredibly effective on offense this season, as the team has two with at least 50 points accounted for thus far, in Kennedy Chappell and Meg Meekins. Chappell, junior from Heath, Texas, leads the Chaps in scoring, as she has totaled 68 points to this point and averages 17.0 points per game. Meekins has been huge for the Chaps as well, with the freshman out of Nocona, Texas scoring 52 points so far and averaging 13.0 per game.
>>> Not only has Chappell led the Chaps in scoring to this point, but he Texan is also the teams' leader in boards with 19. She is just ahead of Tia Johnson, a senior from Lubbock, who has 18 rebounds so far.
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