MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Mulerider Women's Basketball (5-3 | 1-1 GAC) and Head Coach Darrick Matthews are set for more conference action after an exhibition road trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas, where the Muleriders took on former Arkansas Women's Intercollegiate Sports Association (AWISA) and Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) foe Arkansas State University on Tuesday (Dec. 9). To begin the week, the Blue and Gold will head back on the road to play current Great American Conference foe Arkansas Tech for a Monday matchup inside ATU's Tucker Coliseum in Russellville, Arkansas.
Series History vs. ATU
SAU vs. ATU | 12/15 (5:30 PM)
89th meeting: ATU leads 79-10
First Meeting: 12/6/1976 – SAU wins 80-52 (Magnolia, Ark.)
Last Meeting: 3/1/2025 – SAU wins 68-60 (Russellville, Ark.)
Broadcast Information
Monday's game will be broadcast on the Arkansas Tech athletics YouTube channel. Fans can also follow the live stats links at MuleriderAthletics.com/coverage.
SAU Notables
>>> Southern Arkansas looks to carry over its pace from last Saturday, as the Muleriders earned their first win in the Great American Conference this season, as well as handing Oklahoma Baptist its first loss in the league, with a 62-58 final inside the W.T. Watson Center.
>>> Continuing to lead the Muleriders in scoring is true freshman Blythe Crawley. A native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Crawley is the lone member of the Blue and Gold with 100+ points, as she has accounted for 103 points. As one of three Blue and Gold members with an average of 10 or more points a game, Crawley leads the team with 12.9 points per game.
>>> The Mulerider defense has been impressive so far into the season, as the group ranks second in the GAC for both shooting percentage from the field and beyond the arc allowed. SAU's defensive efforts have held its opponents to just 34.8% shooting from the field, which ranks 32nd in NCAA Division II, while also only surrendering 26.3% from three-point range (65th DII).
>>> Monday's road matchup against Arkansas Tech will mark the first of three games to end 2025 for SAU, as the Muleriders will come back to Magnolia for outings against Henderson State (Thursday | Dec. 18 | 5:30 PM) and Ouachita Baptist (Saturday | Dec. 20 | 1:00 PM) as a couple of final opportunistic gifts for the Blue and Gold before Christmas.
ATU Notables
>>> Arkansas Tech began its conference season much like the Muleriders, as the group opened its GAC schedule with a home loss to now-ranked #22 Northwestern Oklahoma State (72-66), followed by a home win against GAC preseason #3 Southwestern Oklahoma State (71-63). Entering the Monday evening contest, ATU sits at 5-1 overall with a 1-1 record in conference play.
>>> Despite already having a loss in league action, the Golden Suns have shown themselves to be one of the GAC's top groups already, as they lead the conference in assists per game (16.8 | 16th DII), bench points per game (39.3 | 5th DII), scoring offense (84.8 | 3rd DII), steals per game (12.2 | 43rd DII), three point attempts per game (28.0 | 13th DII), three pointers per game (8.8 | 16th DII), turnover margin (10.17 | 7th DII), and turnovers forced per game (25.33 | 15th DII).
>>> ATU's scoring leader has been freshman forward Logan Young. A native of Dover, Arkansas, Young leads the unit in scoring with 75 points accounted for this season and 12.5 points scored per game. Young leads the Suns in multiple categories, such as shot attempts (54), free throw attempts (21), tied for most free throws made (16), and steals (13).
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