MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Head Women's Basketball Coach Darrick Matthews and his Muleriders (6-3 | 2-1 GAC) look to make their return to home conference action after coming off a huge road victory over Arkansas Tech (6-2 | 2-2 GAC) on Monday (Dec. 15), as Southern Arkansas exited the Tucker Coliseum in Russellville, Arkansas, with an 86-84 triumph. To cap off 2025, the Blue and Gold now shift their attention to their adversaries from Arkadelphia, as the Muleriders will host the Henderson State Reddies (Dec. 18 | 5:30 PM) and the Ouachita Baptist Tigers (Dec. 20 | 1:00 PM) inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
Series History vs. HSU
SAU vs. HSU | 12/18 (5:30 PM)
87^th meeting, HSU leads 53-33
First meeting: 11/22/1976 – SAU wins 81-68 (Magnolia, Ark.)
Last meeting: 1/25/2025 – HSU wins 75-68 (Magnolia, Ark.)
 
Series History vs. OUA
SAU vs. OUA | 12/20 (1:00 PM)
86^th meeting | OUA leads 50-35
First meeting: 12/4/1976 – SAU wins 59-21(Arkadelphia, Ark.)
Last meeting: 2/27/2025 – SAU wins 70-61 (Magnolia, Ark.)
 
Broadcast Information
Both Thursday and Saturday's games will be broadcast on the Southern Arkansas University Hudl Fan page and on 99.1 KVMZ with Dan Gregory calling all the action. Live Stats for both matchups are accessible at www.MuleriderAthletics.com/coverage.
 
SAU Notables
>>> Southern Arkansas comes off an impressive road win against the Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech and accounted for the first time in the series' history in which the Muleriders defeated ATU on the road in back-to-back seasons. Not only that, but with Head Coach Darrick Matthews moving to 3-0 against the Golden Suns, SAU recorded just its second three-game winning streak over the group from Russellville.
 
>>> Monday night's showing saw impressive performances all around, but specifically from some of Matthews' underclassmen. Leading the Muleriders in scoring were four underclassmen, three of whom are true freshmen. At the top of the scoring leaders was Oklahoma City native Blythe Crawley. She led the Muleriders with 21 points, her second 20+ point affair, while also tying for the lead in steals with 4. Crawley currently leads the Blue and Gold in scoring with 124 points total and 13.8 per game. Next up was sophomore Johnna Brockman, a native of Morrilton, Arkansas, who recorded a career-high 17 points after making 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Following her was the game-winning shooter Kennedy Moss, a freshman from Trophy Club, Texas. Moss tallied up 15 points in the outing, a new season-high, after also going 7-of-9 from the field with a three-pointer. Moss was the Muleriders' leader in rebounds as well, almost accounting for a double-double with 9 boards. The next and final Mulerider in double digits was Hope Bump, a freshman from Sand Springs, Oklahoma. Bump currently sits at second on the roster in scoring and helped her position with 11 points, while recording four rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
>>> In the conference, the Muleriders still rank highly in defensive shooting percentage, especially in the three-point percentage allowed. On Monday, SAU showed why it is ranked highly for defensive three-point percentage, as the unit surrendered just 2-of-22 three-point attempts against the Golden Suns, which comes out to 9.1%. Currently, Southern Arkansas ranks second in the league in both field goal percentage (35.4% | 35^th DII) and three-point percentage (24.3% | 32^nd DII) allowed.
 
HSU Notables
>>> The Reddies are coming off a weekend that involved their first loss of the season, followed by a very impressive bounce back, as Henderson State fell at home to Arkansas Tech 89-72, but got their get back last Saturday in a 69-66 road win over then 12^th-ranked Harding. Currently, the Reddies sit at 7-1 overall with a 3-1 record in the conference, tying them for third in the league with Southern Nazarene.
 
>>> Leading the Reddies in scoring this season has been Natalie Cardenas, as the junior currently averages 20.4 points per game and has accounted for 163 points. She is just one of two Reddies with 100+ points scored, as Brynlee Huggins sits at 122 with an average of 15.3 per game. Also averaging in the double digits is senior Grayson Fairless, as the Arkansan is recording 11.8 points per game with 94 points scored. All three average 30+ minutes per game.
 
>>> This matchup will see one of the league's best defenses against the three-ball go up against the league's top three-point shooting squad, as the Reddies are ranked first in the GAC for three-point shooting at 37.2% (11^th DII). The group is the second-best scoring offense in the conference, averaging 77.4 points per game. A large portion of the unit's scoring efforts has come from the charity stripe, as Henderson State leads the nation in free-throw percentage (82.6%) and is second in the GAC for free throws made per game (18.38 | 8^th DII).
 
OUA Notables
>>> The Tigers are coming off their sixth-straight win after falling in their season opener against Northeastern State, 74-58. Since that loss, Ouachita Baptist has not tasted defeat, which includes a 3-0 start in conference with wins over East Central (76-52), Southeastern Oklahoma State (82-74), and Arkansas-Monticello (87-60). Following their fourth-straight home matchup against 17^th-ranked Harding, the Tigers will take to the road for the first time this conference season to face SAU inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
>>> Leading the Tigers in scoring this season has been Madeleine Tipton, as the senior has accounted for 121 points with an average of 17.3 points per game. Joining Tipton for averaging 10+ points per game are Heidi Robinson (12.0) and Abbey Harrison (11.6).
 
>>> Ouachita Baptist currently has the second-best three-point shooting team in the GAC, as the group averages 36.6% (14^th DII) and leads the league in three pointers made per game with 8.6 (16^th DII). Boosting the Tigers' percentages this season have been three main members: Heidi Robinson (15-for-33 | 45.5%), Audri Winfrey (13-for-28 | 46.4%), and Madeleine Tipton (13-for-35 | 37.1%).
 
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