Arkansas Tech at East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State Game Notes
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech University women's basketball team opens Great American Conference (GAC) action this week with a pair of games in Oklahoma. The Golden Suns take on East Central this Thursday (Nov. 16) in a 5:30 p.m. tilt at ECU's Kerr Activities Center in Ada, Okla., before concluding the two-game league road trip this Saturday (Nov. 18) versus Southeastern Oklahoma State in Durant, Okla. Opening tip off is slated for 1 p.m. at SOSU's Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN SUNS
Arkansas Tech (1-0, 0-0 GAC) claimed its 10th consecutive season-opening victory to date this past Sunday (Nov. 12) afternoon as the Golden Suns toppled Lane College (Tenn.) 86-49 at Tech's Tucker Coliseum. Five Tech players scored in double figures with senior forward Cheyenne North and freshman guard Ke'Vonshaye Stackhouse netting a team-leading 13 points apiece. Freshman guard Jayana Sanders tallied 12 points, junior guard Taylor Ely had 11 points, and freshman guard Jacie Higgins tossed in 10 points in the win. Junior forward Lyrik Williams grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds while sophomore forward Ryann Goodsell pulled down eight caroms and Ely snared seven boards.
The Golden Suns, under 11th-year head coach Dave Wilbers, picked third in the 2017-18 Great American Conference Preseason Poll with 103 points and received one first-place vote. A season ago, Tech went 22-8 overall record with a second-place 16-6 conference record en route to making its third straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearance.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
East Central (0-0, 0-0 GAC) will open its 2017-18 season this Thursday (Nov. 16) hosting Arkansas Tech. The Tigers, under fourth-year head coach Matt Cole, fell 110-46 to NCAA Division I Oklahoma State on Oct. 29 in an exhibition at Stillwater, Okla., in their only action of this season to date.
ECU returns six players from last season's squad, which finished 14-14 overall and fifth in the GAC at 12-10. Senior guard Devon Branch, a 2016-17 All-GAC Second-Team selection, is the Tigers' top returner after averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game and 4.1 rebounds an outing in 28 contests. ECU was tabbed sixth in the 2017-18 GAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
SCOUTING THE SAVAGE STORM
Southeastern Oklahoma State (1-1, 0-0 GAC) hosted the GAC/MIAA Challenge this last weekend (Nov. 10-11) and split a pair of season-opening home contests. The Savage Storm, coached by 13th-year head coach Darin Grover, were dealt a 70-62 season-opening loss by Central Oklahoma this past Friday (Nov. 10) before garnering a 72-59 triumph over Northeastern State in Saturday's (Nov. 11) tourney finale. Junior guard Katie Webb, a 2016-17 second-team All-GAC Honoree, is Southeastern's top player after averaging team highs in both points (13.5 ppg.) and rebounds (7.4 rpg.) in 27 appearances a season ago.
SOSU, which was tabbed fourth in the 2017-18 GAC Preseason Poll, went 17-10 overall and tied for third in the GAC standings with a 15-7 league mark a season ago. The Savage Storm begin league competition this Thursday (Nov. 13) playing host to nationally-ranked Harding.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Arkansas Tech leads East Central 10-6 in the series and has won seven of the last 10 contests. The teams split last season's series with Tech posting a 68-43 home victory (1/7/17) before falling 67-55 on the road to the Tigers (2/23/17). The Golden Suns are 2-5 on the road, 7-1 at home, and 0-1 at neutral sites versus ECU.
The Golden Suns have a 9-5 advantage over Southeastern Oklahoma and have prevailed in four of the last five matchups. Tech notched a 69-51 home win over the Savage Storm (1/5/17) and then suffered a 71-63 road setback (2/25/17) in last season's action. The Golden Suns are 2-3 on the road, 5-0 at home, and 1-3 at neutral sites against SOSU.
CONFERENCE OPENERS
Arkansas Tech has currently compiled a 33-7 record (.825 win pct.) in conference-opening games dating back to the 1977-78 campaign. The Golden Suns, who are 16-4 on the road and 17-3 at home in league openers, had their 10-game winning streak snapped last season (11/17/16) with a 72-69 home setback to Southwestern Oklahoma. Tech head coach Dave Wilbers is 9-1 in conference openers, which includes a 5-0 road ledger. Tech sports a 31-9 mark (.775 win pct.) in league-opening road encounters.
ARKANSAS TECH NOTES
The Golden Suns improved to 33-8 in season openers and 39-2 in season home-opening games with their 86-49 victory over Lane … Junior forward Lyrik Williams grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds versus Lane (11/12), which included six offensive caroms … Cheyenne North surpassed the 300-point plateau with a team-best tying 13 points against Lane and currently has accumulated 311 career points at Tech in 28 outings … Taylor Ely's seven rebounds versus Lane is a career game high, eclipsing her previous game best of four boards set twice last season - against Southern Nazarene (2/2/17) and versus Arkansas-Monticello (2/16/17) … Tech Head Coach Dave Wilbers is now 10-1 in season openers at Tech since his arrival in the 2007-08 campaign and extended his season-opening game victory string to 10 in a row.
COVERAGE
Live audio, video and statistics for both Tech contests are available at www.arkansastechsports.com. The games will be broadcast live on 102.3-FM (KCJC) in Russellville with Sam Strasner calling action.
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