TIPPING OFF
Great American Conference play opened up this past weekend and the Arkansas Tech women's basketball team got off to a great start, going 2-0 with wins at Arkansas-Monticello and at home vs. Henderson State.
Their win at UAM was never in doubt as the Golden Suns led wire-to-wire and limited the Cotton Blossoms to just 30 points on 17% shooting. The comfortable victory was likely a welcomed outcome for head coach Dave Wilbers as it was also his 300th career win, all at Tech. The milestone win joins Wilbers with legendary women's basketball coach Joe Foley as the only two Golden Suns head coaches with at least 300 wins.
Two days after his 300th win, Wilbers picked up win No. 301 as the Golden Suns came from behind to beat Henderson State at home.
The Reddies began the game with a hot shooting hand and took early control. in the first quarter, the Reddies scored 25 points and shot 50% overall from the floor (9-of-18) which included five makes from three-point range. The Reddies made four more three-pointers in the second quarter, but the Golden Suns were able to find their footing offensively that period and began to close the gap, trailing by just three points at the break.
In the third quarter, Henderson went ice cold from three-point range going 0-of-7. As the Reddies cooled off, the Golden Suns were efficient in their scoring and shot 53% in the third quarter, making 11-of-21 shots overall and 1-of-2 from distance.
The start of the fourth quarter saw the Golden Suns grab control of the game. Beginning the period with a five-point lead, the Golden Suns went on an 8-0 run and grabbed their largest lead of the game, 13 points, with 6:03 left on the clock. The Reddies were able to cut the deficit down to single digits on a few occasions down the stretch and the game ultimately ended with a nine-point margin of victory for the Golden Suns.
TECH TIDBITS
The Golden Suns enter play tonight with a 3-0 record and a 2-0 mark in the GAC. As a team, the Golden Suns are averaging 77.3 ppg and rank fourth in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Suns sport the best scoring defense in the league, giving up an average of 50.0 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Golden Suns lead the conference as they are shooting at an overall clip of .440 (88-of-200) and are limiting opponents to a .258 mark (50-of- 194).
Individually, the Golden Suns have three players averaging double figures in scoring. Sophomore Kaley Shipman leads the way at 17.3 ppg. Behind her is newcomer Ashlei Lopez at 15.7 ppg. Another newcomer in Nikki Metcalfe rounds out double-figure scoring for the Golden Suns at 11.7 ppg.
The Golden Suns are coached by Dave Wilbers, who is in his 14th season on the sidelines at Tech. A newly-minted member of the 300-career win club, Wilbers has a career record of 301-93. Overall in his time at Tech, Wilbers has kept the Golden Suns as perennial contenders in the GAC, the region and the nation, winning 20 or more games nine times, capturing six conference regular championships, five conference tournament championships and advancing to eight NCAA Regional Tournaments.
SCOUTING THE LADY BISONS
Harding enters their game against the Golden Suns 0-1 overall and 0-1 in the GAC. The season-opening loss for the Lady Bisons came in upset fashion as they lost on the road at UAM. The Cotton Blossoms were coming off a 33-point blowout loss to the Golden Suns just two days prior and only scored 30 total points.
Against Harding, however, the Cotton Blossoms nearly reached that point total in the first quarter alone scoring 25 points. UAM maintained a lead throughout much of the first half and led by 10 at the break, 44-34. Harding out-scored UAM 24-13 in the third quarter to take a 58-57 lead into the fourth quarter. The game was tied at 66-all with 3:30 left when UAM sparked a 6-0 run on a three-pointer. The Lady Bisons were able to get as close as a single point with under 30 seconds to play, but the Cotton Blossoms were able to hold on thanks to four makes from the free throw line.
With just one game under the belts, the Lady Bisons have three players who scored in double figures. Hannah Collins and Sage Hawley each scored 17 points against UAM to lead the team. Kennedy Cooper added 11 points.
The Lady Bisons are coached by Tim Kirby, who is in his 16th season at Harding. In his time as a head coach at Harding, Kirby has amassed a 299- 145 record.
