TIPPING OFF

After opening the 2021-22 season with a win, the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns are back in Tucker on Saturday looking to continue the start of the season strong against Christian Brothers University. Saturday's contest is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off.

In their season-opening win, the Golden Suns notched a 96-67 victory over Champion Christian. Tech outscored Champion Christian in all four quarters of play. Sophomore guard Kaley Shipman led the scoring effort for the Golden Suns putting up 25 points. Shipman was on fire from behind the arc shooting 60% (6-10) from long range. The sophomore guard was effective from the floor as well shooting 62% (9-14). Shipman also grabbed three boards, one assist and a block. 

Following Shipman was junior guard Ashlei Lopez with 21 points on the night shooting 62% (8-13) from the field. Lopez also came up with four rebounds for the Golden Suns. Junior forward Sydnee Wynn had a strong game for Tech with 14 points and a stellar 17 rebounds, which gave Wynn her first double-double of the season.

TECH TIDBITS

The Golden Suns finished last season as the No. 1-seed in the GAC Eastern Division claiming the regular-season title with a 14-2 overall record and a 12-1 record among GAC games. During the conference tournament, Tech won by a wide margin in their first game against East Central in the quarterfinals 86-62 advancing them to the semi-finals. The Golden Suns dropped their hard-fought semi-final matchup against Southeastern 68-58.

Last year, the Golden Suns' averaged 85.1 ppg, which was the best scoring offense in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Suns ranked seventh in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 72.2 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Golden Suns led the conference in both categories as they shot at an overall clip of .477 (526-of-1102) from the field and limited their opponents to just a .357 mark (396-of-1110).

From beyond-the-arc, the Golden Suns knocked down the three-ball at a clip of .340 (90-of-265) to rank fourth in the GAC while their opponents made three-pointers at a mark of .317 (120-of-379) to rank fifth. From the free throw line, the Golden Suns shot .741 as a team (220-of-297) to rank sixth.

Individually, the Golden Suns had five players average double figures in scoring. Last season's GAC Newcomer of the year and a unanimous All-GAC First Team selection Ashlei Lopez led the way at 16.4 ppg while GAC Honorable Mention Kaley Shipman was next at 13.1 ppg. Following Shipman was Jalei Oglesby with 12.9 ppg and unanimous All-GAC First Team selection Jayana Sanders at 11.9 ppg. Rounding out the five double figure scorers for Tech was forward Nikki Metcalfe at 10.2 ppg. All five double figure scorers from last season make a return to the Golden Suns for the 2021-22 season.

Leading the Golden Suns on the sidelines once more is Dave Wilbers as he is set to embark on his 15th season as head coach. In his time as the head coach 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 seven conference regular championships, five conference tournament championships and advancing to nine NCAA Regional Tournaments. Last season, Wilbers surpassed the 300-win milestone as a head coach in a 63-60 win against Arkansas-Monticello. Wilbers was also named the GAC Coach of the Year last season.

In his time as a 15-year head coach, Wilbers has only ever been at the helm of the Golden Suns and has constructed a successful program that boasts a 312-95 overall record in that time.

SCOUTING THE LADY BUCCANEERS 

Christian Brothers enters Saturday's matchup against Arkansas Tech 1-2 on the season thus far. Their last game was in Arkadelphia where they suffered a 45-86 loss against Henderson State.

Last season, Christian Brothers went 5-9 overall amid a shortened season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Their season also saw eight straight canceled games due to the pandemic. 

Sophomore guard Emily Jones currently leads the Lady Buccaneers scoring averaging 19 ppg. Jones is also finding a solid rhythm in her shots beyond the arc as she is currently knocking down 38.9% of her shots from three. Junior guard YaYa Coleman follows Jones in scoring with 12.7 ppg. Coleman is just as much of a threat from long range as Jones shooting the three-ball at 37.5% this season.