GAME DAY INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 11-1 (10-1 GAC)	SOUTHERN ARKANSAS LADY MULERIDERS 3-8 (2-8 GAC)
Thursday, February 25 | 5:30 p.m. Magnolia, Ark. | W.T. Watson Center LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LISTEN LIVE | ATU NOTES (PDF)

TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns proved they could bounce back, picking up a big road win against Harding. The Golden Suns clinched the GAC Eastern Division Championship last week to secure a bye in the opening round of the championship tournament. Arkansas Tech will open their tournament run at home in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday and will take on the winner of #4 / #5 seed game in the west.

In their last outing the Golden Suns faced off against Harding for the third time this season. Like the two times before, the Golden Suns came out victorious. For the twelfth-straight game the Golden Suns outshot their opponent from the field, maintaining the GAC's best field goal percentage on the season. 

The Golden Suns scored the first four points of the game in the first minute of play off a layup from Nikki Metcalfe and a jumper from Ashlei Lopez. Harding tied things 6-6 before grabbing a nine-point lead, 22-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Bisons held the Golden Suns to their lowest point total in a first quarter all season. 

Harding maintained their lead throughout the first five minutes of the second quarter before the Golden Suns tied things at 30-30 after a three-pointer from Lopez with 3:11 left in the first half. A quick run from the Lady Bisons put them up by 10 before a three-pointer cut it to seven in the final second before halftime, 42-32.     

It took the Golden Suns five minutes to pull within one, 50-49 after a three-pointer from Hannah Villines. The teams tied at 59-59 before the Lady Bisons grabbed a three-point lead going into the final frame. 

The teams tied things at 67-67 with 6:42 to play after another three from Sanders. A 10-0 run from the Golden Suns proved too much for the Lady Bisons along with clutch free throws from the Golden Suns secured a 91-85 victory. 


Tech Tidbits    
The Golden Suns enter play against Southern Arkansas with a 11-1 overall record and a 10-1 mark in the GAC. As a team, the Golden Suns are averaging 86.1 ppg and rank first in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Suns sport the seventh-best scoring defense in the league, giving up an average of 71.6 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage, the Golden Suns are the best in the conference as they are shooting at an overall clip of .483 (402-of-832), and limit opponents to a .345 mark (294-of-852). 
  
Individually, the Golden Suns have five players averaging double figures in scoring. Newcomer Ashlei Lopez leads the way at 16.6 ppg. Behind her is sophomore Kaley Shipman at 14.4 ppg. Shipman is followed by redshirt freshman Jalei Oglesby with 12.6 and senior Jayana Sanders with 12.5 ppg. Junior newcomer Nikki Metcalfe rounds out double-figure scoring for the Golden Suns at 10.8 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 309-94. 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 MULERIDERS    
Southern Arkansas enters their game against the Golden Suns 3-8 overall and 2-8 in the GAC. The Lady Muleriders have lost four of their last five games. In their most recent outing, Southern Arkansas picked up a 93-51 win over the Cotton Blossoms of Arkansas-Monticello. 

The Lady Muleriders opened the game with an 11-0 run, not allowing the Cotton Blossoms to score for the first five minutes. Southern Arkansas pushed their lead to 17, up 22-5 in the final seconds of the first quarter.  The Cotton Blossoms pulled within 13 in the first 30 seconds of the second quarter but the Lady Muleriders pressed on, taking leads as large as 42 before the horn rang.    

The Lady Muleriders have four players averaging double figures. Diamond Morris leads the team with 13.4 ppg, followed by Kisi Young with 12.6 and Jessica Jones with 11.3 ppg. Ariana Guinn rounds out double-figure scoring with 10.8 ppg.

The Lady Muleriders are coached by Adam Collins, who is in his 3rd season at Southern Arkansas. In his time as a head coach at Southern Arkansas, Collins has amassed a 23-44 record.