GAME DAY INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 13-1 (12-1 GAC)	EAST CENTRAL TIGERS 10-8 (9-8 GAC)
Wednesday, March 3  | 5:30 p.m. Russellville, Ark. | Tucker Coliseum LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LISTEN LIVE | ATU Notes (PDF)

TIPPING OFF
The No. 17 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns finished the 2021 season as the GAC Eastern Division champions, securing a first-round bye in the GAC Championship tournament. Head coach Dave Wilbers was named the GAC Coach of the Year and Ashlei Lopez earned Newcomer of the Year and a unanimous First-Team All-GAC selection. Jayana Sanders was also unanimously selected to the First-Team and Kaley Shipman picked up All-GAC honorable mention. 

In their last week of regular season play, the Golden Suns went 3-0 with wins at Harding and Southern Arkansas and a regular season finale win against Ouachita in Tucker Coliseum. 

The Golden Suns faced off against Ouachita to cap off the regular season, taking down the Tigers, 89-76. Arkansas Tech flexed its offensive muscles again, shooting 56 percent from the field, scoring 54 points in the paint. 

Arkansas Tech scored the first two points of the game off a jumper from Nikki Metcalfe in the first minute of play. Ouachita found their stride after five minutes of play, leading by as many as 11 before the Golden Suns cut the lead to 10, 24-14, after a jumper from Hannah Villines at the end of the quarter.

Ouachita pushed their lead back up to 12, 26-14, in the first 50 seconds of the second quarter. The Golden Suns answered back , pulling within one, 27-26 after a jumper from Ashlei Lopez with 7:27 to play. The Tigers were up four, 32-28 before another bucket from Villines tied things at 32-32 with five minutes left in the half. Arkansas Tech scored the final six points of the half, taking a 45-41 lead into halftime. 

Opening the third quarter, the Golden Suns led by as many as 12, 56-44, with 5:39 to play. Arkansas Tech maintained their lead throughout the quarter, only allowing the Tigers to pull within five before heading into the final quarter of play up, 63-56 after a layup from Jalei Oglesby in the final seconds. 

The Tigers stormed back, pulling within one, 63-62 with 8:46 left in the game. Arkansas Tech remained poised, extending their lead to as many as 15, 86-71 with a minute to play. Free throws from Jayana Sanders sealed the Golden Suns 89-73 victory.
    
TECH TIDBITS   
The Golden Suns enter play against Southern Arkansas with a 13-1 overall record and a 12-1 mark in the GAC. As a team, the Golden Suns are averaging 87.0 ppg and rank first in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Suns sport the eighth-best scoring defense in the league, giving up an average of 73.2 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 .488 (470-of-964), and limit opponents to a .355 mark (351-of-988). 

Individually, the Golden Suns have five players averaging double figures in scoring. Newcomer Ashlei Lopez leads the way at 17.1 ppg. Behind her is sophomore Kaley Shipman at 13.4 ppg. Shipman is followed by redshirt freshman Jalei Oglesby with 13.1 and senior Jayana Sanders with 12.4 ppg and. Junior newcomer Nikki Metcalfe rounds out double-figure scoring for the Golden Suns at 10.9 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 311-94. 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 seventh conference regular championships, five conference tournament championships and advancing to eight NCAA Regional Tournaments. 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The Tigers enter the game against the Golden Suns with a 10-8 overall record and a 9-8 record in GAC play. East Central started the season on fire, going 8-0 before embarking on a seven-game losing streak. The Tigers are have one their last two matchups, with their most recent being an opening-round win against Northwestern Oklahoma State, 62-58. 

In their last matchup against Northwestern Oklahoma State, the Tigers erased an 11-point deficit to overtake the Rangers and advance to the GAC Championship Tournament quarterfinal round. East Central led for almost the entire first quarter, leading the Rangers 14-12 going into the second quarter. Defense from Northwestern Oklahoma only allowed East Central to score six points in the second quarter, to take a 31-20 lead going into halftime. The Tigers tied things up in the final three minutes of play and scored six of the last eight points to secure a 62-58 victory. 

Three Tigers average double figures this season, led by Kendall Schulte with 13.7 ppg. Madison Rehl averages 12.3 and Mackenzie Cruseo rounds out double-figure scoring with 11.8 ppg. 

The Tigers are coached by Matt Cole, who is in his seventh season at East Central. In his time as a head coach at East Central, Cole has amassed a 91-94 record.