GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 7-3 (5-1 GAC)	SOUTHERN NAZARENE CRIMSON STORM 9-3 (6-0 GAC)	OKLAHOMA BAPTIST BISON 10-2 (6-0 GAC)
Thursday, January 12 | 5:30 p.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO Saturday, January 14 | 1 p.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO GAME NOTES

The conference portion of the 2022- 23 regular season schedule for the Arkansas Tech women's basketball team is underway as the Golden Suns have started Great American Conference Play with a stellar 5-1 overall record.

The gauntlet of conference games continues this week as Tech will host a pair of GAC matchups this week. First up this week will be Southern Nazarene on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. in Tucker Coliseum. Then, the Golden Suns will host Oklahoma Baptist at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Last season, the Golden Suns split the regular season series with the Crimson Storm as both teams took home the W in the road games, each losing at home in the series.

As for Oklahoma Baptist, the Golden Suns also split that season series against the Bison as each team picked up the win on their own home court.

In terms of all-time series histories, this will be the 24th matchup between Tech and Southern Nazarene and the 13th matchup against Oklahoma Baptist. Tech holds a 17-7 record over Southern Nazarene and a 9-4 record over Oklahoma Baptist in the all-time series.
 

The Golden Suns continue Great American Conference play with a solid 7-3 overall record and a near perfect 5-1 GAC record. They picked up their first two GAC wins of the season at home against Arkansas-Monticello, then on the road against Ouachita Baptist in overtime. Their next win came on a hard fought 89-87 win on the road against Southern Arkansas. On their first conference road trip across state lines this season, the Golden Suns took down both Southeastern and East Central to boast a perfect 4-0 record on the road in GAC play.

Statistically, this year, the Golden Suns are averaging 75.3 ppg and rank second in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Suns rank fifth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 63.8 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Golden Suns are fourth in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .434 (294-of-678) and are limiting their opponents to a .343 mark (225-of-656) to rank first in the GAC.

From beyond-the-arc, the Golden Suns are shooting at a clip of .287 (52-of-181) to rank 11th in the GAC while their opponents are making three-pointers at a mark of .319 (83-of-260) to rank tenth. From the free throw line, the Golden Suns are shooting .614 as a team (113-of-184) to rank 12th.

Individually, the Golden Suns have two players averaging double figures in scoring. Jalei Oglesby leads the way at 18.4 ppg, which is the third best scoring average in the GAC. Kaley Shipman is the other double figure scorer for the Golden Suns at 12.2 ppg.

The Golden Suns are coached by Dave Wilbers, who is in his 16th season on the sidelines at Tech. A member of the 300-career win club, Wilbers has a career record of 335-111.

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 seven conference regular championships, five conference tournament championships and advancing to nine NCAA Regional Tournaments.
 

Southern Nazarene enters Thursday's conference game with a 9-3 overall record and a 6-0 GAC record. They began their season at the Tip-Off Classic where they dropped both games
to Nebraska Kearney and Fort Hays State. Then, they won three of their next four nonconference games against Oklahoma Panhandle State, Arkansas-Fort Smith and Pittsburg State before opening GAC play with a 6-0 record.

Statistically this season, the Crimson Storm average 66.1 ppg on offense to rank ninth in the GAC and give up an average of 56.2 ppg to rank second in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, SNU shoots at a .435 clip overall (288-of-662) to rank third and are allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .370 (252-of-681) to rank third.

From three-point range, the Crimson Storm shoot at a .309 clip (67-of-217) to rank tied for sixth in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot .305 (64-of-210) from range to rank sixth. At the charity stripe, the Crimson Storm shoot .769 (150-of- 195) to rank second in the GAC.

Individually, the Savage Storm have three players scoring in double figures in Georgia Adams who is averaging 15.2 ppg, followed by Cassandra Awatt and Hannah Giddey who are averaging 14.7 and 10.2 ppg, respectively.

The Crimson Storm are coached by Trent May, who is in his fifth season at the helm of Southern Nazarene's women's basketball program.
 

Oklahoma Baptist has started their season with a 10-2 overall record and a 6-0 record in conference play. Before playing the Golden Suns in Russellville on Saturday, the Bison will face Harding on Thursday night in Searcy.

Statistically this season, the Bison average 68.9 ppg on offense to rank fifth in the GAC and give up an average of 61.2 ppg to rank fourth in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, Oklahoma Baptist shoots at a .441 clip overall (288-of-653) to rank second in the conference and are allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .375 (270-of-720) to rank sixth.

From three-point range, the Bison shoot at a .368 clip (69- of-192) to rank second overall in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot .310 (89-of-287) from range to rank eighth. At the charity stripe, the Bison shoot .813 (182-of-224) to rank first in the GAC.

Individually, the Bison boast three players scoring in double figures and are led by Erika Ankney who is scoring 19.1 ppg. Madison Chambers and Jaedyn Getman are the other double figure scorers for the Bison and are averaging 13.2 and 12.7 ppg, respectively.

The Bison are coached by Bo Overton, who is entering his third season as the head coach of the women's basketball program at Oklahoma Baptist.