GAME INFORMATION
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ARKANSAS TECH
GOLDEN SUNS
4-2 (1-1 GAC) |
HENDERSON STATE
REDDIES
5-3 (1-1 GAC) |
Saturday, December 9 | 1 p.m.
Duke Wells Center | Arkadelphia, Ark.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO
GAME NOTES
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TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech women's basketball team has concluded their non-conference segment of their schedule and will now dive head-long into their Great American Conference slate, starting first with a road game at Henderson State on Saturday afternoon.
This will be the 97
th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Henderson State in a series that dates back to 1977. Overall, Tech holds a commanding 75-21 lead in the series. Since the two became charter members of the GAC prior to the 2011-12 season, the Golden Suns are 19-10 against Henderson State.
As conference foes, the two teams met twice last season in the regular season and the Reddies emerged victorious in both games, winning 78-67 on the road and 85-67 at home.
Tip-off for Saturday afternoon's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia.
TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Golden Suns are 4-2 overall on the season and are 1-1 early in the GAC season. Tech is coming off a 69-64 win at home against Maryville in non-conference action.
Early on, the Golden Suns average 72.0 ppg and rank fifth in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Suns rank 11th in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 64.8 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 .425 (152-of-358) and are limiting their opponents to a .362 mark (127-of-351) to rank fifth.
From beyond-the-arc, the Golden Suns shoot at a clip of .296 (24-of-81) to rank eighth in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .281 (38-of-135) to rank sixth. From the free throw line, the Golden Suns shoot .698 as a team (104-of-149) to rank ninth.
Individually, the Golden Suns have three players averaging double figures and two more that are at least at 8.0 ppg.
Pacious McDaniel currently leads the team in scoring at 18.3 ppg. Behind her is
Alex Hill at 14.2 ppg.
Hayleigh Wyrick rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.0 ppg while
Dana Thompson and
Julie Wagner are both averaging at least 8.0 ppg at 8.2 and 8,0 ppg, respectively.
Thompson leads the team in rebounding and is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game. In terms of assists,
McDaniel leads the team and is averaging 2.3 assists per game.
Defensively, the Golden Suns are led in steals by
McDaniel at 2.0 steals per game and in blocks by
Thompson at 0.8 blocks per game.
The Golden Suns are coached by
Dave Wilbers, who is in his 17th season as Tech. During his time at Tech,
Wilbers has amassed a 346-123 overall record. Nine times,
Wilbers has won 20 or more games at Tech and twice has won 30 or more. In terms of national rankings, a
Wilbers-led team has been nationally-ranked at any point in a season 10 times. Among those, he has guided the Golden Suns to the top of the rankings on a pair of occasions during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
SCOUTING THE REDDIES
Henderson State is 5-3 overall this season and are 1-1 in the GAC thus far. In their most-recent game, the Reddies handled Arkansas-Monticello at home, 97-69.
Statistically, the Reddies average 77.3 ppg and rank third in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Reddies rank 12th in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 75.0 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Reddies are sixth in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .409 (210-of-514) and limit their opponents to a .410 mark (217-of-529) to rank 11th.
From beyond-the-arc, the Reddies shoot at a clip of .355 (72-of-203) to rank third in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .319 (44-of-138) to rank ninth. From the free throw line, the Reddies shoot .764 as a team (126-of-165) to rank fourth.
Individually, the Reddies have four players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by
Ashley Farrar and her 16.8 ppg.
Tori Gittens is next at 12.3 ppg followed closely by
Natalie Cardenas at 12.1 ppg.
Olivia Allen rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.9 ppg.
Bobbi Bazzle is the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 5.6 rebounds per game. In terms of assists,
Cardenas leads the team and is averaging 2.9 assists per game.
Defensively, the Reddies are led in steals by
Allen at 1.8 steals per game and in blocks by
Makenna Winans at 1.1 blocks per game.
The Reddies are coached by
Jill Thomas, who is in her 11th season at Henderson State as head coach and her 15th overall. At Henderson,
Thomas has a 152-128 record and carries an overall head coaching record of 217-176.
