GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 13-11 (11-9 GAC)	HENDERSON STATE REDDIES 16-10 (13-7 GAC)	SOUTHERN ARKANSAS MULERIDERS 12-14 (8-12 GAC)
Thursday, February 23 | 5:30 p.m. Duke Wells Center | Arkadelphia, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO Saturday, February 25 | 1 p.m. Tucker Coliseum | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO GAME NOTES

The conference portion of the 2022-23 regular season slate for the Arkansas Tech women's basketball team is in the final week as the Golden Suns have secured a spot
in the Great American Conference Tournament and continue GAC play in fourth place with an 11-9 GAC record.

The final week of conference games begins as Tech will travel to face Henderson State and host Southern Arkansas on Senior Day in Tucker Coliseum this week. The game against the Reddies on the road will be on Thursday night with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in Arkadelphia, while the game against the Muleriders is set for a 1 p.m. tip- off on Saturday afternoon in Tucker Coliseum.

This will be the second matchup of the season between the Golden Suns and both teams. Arkansas Tech lost the first game of the year against Henderson State at home back on December 12 in Tucker 67-78. Against Southern Arkansas, the Golden Suns took down the Muleriders in their first matchup of the season on December 17 in an 89-87 win on the road in Magnolia.

In the all-time series histories, this will be the 94th overall matchup against both Henderson State and Southern Arkansas. The Golden Suns are 76-18 against the Reddies and 85-9 against the Muleriders all-time.
 

The Golden Suns continue Great American Conference play with a 13-11 overall record and a conference record of 11-7. In the GAC standings, the Golden Suns are currently in fourth. In the Golden Suns most recent stretch of wins, they took down both Southwestern Oklahoma State and Northwestern Oklahoma State on the road. They also beat East Central at home in Tucker Coliseum and took down Oklahoma Baptist on the road in Shawnee.

Statistically, this year, the Golden Suns are averaging 69.9 ppg and rank third in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Suns rank sixth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 65.1 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Golden Suns are sixth in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .408 (632-of-1548) and are limiting their opponents to a .359 mark (543-of-1513) to rank second in the GAC.

From beyond-the-arc, the Golden Suns are shooting at a clip of .245 (100-of-408) to rank 12th in the GAC, while their opponents are making three-pointers at a mark of .330 (166-of- 503) to rank ninth. From the free throw line, the Golden Suns are shooting .673 as a team (313-of-465) to rank 11th.

Individually, the Golden Suns have two players averaging double figures in scoring. Jalei Oglesby leads the way at 20.3 ppg, which is the best scoring average in the Great American Conference. Oglesby is also shooting a stellar 51.4% (197-of-383) from field goal range this season, which is the second highest mark in the conference. She is also second in the conference in total rebounding averaging 8.71 per game, and top-ten in free throw percentage in the GAC.

Kaley Shipman has also provided a big lift as the other double figure scorer for the Golden Suns at 12.5 ppg. Shipman is top-20 in the GAC in assists where she averages 2.2 assists per game for the Golden Suns this season.

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 341-119.

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.
 

Henderson State enters Thursday's conference game with a 16-10 overall record and a 13-7 GAC record. In the GAC standings, the Reddies are right in front of the Golden Suns in third place. Henderson State is currently riding a three-game winning streak with home wins against Ouachita Baptist, Southeastern and East Central.

Statistically this season, the Reddies average 67.1 ppg on offense to rank sixth in the GAC and give up an average of 65.8 ppg to rank eighth in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, HSU shoots at a .378 clip overall (603-of-1594) to rank 10th and are allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .400 (621-of-1552) to rank seventh.

From three-point range, the Reddies shoot at a .328 clip (200-of-610) to rank fifth in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot .295 (121-of-410) from range to rank third.
At the charity stripe, the Reddies shoot .720 (339-of-471) to rank sixth in the GAC.

Individually, the Reddies have three players scoring in double figures in Ashley Farrar who is averaging 19.3 ppg, the second best scoring average in the conference, as well as Abbie Jiles who is averaging 12.0 ppg. Closing out the list of double figurer scorers for Henderson State is Gracie Raby who averages 11.2 ppg this season.

The Reddies are coached by Jill Thomas, who is in her tenth season at the helm of Henderson State's women's basketball program. She has amassed a 130-113 record as the head coach of the Reddies in nine full seasons.
 

Southern Arkansas currently stands at a 12-14 overall record and has an 8-12 record against conference opponents. In the GAC standings, the Muleriders are currently tied for seventh place with Southwestern Oklahoma as they try and make a last second push in the final week of the regular season to grab one of the final spots in the GAC Tournament.

Statistically this season, the Muleriders average 79.5 ppg on offense to rank first in the GAC and give up an average of 74.2 ppg to rank last in the GAC. In terms of field goal percentages, Southern Arkansas shoots at a .404 clip overall (731-of-1811) to rank seventh in the conference and are allowing opponents to shoot at a mark of .464 (744-of-1605) to rank last.

From three-point range, the Muleriders shoot at a .349 clip (327-of-936) to rank second in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot .307 (122-of-397) from range to rank seventh. At the charity stripe, the Muleriders shoot .679 (279-of-411) to rank ninth in the GAC.

Individually, the Muleriders boast two players scoring in double figures and are led by Diamond Morris who is scoring 12.0 ppg. Morris is seventh in the GAC in steals averaging 2.0 per game this season for Southern Arkansas. Mychala Linzy is the other double figure scorer for the Muleriders averaging 10.6 ppg. Linzy knocks down a team-high 40.8% (69-of-169) of her shots from beyond-the-arc, which is the third best rate in the league.

The Muleriders are coached by Adam Collins, who is entering his fifth season at the helm of Southern Arkansas' women's basketball program. In his first three seasons, Collins has led the program to 24 wins including 17 victories in the 2019-20 season that saw that year's squad nearly upset top-seeded Southeastern Oklahoma State in the opening round of the GAC Tournament. Collins has amassed a 37-62 overall record as the head coach of the Muleriders.