GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 7-4 (4-3 GAC)	#6/#2 SOUTHERN NAZARENE CRIMSON STORM 13-0 (7-0 GAC)
Saturday, January 13 | 1 p.m. Sawyer Center | Bethany, Okla. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | GAME NOTES

TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech women's basketball team is set to face its toughest challenge to date as they are on the road at consensus top 10-ranked Southern Nazarene for a Great American Conference clash.
 
This will be the 30th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Southern Nazarene in a series that dates back to the 1985-86 season. Overall, Tech holds a 19-10 lead in the series. Since the two became conference foes within the GAC prior to the 2012-13 season, the Golden Suns are 15-7 against SNU.
 
As conference foes, the two teams met twice last season in the regular season with Southern Nazarene winning both matchups, 77-70, on the road in overtime and 57-54 at home.
 
Tip-off for Saturday afternoon's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside the Sawyer Center in Bethany.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Golden Suns are 7-4 overall on the season and are 4-3 in the GAC. The Golden Suns are coming off a loss their last time out, 52-48, on the road at Oklahoma Baptist this past Thursday. The loss snapped a season-long three-game winning streak for the Golden Suns.
 
At this point of the season, the Golden Suns average 72.7 ppg and rank fourth in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Golden Suns rank ninth in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 63.5 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Golden Suns are third in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .428 (293-of-684) and are limiting their opponents to a .347 mark (228-of-657) to rank third.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Golden Suns shoot at a clip of .291 (48-of-165) to rank 10th in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .299 (78-of-261) to rank sixth. From the free throw line, the Golden Suns shoot .683 as a team (166-of-243) to rank 10th.
 
Individually, the Golden Suns have three players averaging double figures and three more that are at least at 7.0 ppg. Pacious McDaniel currently leads the team in scoring at 21.8 ppg. Behind McDaniel in scoring is Alex Hill at 13.9 ppg. Dana Thompson is next and rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.5 ppg. Maisa Marcal, Julie Wagner and Hayleigh Wyrick are all averaging at least 7.0 ppg at 9.7, 7.9 and 7.8 ppg, respectively.
 
Thompson leads the team in rebounding and is averaging 8.7 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Hill lead the team and are averaging 3.1 assists per game each.
 
Defensively, the Golden Suns are led in steals by Hill at 2.2 steals per game and in blocks by Thompson at 1.1 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 349-125 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.
 

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SCOUTING THE CRIMSON STORM
Southern Nazarene is 13-0 overall this season and are 7-0 in the GAC thus far. The lone remaining unbeaten team in NCAA Division II women's basketball, the Crimson Storm are a consensus top 10-ranked team with a No. 6 ranking by the WBCA and a No. 2 ranking from the D2CSC.
 
Statistically, the Crimson Storm average 68.6 ppg and rank sixth in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Crimson Storm rank first in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 53.5 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Crimson Storm are second in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .441 (319-of-723) and limit their opponents to a .338 mark (263-of-778) to rank first.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Crimson Storm shoot at a clip of .331 (80-of-242) to rank fourth in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .244 (54-of-221) to rank first. From the free throw line, the Crimson Storm shoot .740 as a team (174-of-235) to rank sixth.
 
Individually, the Crimson Storm have four players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Lauren Reither and her 17.6 ppg. Hannay Giddey is next at 12.4 ppg followed by Emily Monaghan at 12.3 ppg. Abbie Jiles rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.2 ppg.
 
Giddey is the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 9.9 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Giddey leads the team and is averaging 5.6 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Crimson Storm are led in steals by Reither at 2.4 steals per game and in blocks by Giddey at 4.2 blocks per game.
 
The Crimson Storm are coached by Trent May, who is in his sixth season at Southern Nazarene as head coach and 22nd overall. His record at Southern Nazarene is 106-46 while his overall record is 428-199.