GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 12-11 (910 GAC)	(rv) NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA RANGERS 22-5 (14-5 GAC)
Saturday, February 24 | 1 p.m. Percefull Fieldhouse | Alva, Okla. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | GAME NOTES

TIPPING OFF
The Arkansas Tech women's basketball team remains on the road for one more game this weekend as they travel to Alva, Oklahoma to take on Northwestern Oklahoma.
 
This will be the 26th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma in a series that dates back to the 1992-93 season. Overall, Tech holds a 21-4 lead in the series. Since the two became conference foes within the GAC prior to the 2012-13 season, the Golden Suns are 17-5 against NWOSU.
 
This will be the second game between the Golden Suns and Rangers this season. The met in Russellville back on January 18. Tech won that initial meeting, upsetting the nationally-ranked Rangers 64-54.
 
Tip-off for Saturday afternoon's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. from the Percefull Fieldhouse in Alva.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Golden Suns are 12-11 overall on the season and are 9-10 in the GAC and currently tied for fifth in the conference standings with three games left in the regular season. The Golden Suns are coming off a second-straight pivotal road victory with an 80-70 win at Southwestern Oklahoma this past Thursday.
 
At this point of the season, the Golden Suns average 68.9 ppg and rank fifth 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 63.2 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 .415 (579-of-1,394) and are limiting their opponents to a .350 mark (486-of-1,387) to rank second.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Golden Suns shoot at a clip of .295 (105-of-356) to rank eighth in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .304 (156-of-513) to rank sixth. From the free throw line, the Golden Suns shoot .692 as a team (321-of-464) to rank 10th.
 
Individually, the Golden Suns have two players averaging double figures and are led by Alex Hill and her 12.0 ppg. Behind Hill in scoring is Dana Thompson at 10.3 ppg. Just out of double-figure scoring is Maisa Marcal at 9.7 ppg.
 
Thompson leads the team in rebounding and is averaging 9.4 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Marcal lead the team and is averaging 4.4 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Golden Suns are led in steals by Hill at 1.7 steals per game and in blocks by Julie Wagner at 1.2 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 354-132 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 RANGERS
Northwestern Oklahoma is 22-5 overall this season and are 14-5 in the GAC where they currently are third in the standings and have clinched a berth to the 2024 GAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The Rangers are coming off a major 61-56 win at home against top-five ranked Harding this past Thursday.
 
Statistically, the Rangers average 75.2 ppg and rank first in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Rangers rank second in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 57.3 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Rangers are first in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .455 (730-of-1,605) and limit their opponents to a .350 mark (539-of-1,538) to rank third.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Rangers shoot at a clip of .335 (137-of-409) to rank fourth in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .292 (199-of-681) to rank fifth. From the free throw line, the Rangers shoot .753 as a team (433-of-575) to rank fourth.
 
Individually, the Rangers have three players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Faith Simpson and her 22.0 ppg. Carly Craig is next at 12.9 ppg while Camille Thomas rounds out double-figure scoring at 10.7 ppg.
 
Simpson is the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Craig leads the team and is averaging 4.1 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Rangers are led in steals by Craig at 2.4 steals per game and in blocks by Faith Simpson at 1.2 blocks per game.
 
The Rangers are coached by Tasha Diesselhorst, who is in her eighth season at Northwestern Oklahoma as head coach. Her record at Northwestern Oklahoma is 102-115.