GAME INFORMATION
(No. 3-seed) ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 18-7 (14-7 GAC)		(No. 6-seed) OUACHITA BAPTIST TIGERS 14-12 (11-11 GAC)
Friday, March 6 | 8 p.m. Grizzly Arena | Fort Smith, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO

TIPPING OFF
The calendar is fully into March and that means tournament basketball is here! In the midst of their best season since 2017-18, the Arkansas Tech women's basketball team enters this year's Great American Conference Tournament as the No. 3-seed and will face No. 6-seed Ouachita Baptist in the opening round on Friday, March 6.
 
The opening round game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start from Grizzly Arena in Fort Smith.
 
This will be the 100th meeting all-time between Tech and Ouachita Baptist and the third this season. The Golden Suns won both games during the regular season, winning 99-71 at home back on January 3 and then 93-86 on the road on February 14. The series began in 1977 and the two have played regularly every year since as conference rivals. Overall, Tech leads the series 80-19.
 
Live Stats and Live Video links are available at: www.arkansastechsports.com/coverage.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Golden Suns are 18-7 overall and ended the regular season 14-7 in the GAC to finish in a tie for second place in the standings with Northwestern Oklahoma. By virtue of tiebreaker, the Golden Suns are the No. 3-seed in the tournament. They have lost four-straight games, but two of those losses were on the road and by a combined four points.
 
Statistically, the Golden Suns average 79.1 ppg to rank first in the GAC and are allowing 71.8 ppg to rank 12th. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Golden Suns are shooting at an overall clip of .431 (715-of-1,658) to rank first in the GAC and are allowing their opponents to shoot at a .420 mark (639-of-1,523) to rank 10th.
 
From beyond the arch, the Golden Suns are shooting .323 (183-of-567) to rank sixth and are allowing their opponents to make three-pointers at a .328 clip (152-of-463) to rank 11th. At the charity stripe, the Golden Suns are shooting .779 (444-of-570) to rank fourth.
 
Individually, the Golden Suns have three players scoring in double figures. Logan Young leads the way at 17.1 ppg followed by AbbiGrace Cunningham at 11.4 ppg. Both were named All-GAC selections prior to the tournament with Young being a first team selection and Cunningham an honorable mention. Perina Leime rounds out double figure scoring at 11.0 ppg.
 
Dessie Lancaster leads the team in rebound average at 6.2 rpg. In terms of assists, Shalyn Lyle leads the team at 2.8 apg.
 
Defensively, the Golden Suns are led in steals by Young at 1.5 spg. Young also leads the team in blocks at 1.0 bpg.
 
The Golden Suns are coached by Dave Wilbers, who is in his 19th season as Tech. During his time at Tech, Wilbers has amassed a 381-161 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 11 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 TIGERS
Ouachita Baptist is 14-12 overall and finished the regular season 11-11 in the GAC securing them the No. 6-seed in the tournament. They have won two-straight games to close out their regular season, beating Southern Arkansas, 84-81 this past Thursday and then defeating Arkansas-Monticello, 56-51 on the road this past Saturday.
 
Statistically, the Tigers average 71.6 ppg and rank third in the GAC. On the defensive end of the court, the Tigers rank 10th in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 69.3 ppg. In terms of field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, the Tigers are fifth in the conference as they shoot at an overall clip of .413 (613-of-1,485) and are allowing their opponents a .392 mark (629-of-1,605) to rank seventh.
 
From beyond-the-arc, the Tigers shoot at a clip of .332 (199-of-599) to rank fifth in the GAC while their opponents make three-pointers at a mark of .295 (150-of-508) to rank third. From the free throw line, the Tigers shoot .773 as a team (436-of-564) to rank fifth.
 
Individually, the Tigers have three players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Madeline Tipton and her 16.7 ppg. Heidi Robinson is next at 14.0 ppg followed by Abby Harrison who rounds out double figure scoring at 10.8 ppg.
 
Audrey Winfrey is the team-leader in rebounding and is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. In terms of assists, Robinson leads the team and is averaging 2.8 assists per game.
 
Defensively, the Tigers are led in steals by Harrison and Winfrey at 0.8 steals per game each and in blocks by Harrison at 1.3 blocks per game.
 
The Tigers are coached by Nick Long, who is in his first season at Ouachita Baptist. In his time at Ouachita, Long is 14-12 overall.