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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The last two times Henderson was supposed to play Southern Nazarene, the game has either been canceled or postponed, with the first time coming in the 2021 GAC Tournament Quarterfinals and then this season with the initially scheduled Jan. 1 matchup.
 
After a two-plus year hiatus, the Reddies will finally face the Crimson Storm Monday, Jan. 24 inside the Duke Wells Center at 4 p.m. in a battle of two Top-5 teams in the Great American Conference standings.  
 
REDDIES REPORT
With head coach Jill Thomas rolling out a brand new starting-five on Saturday against Southeastern, Henderson came away with the 19-point victory behind 14 points from Lani Snowden, including 4-of-7 from three, and 12 points and seven rebounds from Karrington Whaley. Gracie Raby also added nine rebounds, four of which come on the offensive glass.
 
Ashley Farrar's streak of 16 straight games to score 10 or more points was snapped Saturday as the junior finished with nine points, posting her second-lowest shooting percentage of the season (28.6%). Despite that, Henderson still registered its fifth double-digit victory at home, holding SOSU to the second fewest points in any conference game HSU has played this season.
 
In spite of the Reddies splitting their last two games, they have gotten help from other teams in the league to stay towards the top of the GAC standings. At 7-4 in conference, Henderson is currently in third place and with a win on Monday, will be tied for second with Harding, who HSU beat in Searcy earlier this season, 82-78.
 
Three of the last four matchups between the Reddies and Southern Nazarene have been decided by single digits. The last two meetings have been nothing short of classics. In the 2019-20 season, SNU defeated HSU in Bethany in overtime, 79-71. Later that season in the first round of the 2020 GAC Tournament, Henderson got revenge on the Crimson Storm in similar fashion, claiming the 78-74 overtime victory.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN NAZARENE
The defending GAC Tournament Champion Crimson Storm have turned it on as of late after a slow start to conference play. After losing five of its first eight league contests, Southern Nazarene has won three consecutive GAC games, all of which came on the road, where SNU is 4-3.
 
Monday's matchup will pit one of the league's best offenses in Henderson against the best GAC defense in Southern Nazarene. The Crimson Storm are allowing a conference-low 58.4 points per game and are second-best in opponent field-goal percentage (38.2). On the other end, HSU is averaging 82.2 ppg and is hitting shots at a 44.2% clip.
 
Defensive specialist Abby Niehues is averaging 2.3 blocks per game to bolster the Crimson Storm defense, while fifth-year senior Kennedy Gillette is also averaging a team-best 2.6 steals per game. As a team, Southern Nazarene is forcing 21 turnovers per contest and is averaging 11.5 steals per outing.  
 
What To Watch For…
-Karrington Whaley needs three rebounds on Monday to pass Aesha Carter (741) for the third-most rebounds in HSU history. The program's all-time blocks leader also has 32 blocks this season. With one more block, Whaley will have the 10th most single-season blocks in Henderson history. Whaley already owns the fifth and sixth most blocks in a single-season.
 
-Sonni Martin has accumulated 62 assists this season. Martin needs to average 3.5 assists the rest of the way in order to pass Regina Koonce (99) for the 10th most assists in a single season. Martin is currently averaging a team-high 3.6 assists per game.