COVERAGE LINKS I GAME NOTES
 
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Henderson State women's basketball looks to keep the momentum going when they welcome the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas to the Duke Wells Center on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m.
 
REDDIES REPORT
A back-and-forth contest between HSU (11-6, 7-4) and Ouachita Baptist, which saw 13 lead changes, needed two extra periods before the Reddies found a 94-92 win over the Tigers in the Bill Vining Arena for the first time since 2021. Late heroics from Jadah Pickens and Sam Basson helped the Reddies overcome five-point deficits in both overtime periods on the way to the victory.
 
Pickens paced the scoring efforts with a career-high 27 points on 56.3 percent shooting and was 9-for-11 at the foul line. Basson also saw season-high numbers with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds. HSU shot 43.7 percent (31-71) from the field and was limited to just 28.0 percent from beyond the arc. This season, HSU is converting 39.7 percent from the floor as a team and 35.0 percent at the three-point line.
 
Halfway through conference play, HSU is fourth in the GAC standings at 7-4 and trails third-place No. 23 Northwestern Oklahoma State (8-3) by one game. No. 4 Southern Nazarene holds the pole position in the league after defeating second-place No. 14 Harding a few weeks ago, while Southwestern Oklahoma State (5^th) rounds out the top five.  
 
Henderson State will look to avenge the loss in Magnolia earlier this season against Southern Arkansas (61-55), whose won two straight over the Reddies. Both sides have defended home court well in the series, as HSU has won six straight home games against SAU compared to the Muleriders, who have won four consecutive contests in Magnolia. HSU leads the overall series 61-52-1 going into the 115^th meeting.
 
In the first game, Ashley Farrar saw her first double-double of the season, recording ten points and 11 rebounds, while Olivia Allen had ten points and Bobbi Bazzle tallied ten rebounds. Turnovers hurt the red-and-gray against Southern Arkansas, as they lost the turnover battle 28-to-14, and SAU turned those steals into 22 of its 61 points.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
Southern Arkansas is trying to get back to winning ways after suffering three straight losses, including a 72-63 defeat to Arkansas-Monticello most recently. The Muleridres are ninth in the league standings with a 4-7 conference record and are 9-8 overall.
 
SAU has relied on its high intensity and pressure to cause havoc for opponents all season. The Muleridres lead the GAC in takeaways with 15.82 steals per game and are cashing in when in transition with a league-best 28.6 points off turnovers. Southern Arkansas has three players ranked inside the top in steals, led by Tequaza Chambers, who has 34 takeaways on the year and is averaging 2.0 steals per game.

The Henderson defense will be tested when SAU brings its high scoring offense to Duke Wells on Saturday. The Muleriders are the second-highest scoring team in the GAC, averaging 74.0 points and are fifth in field goal percentage with a shooting mark of 40.2 percent. The Reddies have struggled at times to slow opposing offenses this season, as they have the 12th ranked scoring defense in the conference, giving up 72.5 points per game. SAU has two players reaching double-figure points, led by Diamond Morris with 13.2 points and Addy Tremie with 13.0 points per game.