SEARCY – The Harding women's basketball team looks to pull their Gulf South Conference record to 5-5 with a win Monday as they host Southern Arkansas in the Rhodes Field House at 5:30 p.m. Harding heads into the game with a 11-9 overall record and 4-4 GSC record which ranks this fifth in the West Division.
LAST TIME: When the two teams met earlier this season, Raven Jones hit 1-of-2 free throws with one second left to give Southern Arkansas a 59-58 victory over Harding. With 38 seconds remaining in the game, Kmaria Hobbs hit 1-of-2 free throws to put the Lady Muleriders up 58-56. Sixteen seconds later, senior guard Kaitlin Skinner hit a layup to tie the game 58-58. With the shot clocked turned off, Southern Arkansas ran down the clock to take the last shot. With two seconds left, Kmaria Hobbs missed a jumper but Jones grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled to set up the game winning free throw.
COACHES: Harding is coached by Tim Kirby, who enters his fifth season at the helm of the Lady Bisons. Kirby has an 80-55 career record. Kirby took over the Lady Bison program before the 2005-06 season after serving 12 seasons as the Harding's men's basketball assistant.
Southern Arkansas is coached by Sam Biley, who enters his 15th season as the head coach of the Lady Muleriders. Biley has compiled a 136-234 record at SAU.
THE LADY BISONS: Harding is coming off a 62-61 loss to #5 Arkansas Tech this past Saturday night in GSC action. The Lady Bisons had two chances for the win but both layups came up short. Sophomore Sierra Rollins had 19 points to lead Harding. She also had seven rebounds and five steals on the night.
The Lady Bisons are averaging 13.2 points off second chance opportunities. Harding averages 13.4 offensive rebounds a game. Bailey St. Clair leads the Lady Bisons in rebounds, averaging 5.1 a game. Three are offensive rebounds, ranking seventh in the GSC.
Rollins is shooting 50.8 percent from the field to lead the Lady Bisons. She has really come on strong of late, averaging 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in GSC play this season. Rollins leads the team in rebounds, averaging 5.3 a game.
The Lady Bisons are averaging 12.0 steals per game, ranking them second in the GSC and 29th in the NCAA. St. Clair leads the GSC in steals per game with an average of 2.9. She also needs four steals to become Harding's single-season steals leader, currently she is at 61.
St. Clair leads the Lady Bisons, averaging 13.5 points per game, ranking her ninth in the GSC in scoring. Owens is close behind her averaging 13.4 points per game.
THE LADY MULERIDERS: Southern Arkansas (7-14, 2-7) is coming off an 81-77 win over Henderson State this past Saturday night in Magnolia, Ark. Kmaria Hobbs had a season high 29 points in the game, hitting 16-of-20 from the free throw line.
The Lady Muleriders are led by sophomore Hobbs who averages 20.9 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game. Cha'Kia Lee is the other player who averages double-figures, averaging 12.1 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore Shenelda Levingston leads the Lady Muleriders on the boards, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game.
SERIES: Harding leads the series 29-20.
