No. 20 Harding (4-2) at Southern Arkansas (3-3)
Location: Magnolia, Ark.
When: Thursday
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Coaches:
Harding – Tim Kirby (174-92, 10th season)
Southern Arkansas – Rusty Rainbolt (2nd season)
Live Stats/Live Audio/Live Video – Available on a link at HardingSports.com

HARDING

- After a two week break from Great American Conference action, the Lady Bisons will be playing their second conference game of the season on Thursday. Harding opened conference play on Nov. 22 as they hosted Southwestern Oklahoma. The Lady Bisons defeated the Lady Bulldogs 105-69 behind Arielle Saunders' 25 points and 12 rebounds.

- Harding is coming off two close losses at the Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic in Canyon, Texas this past weekend. The Lady Bisons fell to Cameron 76-70 and then fell to host team West Texas A&M 67-65.

- Harding received 217 points in this weeks poll to be ranked No. 20.  The Lady Bisons have been ranked in the poll 18 straight weeks which dates back to last season.

- Harding will be playing its third straight game away from the Rhodes Field House. The Lady Bisons are 4-0 at home but are looking for their first win on the road this season.

- Harding is led by senior forward Arielle Saunders who averages 16.7 points, ranking seventh in the GAC. She also ranks second in the GAC in rebounding averaging 10.3 per game.  Saunders ranks tied for first in the GAC in field goal percentage as she his shooting 60.6 percent from the field. She also ranks first in assists, averaging 4.7 per game.

- Sophomore forward Correy Moyer averages 10.8 points and senior forward Montana Lewis averages 10.7 points. Both players have started every game for Harding.

- The Lady Bisons are led off the bench by freshman forward Sydney Layrock who averages 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds. The Harding bench is averaging 29.8 points per game this season.

- The Lady Bisons rank first in the GAC in rebounding margin as they have outrebounded their opponent by 12.5 rebounds. Harding also ranks first in defensive rebounds as the Lady Bisons grab an average of 33.0 per game. Harding ranks second in the GAC in scoring offense (81.7), field goal percentage (45.4), assists (17.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2).

- Sophomore guard A'ndrea Haney is six field goals away from 100 in her career. She is also five rebounds and two assists away from 150 in each category.

- Arielle Saunders, who is the all-time block leader at Harding (165), currently has 818 career rebounds and needs 46 more to move into fourth place all-time at Harding. Angie Dugger (1993-97) holds the rebounding record at 1,237. She also needs 10 offensive rebounds to become the all-team leader at Harding. Saunders currently has 274 and needs three to pass Kristen Celsor (2010-14) for second place. Heather Lawrence (1999-03) holds the all-time record with 283 career offensive rebounds.

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS

- Southern Arkansas heads into Thursday with a 3-3 overall record and a 1-1 GAC record.

- The Lady Muleriders are coming off a 54-52 home loss to Texas A&M-Commerce last Saturday. Junior forward Rosa Bryant led Southern Arkansas with 19 points, hitting 7-of-10 field goals.

- Thursday will be the third straight GAC home game for the Lady Muleriders. Southern Arkansas defeated Southern Nazarene 63-42 on Nov. 20 and then fell to Southeastern Oklahoma 72-48 on Nov. 22.

- In conference games this season, Southern Arkansas is shooting 32.8 percent from the field and 53.5 percent from the free throw line.

- The Lady Muleriders are led by senior forward Chanel Miller who averages 13.4 points per game. She also ranks eighth in the GAC in field goal percentage (52.4).

- As a team, Southern Arkansas ranks third in the GAC in scoring defense (61.2 points per game) and 3-point field goal percentage (29.8).

SERIES

- Harding leads the series between the two teams 38-20.

- The Lady Bisons have won the last nine meetings. Harding won both meetings last year by an average of 19.5 points.

- Montana Lewis averaged 10.5 points last season against Southern Arkansas. Arielle Saunders averaged 10.0 rebounds and had four blocks.

- In Magnolia, Harding leads the series 15-13.