No. 20 Harding (5-2, 2-0 GAC) at Arkansas-Monticello (3-4, 2-1 GAC)
Location: Monticello, Ark.
When: Saturday
Time: 2 p.m.
Coaches:
Harding – Tim Kirby (175-92, 10th season)
Arkansas-Monticello – Tanya Ray (4th season)
Live Stats/Live Audio/Live Video – Available on a link at HardingSports.com
HARDING
- Harding heads into the game with a 5-2 overall record and a 2-0 Great American Conference record. Saturday will mark the fourth straight game away from the Rhodes Field House. The Lady Bisons are 1-2 during that stretch.
- Harding is coming off its first road win of the season and its second straight GAC win as it defeated Southern Arkansas 74-53 in Magnolia, Ark. The Lady Bisons were led by freshman guard Lundon Williams who hit four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points. The Lady Bisons have won 11 straight GAC games which dates back to last season.
- Harding received 217 points in this week's poll to be ranked No. 20. The Lady Bisons have been ranked in the poll 18 straight weeks dating back to last season.
- Harding is led on the season by senior forward Arielle Saunders who ranks eighth in the GAC in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game. She also ranks second in the GAC in rebounds, grabbing an average of 10.7 per game. Senior guard Montana Lewis averages 10.9 points and sophomore forward Correy Moyer averages 10.7 points.
- Arielle Saunders has five double-doubles on the season and Harding has a 4-1 record in those games. In each of those games she grabbed at least 12 rebounds. Saunders leads the GAC in field goal percentage, shooting 62.3 percent.
- Harding has started its conference season 2-0 for the third time since the Lady Bisons joined the GAC in 2011. The only time Harding didn't start 2-0 was in the 2012-13 season when they fell at East Central in the second game of the season.
- Sophomore guard A'ndrea Haney ranks second in the GAC in assists (4.3 pg) behind Saunders who averages 4.6 per game. Haney had a career-high nine assists at Southern Arkansas on Thursday. She also needs three more buckets to get to 100 field goals in her career.
- Senior guard Montana Lewis is seven field goals away from 300 in her career as she has racked up 829 career points. She is also eight free throws away from making her 200th in her career.
- Arielle Saunders, who is the all-time block leader at Harding (168), currently has 831 career rebounds and needs 33 more to move into fourth place all-time at Harding. Angie Dugger (1993-97) holds the rebounding record at 1,237. She also needs eight offensive rebounds to become the all-team leader at Harding. Saunders currently has 276 and needs one to pass Kristen Celsor (2010-14) for second place. Heather Lawrence (1999-03) holds the all-time record with 283 career offensive rebounds.
- Arielle Saunders is closing in on 1,000 career points. She needs 24 more points to hit the milestone.
- Harding's bench averages 30.0 points per game. Freshman forward Sydney Layrock has come off the bench and led Harding in three games this season. When the bench scores over 25 points in game the Lady Bisons are 5-0 this season.
- As a team, Harding ranks first in the GAC in assists as they average 18.1 per game.
- Harding is averaging 44.1 rebounds per game and are tied for first with Southern Nazarene in the GAC. The Lady Bisons rank second in rebounding margin as they average 12.3 more rebounds than their opponent. Harding also ranks first in defensive rebounds averaging 32.9 per game.
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
- Arkansas-Monticello heads into game with a 3-4 overall record and a 2-1 GAC record. The Cotton Blossoms have either lost or won all three conference games this season by four points. Arkansas-Monticello lost their first conference game to East Central 69-65 but have won their last two GAC games as they defeated Southern Nazarene 79-75 and Henderson State 66-62.
- The Cotton Blossoms are 2-1 at home this season with their only home loss coming against East Central.
- Arkansas-Monticello is led on the season by Jordan Goforth who ranks third in the GAC in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per game. She also ranks first in the GAC in free throw percentage as she is shooting 92.6 percent from the line.
- The Cotton Blossoms rank second in the GAC in blocked shots, averaging 4.4 per game. Arkansas-Monticello had a season-high seven blocks against East Central and at West Florida.
SERIES
- Arkansas-Monticello leads the series 30-28.
- The Cotton Blossoms also lead the series in Monticello 17-12.
- Harding has won the last four meetings and have won nine of the last ten meetings.
- In the two games last season, Arielle Saunders averaged 11 points and seven rebounds. She also shot 55.6 percent from the field, making 10-of-18 shots.
