MONTICELLO, Ark. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women's basketball team will conclude the 2019 portion of its 2019-20 schedule when it travels to Cleveland, Mississippi on Wednesday to play Delta State University at 12 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE LINKS
UAM AT DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY – 12/18 – 12 P.M. – LIVE STATS, LIVE VIDEO
 
GAME DETAILS
Opponent: Delta State University
Date: December 18, 2019
Location: Cleveland, Mississippi – Walter Sillers Coliseum
In-Game Updates: Twitter (@UAMsports)
Last Played: December 19, 2018 in Monticello (L, 75-64)
 
UAM PRIMER
2019-20 Record: 8-1
2019-20 GAC Record: 3-1
Head Coach: Greg Long, First Season (8-1)
 
SCOUTING THE BLOSSOMS
The Blossoms last played on Saturday, December 14th against Henderson State at Steelman Field House in Monticello. UAM came away with a 77-65 conference victory bouncing back following a tough loss at Arkansas Tech. Berniezha Tidwell led the way for the Blossoms with 23 points, 7 rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
The last meeting between these two teams was on December 19th, 2019. UAM lost that contest at home, 75-64. In that game, UAM shot 45.8 percent from the field and just 11.1 percent from three-point land.
 
UAM is still off to its first 8-1 start since 1989-90. That season, the Blossoms finished 34-3 and were the NAIA National Runner-Up.
 
UAM's early success is due to its impressive defensive play. The Blossoms enter this matchup ranked seventh in NCAA Division II in scoring defense (50.4 ppg), 15th in scoring margin (+20.7) and 21st in field goal percentage defense (34.1%). UAM is also 24th in turnover margin (+5.8) and 27th in turnovers forced per game (22.2).
 
As a team, UAM is shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and 28.5 percent from downtown and averaging 71.1 points per game, while opponents score just 50.4 points per contest.
 
As for individual performances, UAM is led by Tidwell and Mekaylan Hicks on the offensive side and defensive side. Tidwell is averaging 18.3 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game and 3.8 assists per contest. She also has totaled 26 steals and four blocks and is 16th in the country in steals per game at 3.25. Hicks is second on the roster in scoring averaging 10.1 points per game, is second in rebounds per game at 6.2 and has tallied three blocks and 14 steals. She is also shooting 57.6 percent from the field.
 
Mackenzie Tillman has been coming off the bench much of this season and is third on the roster in points per game (9.3), averages 3.3 rebounds per contest and is shooting 44.4 percent from the floor.
 
Kayla Bradley returned on Saturday and has still proven to be one of the key components on the UAM roster averaging 7.7 points per game and 2.7 assists per contest. She is also second to Tidwell in steals with 22.
 
DELTA STATE PRIMER
2019-20 Record: 7-1
2019-20 GSC Record: 1-1
Head Coach: Craig Roden, Sixth Season (92-57)
 
SCOUTING THE LADY STATESMEN
The Lady Statesmen enter this contest with a 7-1 overall record and a 1-1 record in the Gulf South Conference. Their lone loss came at the hands of fellow GSC opponent the University of Montevallo back in November. DSU is currently riding a three-game winning streak.
 
Delta State's early success can be attributed to crashing the boards. The Lady Statesmen are currently fourth in DII in rebounds per game (48.5) and in offensive rebounds per game (18.3). They also do a solid job of limiting the three-point shot ranking 19th in three-point defense at 25.0 percent.
 
Delta State has three players averaging over 10.0 points per game in Nia Johnson (15.4 ppg), Quantesha Patterson (14.9 ppg) and Zyaire Ewing (11.8 ppg).
 
Patterson and Ewing have also been outstanding in the rebounding category averaging a double-double this season with Patterson grabbing 14.4 rebounds and Ewing snagging 10.6 rebounds per game.
 
UP NEXT
The Blossoms will return home for a GAC contest against Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Thursday, January 2, 2020. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.