MONTICELLO, Ark. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women's basketball team will conclude its three-game road trip when it travels to Magnolia, Arkansas for a Great American Conference matchup at Southern Arkansas University on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE LINKS
UAM GAME NOTES
UAM AT SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY – 1/16 – 5:30 P.M. – LIVE STATS, LIVE VIDEO
 
GAME DETAILS
Opponent: Southern Arkansas University
Date: January 16, 2020
Location: Magnolia, Arkansas – W. T. Watson Center
In-Game Updates: Twitter (@UAMsports)
Last Played: February 14, 2019 in Magnolia (W, 52-41)
 
UAM PRIMER
2019-20 Record: 10-4
2019-20 GAC Record: 5-3
Head Coach: Greg Long, First Season (10-4)
 
SCOUTING THE BLOSSOMS
UAM comes into this contest having won a tight one at East Central University on Saturday, 59-55, while SAU lost on the road at No. 21 Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 83-75.
 
The Blossoms are still one of the better defensive teams in NCAA Division II ranking 27th in scoring defense holding opponents to just 56.6 points per game. That number along with their +10.6-scoring margin is also good for the top ranking in the conference.
 
As a team, UAM is shooting 41.4 percent from the field while opponents have combined to shoot 37.5 percent from the floor. The Blossoms are also shooting 27.2 percent from downtown, while opponents shoot 30.6 percent from three-point range. At the line, UAM is trying to figure it out, shooting just 67.4 percent.
 
Another one of UAM's more favorable categories is their rebounding margin at +5.7. The Blossoms are snagging 39.6 boards per contest while opponents snag 33.9.
 
On defense, UAM forces opponents to surrender 20.1 turnovers per game while snagging 9.9 steals and 1.9 rebounds per contest.
 
As seen throughout the season, Berniezha Tidwell has been UAM's top scorer. She ranks fourth in the GAC in points per game at 16.2, while also leading the team in rebounds with 6.5 and assists at 3.8 per contest.
 
Another one of UAM's key performers on offense is Mackenzie Tillman who is averaging 10.4 points per game. She is shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the three-point line.
 
Tillman's numbers got a nice bump following a career-day at Southeastern Oklahoma. She scored 24 points, totaled three assists and was 5-of-6 at the free-throw line.
 
Along with Tidwell and Tillman, Mekaylan Hicks has put together a solid season thus far. She is the only UAM player to start in all 14 games this year averaging 9.0 points per game shooting a team-best 54.4 field goal percentage. She is also second on the roster in rebounds per contest at 5.8.
 
Other key UAM scorers this season have been Kayla Bradley (7.8 ppg), Jaida Muhammad (6.5 ppg) and Nina Kizzee (5.1 ppg).
 
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS PRIMER
2019-20 Record: 10-4
2019-20 GAC Record: 4-4
Head Coach: Adam Collins, Second Season (13-29)
 
SCOUTING THE MULERIDERS
On the other side of things, SAU enters this one with some interesting conference wins and losses on their record. The Muleriders managed wins against No. 18 Harding University, Ouachita Baptist University, #21 Southeastern University and East Central University. But, they have losses against Henderson State University, Arkansas Tech University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University and No. 21 Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
 
The Muleriders have a +8.4-scoring margin averaging 76.1 points per game and holding opponents to just 67.7 points per contest. They are shooting 37.6 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from three-point range.
 
SAU also spreads their minutes around quite a bit with seven players on their roster averaging at least 15.0 minutes per game and five other players averaging at least 10.0 minutes per contest.
 
SAU's top performers thus far have been Diamond Morris, Kylie Warren and Kisi Young.
 
Morris is the team's top scorer averaging 9.8 points per contest while snagging 2.1 rebounds per game.
 
Warren is second on the team in scoring averaging 8.4 points per game while being one of the team's top three-point shooters shooting 39.4 percent from downtown.
 
Young is averaging 8.1 points per game while being the roster's top rebounder at 5.9 boards per contest.
 
UP NEXT
UAM will return home on Saturday to play Ouachita Baptist University from the Steelman Field House in Monticello at 2 p.m.