Reddie teams regroup for SOSU road trip

ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State’s basketball team suffered a pair of home defeats on Saturday, but the Reddies are seeking to pick up Great American Conference victories today before the holiday break.

The women’s game against Southeastern Oklahoma State

(5-3, 3-1) in Durant, Okla., will tip off at noon. The men’s game with the Savage Storm (7-1, 3-1) will follow at noon.

Today’s game for the Reddie men (7-3, 2-2) is their last of the calendar year. Next up for Henderson is a road game on Jan. 3 against Oklahoma Baptist (4-4, 3-1) in Shawnee, Okla.

Henderson dropped its second GAC game of the year on Saturday, 73-58, to Arkansas-Monticello (6-3, 3-1). The Reddies led, 56-54, with less than six minutes to play, but they were outscored, 19-2, down the stretch, shooting 1-for-10 from the field.

The Reddies had some success last season against Southeastern. They fell, 60-58, early in the season in Durant, but they picked up one of their biggest wins of the year, 96-75, against the Savage Storm in Arkadelphia.

Henderson ranks second in the GAC with 12.5 offensive rebounds per game and fourth in turnover margin at plus-1.5. The Reddies have struggled on the offensive end in conference games, shooting 39.1 percent, ranking last in the league.

Two Reddies average double figures in scoring. Rel Johnson and Chris Parker average 12.7 and 12.2 points per game, respectively. Mike Fofana leads the team in rebounds with 7.6 boards per contest.

Today marks the 23rd meeting all-time between Henderson and Southeastern. The Reddies lead the series, 14-8, and won the first-ever matchup, 71-60, during the 1969-70 season.

Southeastern lost its conference opener to Oklahoma Baptist in overtime, but the Savage Storm has since defeated Southwestern (2-7, 0-4) by 15 points, Southern Nazarene (9-2,

3-1) by 33 points and Northwestern Oklahoma State (2-6, 1-2) by 20 points.

Junior Kevin Buckingham is third in the GAC in scoring with 19.1 points per game, second in field goal percentage at 62.1 and leads the league with 10.9 rebounds per game. Junior Jett Jobe and sophomore Adam Dworsky are ranked first and second in the conference, respectively, in assists to turnover ratio. Dworsky averages 5.8 assists per game and Jobe averages 5.3.

Southeastern boasts the top scoring offense in the GAC at 81.5 points per game. The Savage Storm’s 19 assists per game is the most of any team in the league.

Women

Arkansas-Monticello (3-5, 2-2) handed Henderson (7-2, 3-1) its first conference defeat of the season, 79-70, on Saturday. The teams were tied,

55-55, to start the fourth quarter, but the hosts were outscored, 24-15, in the final period.

Henderson swept Southeastern last season, defeating the Savage Storm, 56-49, in Durant and winning, 79-70, in Arkadelphia. Pink Jones had a career-high 37 points in the home victory.

Jones and Hailey Estes both rank in the top

10 in the GAC in scoring. Jones is sixth at 16.6 points per game and Estes is ninth at 15.7.

Estes leads the conference in rebounding with 8.8 boards per game and Jones is third in assists with 3.7 per game. Her sister, Blu Jones, scored 18 points against both Harding (7-2, 3-1) and Monticello.

Henderson is fifth in the GAC in scoring offense with 71.8 points per game and fourth in scoring defense, holding opponents to less than

65 points per contest. The Reddies are No. 7 in the nation in opposing 3-point field goal percentage, allowing opponents to shoot just 22.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Today will be the 20th meeting between the two programs. Southeastern leads the series,

10-9, and won the first-ever meeting, 61-59, in the 1984-85 season.

Southeastern has won three games in a row and four of the last five. The Savage Storm defeated Ecclesia College (0-15) on Saturday, 133-37.

Junior Katie Webb missed all of last season and now leads Southeastern at 20.5 points per game. She is fourth in the conference with 7.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 58.3 percent from the field.

Southeastern is the No. 2 scoring offense in the GAC through four league games at 72.8 points per game. The Savage Storm is shooting

39.4 percent from 3-point range, the best mark in the conference.