AN A-STATE WIN WOULD
• Improve A-State's record to 5-14 on the season and 3-4 in the Sun Belt Conference.
• Give A-State their 52nd SBC win over the last 4 seasons.
• Give Arkansas State its 252nd win against an SBC opponent (in league play).
• Give A-State back-to-back victories for the first time this season.
RECAPPING THE SOUTH ALABAMA GAME
• Arkansas State ended its 4-game losing streak with a 56-53 victory over South Alabama this past Thursday.
• A-State was led by Tahlon Hopkins third double-double of the season. She finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
• The Red Wolves had three players score in double-figures and had 15 assists, the second most this season.
• A-State shot a blistering 59% from the field in the first half and led by as many as 20.
• The Red Wolves' 40 points were its second most of the season for a first half.
• A-State led by 23 in the game, its largest margin of the season.
• This was A-State's first wire-to-wire win of the season.
HOPKINS POSTS BIG NIGHT IN WIN
• A-State true freshman Tahlon Hopkins turned in a career-high 20 points and 14 rebounds to help the Red Wolves to their fourth victory of the season.
• It marked just the seventh time this season that A-State has had a player score 20 or more points in a game.
• Hopkins is also one of just two players to record a double-double on the season.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE
• Three of A-State's 4 wins this season have come on its home court.
• Since the 2013-14 season the Red Wolves have compiled a 42-6 record on its home court. The three losses this season are the most in a season during that span.
CARRYING THE LOAD
• They are the only two players averaging in double-figures in SBC games for A-State, but Starr Taylor (9.8) has made a recent push to join the pair with back-to-back double-figure games.
• Fowler and Oliver have also accounted for nearly half of the team's double-digit scoring
outputs. The two have combined to score 10 or more 16 times this season, while as a team the Red Wolves have had players go into double-digits 36 times.
MISSING PRODUCTION
• A-State has lost four players to injuries this season, two of which were among the Red Wolves' leading scorers.
• When Jada Ford was sidelined she was leading the team with an average of 11.9 points per game through 14 games.
• When Akasha Westbrook went down with an injury she was averaging 10.1 points per game through eight games.
• Ford still leads the team in scoring, while Westbrook ranks third.
PLAYING TO THE ODDS
• If the Red Wolves score 70 or more points, A-State is 175-29 (.858) under head coach Brian Boyer. This season the Red Wolves are 3-2 when scoring 70 or more points.
• By contrast A-State has a record of 197-58 (.773) when holds its opponents to 65 or fewer points under Coach Boyer. This season A-State is 2-2 in games in wich the opponents scores 65 or fewer points.
A NIGHT OF CAREER HIGHS
• Dominique Oliver set a career high with 7 assists against Coastal Carolina on Jan. 7.
• Payton Tennison set career highs in points (6), rebounds (2), assists & steals (1), field goals (2), field goal attempts (3), 3-point field goal made (2), 3-point field goal attempts (3), free throw attempts (2) and minutes (22).
SHINING STARR
• True freshman Starr Taylor scored a career-high 17 points against Appalachian State on Jan. 5.
• She surpassed her previous career-high of 11 in the first half when she finished with 12 points.
• She also had a career best three steals in the contest and drained seven of field goal attempts.
IT HAD BEEN A WHILE
• When Louisiana defefated Arkansas State 80-72 on its home floor on Dec. 31, it marked the first home conference loss for the Red Wolves since Georgia State defated the squad back on Jan. 14 of 2014.
• Since that time the Red Wolves had won 27 consecutive conference games on its home floor.
• A-State has overall record of 153-51 on its home floor since joining the Sun Belt Conference.
THE PERFECT ARC
• Brittany Fowler became the first A-State player since 2015 to go perfect from the 3-point line (min. 3 attempts) with her 4-for-4 performance against ULM on Dec. 29.
• The last player to do it was Hanna Qedan who went 3-for-3 against UALR on Jan. 29, 2015.
• She is also just the second player in school history to be perfect from beyond the arc while making more than 3 shots. NeNe Hurst was a perfect 4-for-4 against Creighton on Nov. 11, 2008 as well.
FORD JOINS ELITE GROUP
• Jada Ford became the 22nd player in school history to eclipse 30 or more points in game when scored 30 against Northern Kentucky in Las Vegas on Dec. 20.
• Her 30 points were the most by a freshman since Keeshia Evans scored 30 against Lamar in 1998 and she is just the third freshman in school history to have 30 or more points in a game.
• This also marked the third straight season that the Red Wolves have had a player score 30 or more points in a game.
BLOCK PARTY
• Junior Lauren Bradshaw has become a dominant presence in the paint during her career and quickly moved her way up the all-time blocks records in school history.
• She has blocked 96 shots in her career, a mark that is the third most all-time.
• As a sophomore in 2015-16, she blocked 53 shots, third most in a single season in school history.
• She enters the week ranked 97th in the nation with 28 blocked shots.
MILESTONE VICTORY
• A-State head coach Brian Boyer notched career-win No. 300 against Tulsa on Dec. 2, 2016.
• He became the second coach in A-State history to each 300 career victories while at the school (former men's coach John Brady reached 300 while at Arkansas State).
• He is also the first coach to win all 300 games while at Arkansas State.
HI MY NAME IS...
• Seven freshmen will put on an Arkansas State jersey this season, the most during the Brian Boyer era.
• The Red Wolves had six freshmen on the team during the 2000-01 season and has had as many as five freshmen on a team six times since then.
• Of the 7 freshman, 5 are from the state of Arkansas, 1 from Tennessee and 1 from Oklahoma.
