GAME COVERAGE LINKS
 
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Off a hot start to the season by winning four of its first five games, Henderson State now begins conference play on Thursday, Dec. 2 when the Arkansas-Monticello Blossoms come to Arkadelphia for game one of the 2021-22 Great American Conference stint. Tip-off inside the Duke Wells Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
REDDIES REPORT
Henderson is coming off its highest scoring game of the young season, putting away Arkansas-Fort Smith, 91-61. Gracie Raby registered a career-high 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field while Karrington Whaley claimed her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
 
91 points is the most HSU has scored in victory since the 2020-21 season opener when the Reddies put up 93 on Southern Arkansas. It is only the ninth time in the last five seasons Henderson has hit 90 or more in a game. In such contests, HSU is 8-1.
 
On the season, Henderson is averaging 79.4 points per game, which is fourth in the GAC. Junior guard Ashley Farrar has played a big role in that as she is averaging 18.6 points per game, which is fifth in the conference. Raby and Lani Snowden also find themselves among the Top-30 scorers in the league with 12 and 11 ppg, respectively.
 
If Farrar has been the engine that has made this offense run, then redshirt-sophomore guard Sonni Martin has been the captain to orchestrate it all. Martin is first in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2) while sitting in sixth for most assists per game in the GAC (3.8). The Jonesboro, Arkansas, native has seen three games this season of at least five assists, two of which she had one or less turnover.
 
The Reddies have been great at maximizing each possession this season as they are, in addition to being fourth in the league in scoring, fourth in the league in field-goal percentage (44.6) and three-point field-goal percentage (36.7). Whaley, Snowden and Raby are each Top-10 in the GAC in field-goal percentage among individuals.
 
Henderson St. leads the all-time series over Arkansas-Monticello, 11-10, including claiming victory in the last meeting between the teams, 68-51 in Monticello. The last time HSU and UAM played in Arkadelphia, however, luck was on the Blossoms' side, winning 64-62. The Reddies have not beaten Arkansas-Monticello in Arkadelphia since 2018.   
 
SCOUTING ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
It has been a tough start to head coach Markell Cox's time at Arkansas-Monticello, having gone 1-13 since taking over the UAM women's program prior to the start of the 2020-21 campaign. Dating back to last season, the Blossoms have lost 12 straight regular season contests and have not won a game since Jan. 9, 2021.
Arkansas-Monticello is not going to be afraid to pull up from long distance come Thursday night as UAM has put up 119 triples through six games for an average of 19.8 per outing. Monticello is eighth in the conference with a 31.9 shooting percentage while only yielding a 28.9% clip to opposing teams from beyond-the-arc.
 
Arkansas-Monticello's offense starts and stops with sophomore guard Taylor Flores. Flores is fourth in the GAC with 19.2 points per game. The Auburn, Washington, native is just as potent from the free-throw line where she is shooting 89.5% on the season.  
 
What To Watch For…
-A win on Thursday will give the Reddies their fourth straight conference-opener win. The previous three were all against Southern Arkansas. Regarding home conference-openers, HSU is looking for is fifth win in a row on Thursday.
 
-With 23 points in HSU's last game, Ashley Farrar secured the most points through a season's first five games of anyone at Henderson since Jill Thomas became head coach. With 93 points on the season, Farrar only needs seven more points to become the second player in the Thomas era to reach 100 points in a season's first six games.