MONTICELLO, Ark. – Arkansas Tech head women’s basketball coach Dave Wilbers added a new milestone to his illustrious career on Thursday night as his Golden Suns cruised past Arkansas-Monticello by a score of 63-30. The win for Wilbers was the 300^th of his career as a head coach, all with Tech.

Not unlike many of the previous 299 victories under Wilbers’ watch, the win on Thursday night did not feature a whole lot of drama as the Golden Suns (2-0, 1-0 GAC) led from wire-to-wire against the Cotton Blossoms (0-1, 0-1 GAC).

After sophomore Kaley Shipman scored the game’s first points at the 7:46 mark of the first quarter, the Golden Suns went on a 7-0 run over the next minute and a half to gain control of the game. The Cotton Blossoms finally cracked the scoreboard on a pair of free throws just under the six-minute mark, but a stifling defense by the Golden Suns held UAM to just eight points on 2-of-16 shooting in the opening quarter.

It was much of the same the remainder of the game as the Golden Suns held UAM to a mere 30 points on 17% shooting (11-of-64) overall for the game.

On their end of the court, the Golden Suns shot a steady 41% from the field for the game making 25-of-61 shots. Only one of those made field goals was a three-pointer, but the Golden Suns only attempted eight for the game. As a result, a majority of their points came inside the paint as they totaled 44 in the lane.

Individually, the Golden Suns had three players score in double figures and were led by Ashlei Lopez with 16. Shipman was next in scoring with 15 and Jayana Sanders, who recently became the 29^th Golden Sun all-time to eclipse 1,000 career points, rounded out double figure scoring with 13.

The Golden Suns will now turn their attention to Saturday afternoon as they return home to Tucker Coliseum to take on Henderson State. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Per GAC Return To Play Protocols, fan attendance will not be permitted. Live video will be provided for free through the Arkansas Tech Sports Network.

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RUSSELLVILLE – Despite a schedule change to starts the 2020-21 season, the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns started off the new year with an 80-40 victory over Champion Christian College on Saturday afternoon.

In the win, nine Golden Suns scored, led by three in double-digits, with newcomer Ashlei Lopez led the way with 21 points off the bench. Kaley Shipman, All-GAC honorable mention last season, and freshman Nikki Metcalfe joined Lopez with 14 and 12 respectively. Metcalfe posted a double-double in her collegiate debut, grabbing 12 rebounds. Bianca Blades added nine. The Golden Suns set a new record with 65 total rebounds, replacing their previous record of 64.

Senior Jayana Sanders, All-GAC second-team member from last season, recorded her 1000^th career point in the victory. She is the 29^thGolden Sun to surpass the mark. Sanders had team-high four assists against the Tigers.

The Golden Suns never trailed in the game, shooting 44 percent from the field. As a team, Arkansas Tech dished out 18 assists. Senior Hannah Villines blocked three of the Golden Suns five in the game.

The defensive play of the Golden Suns held the Tigers to shooting just above 20 percent from the field. Arkansas Tech outscored Champion Christian 24-0 in the third quarter and did not let the Tigers score for over 11 minutes of play.

The win gives head coach Dave Wilbers his 299th career victory leading into the Golden Suns conference road-opener against the University of Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 5:30 p.m.

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We wrap up the 2015-2016 athletic season with a series of Podcasts visiting with the coaches of the conference champions during the year. Today’s visit is with Arkansas Tech women’s basketball coach Dave Wilbers.

GAC Weekly July 19, 2016

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