Women's Basketball takes on Arkansas on Monday afternoon

Monday, March 22

Austin, TX / Frank Erwin Center

2:00 PM

Wright State University

Arkansas

Women's Basketball takes on Arkansas on Monday afternoon

3/19/2021 1:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Monday ESPN Link Live Stats Game Notes

The Wright State women's basketball team begins NCAA play in Texas on Monday afternoon, as the No. 13-seeded Raiders take on No. 4 seed Arkansas in Austin, Texas as part of the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Championship. Wright State is making its second trip to the NCAA Championship in the last three seasons after winning the Horizon League title back on March 9, while Arkansas is in the Big Dance for the first time since 2015.

Monday's tip is set for 2 p.m. ET and will be carried nationally on ESPN. Fans can also follow Live Stats during the contest and keep up with the team via social media. For more information, follow the Women's Basketball team on Twitter and on Instagram and like Wright State University Athletics on Facebook.

MONDAY: WATCH ON ESPN | FOLLOW LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES

Last time out, Wright State defeated IUPUI 53-41 in the Horizon League Championship Final to secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in San Antonio. The Raiders return to the NCAA Championship for the second time in three seasons and their third overall trip to the big dance (2014, 2019). Angel Baker led Wright State with 23 points, while Jada Wright pulled down 13 rebounds against the Jaguars. Tyler Frierson added nine points and eight rebounds as well.

GAME PREVIEW
Wright State and Arkansas will face off for the first time when the teams meet in the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Championship. Arkansas enters the matchup after earning an at-large bid on Selection Monday. Wright State enters the NCAA Championship with a 18-7 overall record, while Arkansas holds a 19-8 mark.

SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS
Arkansas returns to the Big Dance for the first time since 2015, and its No. 4 seed is its highest seed since 1991 when the Razorbacks were a No. 3 seed. The Razorbacks are coming off a historic season, coming into the NCAA Championship with a record of 19-8, their third straight season winning at least 19 games. Arkansas' two signature wins this season came they took down both UConn (90-87) and Baylor (83-78). UConn sits as the No. 1 seed in the River Walk Region and Baylor is No. 2 in the same region. Monday will mark the Razorbacks 12th appearance in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship overall.

NO STRANGERS TO THE POSTSEASON
Making its second NCAA appearance in three seasons, and third appearance overall, Wright State is no stranger to postseason play, having seen its name in either the NCAA tournament field or WNIT field five of the last six seasons. The Raiders made three consecutive WNIT appearances in 2016, 2017, and 2018, earning a first round victory in the 2017 tournament. Over the past six seasons, Wright State is a combined 136-57 record with a pair of Horizon League regular season and tournament titles.

TOURNAMENT LOCKDOWN
Wright State enters the 2021 NCAA Tournament ranked No. 22 nationally in opponent field goal percentage (35.7 percent) but in three Horizon League Tournament games, the Raiders turned up their defense, holding opponents to just 29.4 percent shooting. This extended to the three-point line as well, where the Raiders are No. 23 nationally in Opponent Three-Point Percentage (26.5 percent) but in three Horizon League Tournament games held opponents to just 13.8 percent shooting from deep. In the Championship game, Wright State held IUPUI without a three-point basket (0-for-15) after IUPUI entered the game ranked inside the top 25 in three-point field goal percentage nationally. Wright State enters the 2021 NCAA Tournament having not allowed a three-point basket in nearly 65 minutes dating back to the Horizon League semifinal contest against Cleveland State. The Raiders have seen opponents go 0-for their last-22 three-point attempts.

MVP-LEVEL
Angel Baker averaged 17.1 points per game in the regular season – in three Horizon League Tournament games she averaged 25 points/game, including 29 points in the semifinals against Cleveland State. She was also efficient – shooting 55.9 percent from the floor in the tournament after connecting at a 40.5 percent rate in the regular season.

BY LEAPS AND REBOUNDS
As a team, Wright State is currently ranked No. 9 in the country for total rebounds with 1,088 so far this season. Offensively, the Raiders are ranked No. 6 in the country, averaging 16.6 rebounds per game which also leads the Horizon League. The Raiders currently sit nationally ranked at No. 6 (1st in HL) in the rebound margin, outrebounding opponents by 12.3 rebounds per game. Wright State is averaging 43.52 rebounds per game, which currently ranks them No. 14 nationally and first in the Horizon League.

EVERYTHING IS BIGGER IN TEXAS?
When Wright State takes the floor on Monday, albeit against Arkansas in a neutral site contest, it will be just the sixth time in program history that the Raiders have played a game inside the state of Texas. The first three meetings all came at Texas A&M (2001, 2002, 2019 NCAA First Round), but the Raiders played two contests in the state during the 2019-2020 season, facing off against UT Arlington and SMU over a three-day stretch in December 2020.

NICE TO SEC-YOU (AGAIN)
This is Wright State's third NCAA Championship appearance, and all three opponents have been SEC foes. In 2014, the Raiders faced Kentucky, seeded third in region, and with a top 10 ranking in the polls. The Wildcats advanced to the regional semifinal that season. In 2019, Wright State faced Texas A&M, seeded fourth in the region, and ranked No. 14 in the polls. The Aggies advanced to the regional semifinal that season.

WONDER WOMEN
When Wright State takes the court in the NCAA Championship, the sidelines will feature an interesting sight as well. The Raiders are one of only six programs in the 2021 tournament with an all-female coaching staff. The Raiders are joined by: Stanford, UCF, Georgia Tech, High Point and Central Michigan.

MERRIWEATHER MAGIC
For the third time in five seasons, head coach Katrina Merriweather was selected as the Horizon League Coach of the Year by her peers. She previously collected the award following the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons. The Indianapolis native tallied her 100th career coaching victory (64-46) on the road at Cleveland State, as the Raiders swept the weekend series over the Vikings on January 9. Merriweather took over the Wright State program in 2016 and hasn't stopped running since. The Raiders have found themselves in the postseason three times in five seasons under Merriweather (WNIT '17, '18 & NCAA '19).

FAMILIAR WITH THE FOE
Wright State associate head coach Tennille Adams is well aware of the history of Arkansas basketball – she was part of several of the Razorbacks' most memorable moments. A native of East Chicago, IN, Adams donned the Arkansas uniform from the 1995-96 season through the 1998-99 campaign, graduating from Arkansas with a B.A. in English and was also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. One of three players from the state of Indiana to ever play for the Razorbacks, was ranked as one of the top five post players in the country by BlueStar, and was a member of the 1995 Indiana All-Star team coming out of high school. Adams was a member of Arkansas' 1998 Final Four team, with her go-ahead bucket in the closing minutes against Duke helping propel Arkansas to the national title game, while she also played on the 1999 WNIT champion squad.