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Arkansas-Monticello (5-13, 1-11 GAC) at SWOSU (11-6, 8-3 GAC) Saturday, February 1, 2:00 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio Social: @SWOSUAthletics on Twitter or Tweet #BulldogPride SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
      Two teams heading in different directions will meet on the court of the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Saturday when the SWOSU women's basketball team hosts Arkansas-Monticello. The Lady Bulldogs are the hottest team in the Great American Conference with five consecutive wins while the Cotton Blossoms have suffered nine straight defeats since opening the season 5-4.
      The last time the two teams met, SWOSU was historically efficient at the offensive end, setting a school record for the NCAA Division II era by scoring 118 points in a 118-88 victory that was the first conference game of the season for both squads.
 
The Coaches
      Kelsi Musick is in her fifth season leading the SWOSU women's basketball program. She has improved the teams win total in all four seasons she's been at SWOSU, taking the team from three wins her first season to 25 in her fourth year and she is the two-time defending Great American Conference Coach of the Year. Musick's career record at SWOSU is 69-59 and she is 5-0 against Arkansas-Monticello after the Lady Bulldogs win in Monticello earlier this season.
      Tanya Ray is in her third season as the head coach at Arkansas-Monticello following 11 seasons as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level at Arkansas State and Oklahoma State. She has a record of 22-50 at UAM to date.
 
Last Time Out
      The Southwestern Oklahoma State University women's basketball team used a new method of scoring to notch their fifth consecutive victory, an 86-71 win over Southern Arkansas on Thursday night at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
      A team known for their outside shooting, the Lady Bulldogs were held to 5-of-15 (33.3%) shooting from long range and they were held without a 3-pointer in the second half. That didn't stop SWOSU from scoring right on their average of 86.2 points per game, however, as the Lady Bulldogs attacked the Lady Muleriders zone and took advantage of good looks in closer to the basket.
      The main beneficiary of the zone-busting was Jessica Penner, who scored a career high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Penner was often the recipient of entry passes from Kylie Boggess and Sarah Mendoza – who each finished with seven assists – and she also converted 6-of-8 free throws while grabbing nine rebounds on the most productive night of her young career.
      Taryn Sayama kept the Lady Bulldogs offense rolling in the first half, knocking down all four of her 3-point attempts in the half and helping SWOSU take a 46-32 advantage to the break. Sayama would finish with 18 points while Boggess scored 16 and Michelle Fisher struggled from the field but still chipped in 11 points.
 
Last Time vs Arkansas-Monticello (November 21, 2013)
      Ever since Kelsi Musick took over as the women's basketball coach at SWOSU five years ago, the Lady Bulldogs have been one of the highest scoring teams in NCAA Division II. Even so, SWOSU accomplished a new offensive feat on Thursday against Arkansas-Monticello, scoring 118 points in a 118-88 victory over the Cotton Blossoms.
      The scoring output sets a new record for SWOSU Women's Basketball since joining NCAA Division II, surpassing the previous best set in a 109-83 victory over Panhandle State during the 2011-12 season. It's also the most points scored overall by SWOSU since a 120-76 win over Wiley (Texas) during the 1996-97 season.
      Scoring a lot of points is exactly what the Bulldogs did, putting up 60 points in the first half to take a 60-40 lead to the break. SWOSU shot 68.6% (24-of-35) from the field in the first half while attempting only four three pointers. Little changed in the second half except the Lady Dawgs got more attempts from the outside, knocking down 4-of-12 three's after halftime.
      Michelle Fisher was one of four Bulldogs to reach double figures, scoring a team-best 21 points on 7-10 shooting. Sarah Mendoza had her best game of the year, hitting 8-of-10 shots and scoring 19 points while Taryn Sayama had 15 points and Kylie Boggess 13 for SWOSU.
      All 12 players who entered the game scored for SWOSU with nine scoring seven or more points. The Bulldogs shot an astounding 63% (46-of-73) from the field against UAM and also converted well from the line, hitting 21-of-30 (70.0%) free throw attempts.
 
Checking the Standings
      SWOSU's win on Thursday, coupled with a Southeastern Oklahoma State loss, has given the Bulldogs full control on second place in the Great American Conference standings. At 8-3, SWOSU is still two games behind first-place and No. 8-ranked Harding, who at 11-1 is alone atop the standings. Arkansas-Monticello, on the other hand, has lost nine straight games and they are in the conference cellar with a 1-11 GAC mark.
 
Sayama Makes it Back-to-Back
       Two more 20-plus point performances and a pair of wins for the SWOSU women's basketball team has helped Sarina Sayama earn her second straight Great American Conference's Player of the Week award. The conference office announced the weekly honors on Monday morning.
      Sayama, who has now scored in double figures in five straight games, extended her streak of 20-plus point scoring efforts to three by putting up 23 points against Southern Nazarene and 26 on Saturday against Northwestern Oklahoma State. She connected on 12-of-22 (54.5%) 3-pointers for the week, including an 8-of-13 performance against NWOSU that left her one three shy of the single-game school record.
      In two games, Sayama averaged 24.5 points per game on 56.3% (18-of-32) field goal shooting while continuing her hot shooting from 3-point range. She has upped her season scoring average from 9.5 to 13.3 points per game since joining the starting lineup six games ago.
      Sayama was held to a season-low 2 points against Southern Arkansas on Thursday after hitting just 1-of-6 field goal attempts. It also marked the first time in the past six games that she was held without a made 3-point field goal.
 
Scouting the Opponent
      Arkansas-Monticello opened the season 5-4 with non-conference victories over Lindenwood and Texas A&M-Kingsville but the Cotton Blossoms have since lost nine straight games and they now find themselves looking uphill at a chance to qualify for the GAC tournament.
      UAM ranks eighth in the GAC in scoring, putting up 69.4 points per game, while they allow opponents to score 71.9 points per contest. In the team's previous meeting, SWOSU scored a school-record 118 points but the Cotton Blossoms still managed one of their highest-scoring outings of the year with 88 points.
      Leading UAM is two of the top scorers in the Great American Conference, Jordan Goforth and Tamia Grady. Goforth is averaging 17.8 points per game while Grady is close behind with a 16.6 ppg average. Goforth is also the second-leading free throw shooter in the GAC, knocking down 68-of-82 (82.9%) attempts from the line so far this season.
 
Quick Hits
- SWOSU has scored 85 or more points in five straight games, tying the longest such streak under the direction of Musick. SWOSU also accomplished the feat during conference play last season
- The Lady Bulldogs have upped their season scoring average to 86.2 points per game, the third-best mark in NCAA Division II
- Michelle Fisher has scored 1,235 points in her career at SWOSU, ranking seventh in Lady Bulldog history. She now needs just 10 points to move into fifth on the list, ahead of Muriel Brown (1,242) and Paige Adams (1,244)
- Jessica Penner leads the Great American Conference in field goal percentage. She has made 55-of-83 (66.3%) field goals this season.
- Kylie Boggess & Sarah Mendoza each dished out seven assists on Thursday against Southern Arkansas, tying the mark for most assists by a Lady Bulldog this season
 
Looking Ahead
      A tough road stretch, including five of the last eight games away from home, begins next Thursday as the Lady Bulldogs visit Arkansas Tech.