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Arkansas-Fort Smith (1-1) at SWOSU (0-0) Thursday, November 20, 5:30 PM Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats | Watch Live | Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
- SWOSU Women's Basketball opens up the 2014-15 season against non-conference foe Arkansas- Fort Smith at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Thursday at 5:30 PM
- This will be the first meeting between the two teams
- The Lady Dawgs return two starters and six lettermen from the Great American Conference tournament-winning team last season
- SWOSU also welcomes a multitude of new faces to the program with four freshmen and five transfers

The Opponent
- A youthful Lady Lions team went 9-17 last season, missing the Heartland Conference tournament for a second straight season
- UAFS is 1-1 on the season after facing Ouachita Baptist and Cameron. The Lady Lions topped the Aggies in dominating fashion in a 78-51 win, before falling in a nail-biter at home to the Lady Tigers 79-78 on Tuesday night
- Through two games, the Lady Lions have five scorers averaging at least 8.5 points per game. Junior college transfer Jasmine Brainerd led the way, scoring a team-high 15.5, while Brittany Holbert score 12.5 through two
- Angie Ramey has been the leading rebounder for UAFS, pulling down 12.0 per game. Brainerd is second on the team with 8.0
- UAFS is allowing opponents 65.0 points per game, including 28.0 points in the paint. Opponents have also connected on 17-55 (31 percent) of three point attempts
- The Lady Lions have put up 78 points in both contests this season, with over half their points (40.0) coming from in the paint
- After signing seven players, including five junior college transfers, in the offseason, UAFS now possesses a deep bench which is averaging 28.0 points per game, good for 36 percent of their total offensive production

The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (78-65, 6th season)    
- Kelsi Musick is in her sixth season leading the SWOSU women's basketball program
- The two time GAC Coach of the Year has been the model of consistency, winning GAC Tournament titles in two of the last three years and earning back-to-back NCAA Division II National Tournaments. SWOSU is one of only four teams in the Central Region that have reached the national tournament each of the last two seasons
- Her high-energy style of play has led the Lady Dawgs to rank in the top four in the nation in scoring, and top ten in three points made in each of the last three seasons
- A great developer of talent, Musick has coached on All-American and 11 all-GAC selections, including one Player of the Year recipient
- Musick has also spent time as an assistant coach at Fresno State, where they won two Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles, as well as qualified for the NCAA Division I National Tournament in the 2008-09 season

Arkansas-Fort Smith: Louis Wharton (606-259, 29th season)
- Wharton led Arkansas-Fort Smith's program through the transition from the junior college ranks to NCAA Division II, where they are now a member of the Heartland Conference
- Since the transition, his teams have gone 68-64, placing second in the Heartland Conference Tournament once
- Directed the Lady Lions to the National Junior College Athletics Association National Championships in the 1994-95 season, after finishing as runners-up in the 1993-94 season
- Overall, Wharton has put together an impressive 606-259 record and has been inducted into the NJCAA Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Exhibition Action
- SWOSU finished 1-1 in exhibition action, beating Mid-America Christian 81-74 after falling to in-state and nationally ranked Division I foe No. 21 Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena
- Senior Kimmi Sawatzky showed no rust after returning from a season-ending injury last year as she led the team by averaging 20.5 points over two games, including a team high 19 points against Oklahoma State
- Chelsea Bates averaged 8.5 points and 4.0 assists as she orchestrated the offense throughout both games
- Jennifer Williams helped relieve the load from Sawatzky, averaging 13.0 points over the two games in just over 20 minutes per game
- SWOSU had two other players averaging at least 6.0 points per game over the exhibition

GAC Preseason Poll
- The Lady Dawgs picked up one first place vote as they were picked to finish third in the GAC preseason poll voted on by the conference's head coaches
- Defending champion Harding was picked to finish first in the conference after receiving nine of a possible 11 first place votes
- Arkansas Tech also received a first place vote, and finished just one point ahead of SWOSU in second place
- The rest of the poll (in order): East Central, Southeastern Oklahoma State, Southern Nazarene, Southern Arkansas, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist, Northwestern Oklahoma State and Arkansas-Monticello

Checking the Standings
- SWOSU is the only GAC team who has yet to play a game this season
- Five teams are undefeated through the opening weekend, including Harding and Southeastern Oklahoma State who sit at 3-0. Others who are undefeated are Southern Nazarene (2-0), Arkansas Tech (1-0) and East Central (1-0)
- Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State will both be looking for their first wins of the season when they take the court on Friday in non-conference action

SWOSU Notes
- Sawatzky was the leading scorer in both contests, scoring 19 against MACU and 22 against OSU. She shot 51.9 percent percent from the field, going 8-15 from deep 
- Bates (1-3) and Williams (3-10) also enjoyed success from the three point line. The team went 15-55 overall from beyond the arc, including 39.1 percent against MACU
- McKinsey Schumpert led the team in rebounds through the first two games, averaging 8.0 rebounds, including 3.0 offensive rebounds per game
- Korina Chapman was SWOSU's second most active player on the glass, pulling down 7.0 boards per contest
- Williams displayed a knack for getting to the charity stripe, taking an average of 11 free throws through two contests. Bates (6-7) and Sawatzky (5-10) also found themselves at the line
- SWOSU's bench averaged 15.0 points during the exhibition series, including 27 points against the Lady Evangels of MACU

Looking Ahead
- The Lady Bulldogs travel to Searcy, Ark., on Saturday to take on conference foe and defending champion Harding in Rhodes Fieldhouse at 1 PM. SWOSU has yet to collect a win against the Lady Bison on the road since joining the GAC