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Southwestern Oklahoma State (1-3, 0-1 GAC) at East Central (4-1, 2-0 GAC) Thursday, December 3, 5:30 PM Ada, Okla. (Kerr Activities Center) Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
- SWOSU continues their four game road trip when they travel to Ada, Okla., to take on the East Central Tigers in conference action at the Kerr Activities Center, with tipoff set for 5:30 PM
 
The Opponent
East Central (4-1, 2-0 GAC)
- The Tigers began the season 4-0 for the second time in three years before falling last Saturday to Texas Women's 64-55
- Currently averaging 67.6 points per game on offense, the sixth best mark in the Great American Conference. Dilan Webster leads the Tigers in scoring with 18.0 points and is the fourth leading scorer in the GAC. Taylor Fischer (12.4 points) and Erin Walling (11.6) are also in double digits
- They are allowing the fourth fewest points per game in the GAC at 62.0 points, winning by an average margin of 5.6 points. However, opposing offenses are making 42.4 percent of their shots from the field, ranking ECU near the bottom in field goal percentage defense.
- The Tigers have struggled on the glass, placing near the bottom of the conference in rebound margin at -6.2. However, Webster and Jalyn Jackson are tied for 11th in the conference with 6.4 boards per game
- The Tigers move the ball well, ranking first in assist/turnover ratio at 1.7, averaging 14.4 assists to a conference-low 8.6 turnovers
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (79-68, 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 one 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
 
East Central: Matt Cole (4-1, 1st season)
- Matt Cole was introduced as East Central's fourth women's basketball in April 2014
- Served as an assistant coach at Northeastern State for 11 seasons, helping NSU to seven NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, making the Sweet 16 twice
- During his time with the RiverHawks, Cole worked with the forwards, helping develop one First Team All-American. He also served as the head scout and recruit
- Prior to NSU, Cole served as an assistant for three years at Crowley College
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU began a four-game road trip with a trip up to Emporia, Kan., to take on the No. 2-ranked Emporia State Lady Hornets
- The Lady Bulldogs led throughout the majority of the game before ESU went on a run to end the game. SWOSU would end up falling 56-63
- Korina Chapman led the Lady Dawgs in scoring with 13 points off 4-6 shooting, with all four shots coming from deep. She also contributed five rebounds and two blocks and one assist and steal each in 26 minutes of action
- Chelsea Bates was the second on the team in scoring, pouring in 12 points on 3-6 shooting while going a perfect 6-6 from the line. She tied for the team lead in assists with three, while also pulling down five boards and recording two steals playing the full 40 minutes
- Every player for SWOSU that featured on the floor scored at least a point, and SWOSU had five with at least seven points. Jennifer Williams (9), Jade Jones (8) and Kimmi Sawatzky (7) were the other three
- Jessica Penner had a strong showing in just her second game back from injury, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds while also chipping in with four points in 37 minutes
- After shooting just 22.5 percent from three against UCO, SWOSU improved from beyond the arc against ESU, going 31.8 percent
 
Checking the Standings
- The Lady Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1 GAC) currently sit in ninth place in the GAC
- Southeastern Oklahoma State (8-0, 2-0 GAC) and ECU (4-1, 2-0) are tied for first place in the conference standings
- Harding (4-2, 1-0 GAC) is in third place, but currently riding a two-game losing streak
- Tied for fourth are Southern Arkansas (3-3, 1-1 GAC) and Arkansas-Monticello (2-4, 1-1)
- Arkansas Tech (5-0, 0-0 GAC), Ouachita Baptist (3-3, 0-0 GAC) and Northwestern Oklahoma State (1-4, 0-0 GAC) will each play their first conference opponents on Thursday
- Rounding out the standings are Southern Nazarene (3-3, 0-2 GAC) and Henderson State (2-5, 0-2) who sit below SWOSU in a tie for tenth place
- Southeastern and ATU are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the conference
 
SWOSU Notes
- The Lady Dawgs currently rank seventh in scoring offense, scoring 65.5 points per contest. They have been helped in part by strong shooting at the line, where they are first in the conference in free throw percentage, converting 77 percent of their free throw attempts
- They currently sit sixth in defensive rebounds, averaging 27.0 boards. SWOSU also ranks seventh in offensive rebounds, grabbing 11.5 rebounds on the offensive side
- SWOSU is seventh in turnover margin at -1.0, while they are also seventh in turnover/assist ratio at .7. The Lady Dawgs are averaging 9.8 assists per game, but also turn over the ball on average 14.8 times
- The Lady Bulldogs have two players in the GAC's Top Ten, and three in the Top 25, for scoring. Williams ranks fifth, scoring 17.8 points, and Bates sits in ninth scoring 15.3 points. Sawatzky sits in 24th place averaging 10.0 points per game
- SWOSU also has two players in the Top 15 in rebounds. Bates is currently in fifth, pulling down 7.8 rebounds, while Chapman ranks 13th averaging 6.3 rebounds
- Additionally, Bates ranks third in both free throw percentage (91.3 percent) and assists (3.3) while her 2.6 turnover/assist ratio is the 35th best mark in NCAA Divsion II. She is also tenth in steals in the GAC, averaging 1.8 through four games, and is second in the conference in minutes played, playing 34.2 minutes per contest
- Chapman is second in free throw percentage, shooting 91.7 percent from the stripe, while also placing seventh in 3-point percentage (46.7 percent) and seventh in 3-point baskets made with 2.0 per game. She is also 38th in the country for blocks, averaging 2.0 blocked shots
- Sawatzky is averaging 2.0 3-point shots made per game, tied for sixth in the conference, while she also ranks tenth in minutes played with 30.3 per outing
- Morgan Vogt and Jones continue to lead the bench in scoring, averaging 5.0 and 3.5 points respectively
 
Looking Ahead
- The road swing continues as SWOSU heads to Lawton, Okla., to face Cameron in non-conference action at the Aggie Gym on Saturday, December 6 at 2 PM