---

Southwestern Oklahoma State (2-4) at Northeastern State (4-3) Monday, December 8, 6 PM Tahlequah Okla. (NSU Event Center) Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
- The Lady Bulldogs complete their four-game road trip when they travel to Tahlequah, Okla., to face the Northeastern State RiverHawks on Monday, December 8 at 6 PM. It will be the first time SWOSU has played in Tahlequah since 2011
 
The Opponent
Northeastern State (4-3)
- The RiverHawks come into the game going 2-2 in their last four games, falling to Rockhurst and No. 7 Drury before stringing together back-to-back wins against Lincoln and Lindenwood
- NSU's offense currently averages 62.6 points over seven games. They are led by Chelsey Beathard with 11.6 points and Fontana Tate with 10.7 points. The RiverHawks have another two players averaging at least 8.0 points per game
- Northeastern's defense is allowing opposing offenses to score 64.4 points per contest to be outscored by a slight 1.9 points. They are allowing opponents to shoot 37.7 percent and 34.1 percent from range
- The RiverHawks pull down 33.1 rebounds per game, but are allowing their opponents to outrebound them by 8.2 boards per game. Opponents are currently averaging 41.3 rebounds per contest
- NSU shares the ball well, assisting on 50.9 percent of their made baskets this season. Beathard is the primary distributor, earning 2.42 assists per game
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (80-69, 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
 
Northeastern State: Randy Gipson (289-147, 16th season)
- Randy Gipson is in his 16th season in charge of the NSU women's basketball program
- In his 15 prior seasons, he has amassed 14 winning seasons, including six seasons with at least 21 wins. During that span, he has led his teams to seven NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, incluidng Sweet 16 appearances in 2004 and 2010
- Under his watch, the RiverHawks have produced two All-Americans, three Players of the Year and numerous all-conference players
- Prior to his appointment at Northeastern, Gipson coached for 11 seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. While with the Lady Norse, he compiled a 290-77 record, including a National Junior College Athletic Association National Runner-Up finish in 1991. He was also awarded the Region II Coach of the Year twice
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU made the trip to Lawton, Okla., and left with the win as they defeated Cameron 82-68 in the Aggie Gym on Saturday
- The Lady Dawgs used a 7-0 run in the final minute of the first half to take a 35-30 lead going into halftime. They came out in the second half never surrendering the lead. They would go up by as much as 16 points before settling on a 14 point margin of victory
- Jessica Penner led the way with 21 points, making 64.3 percent of her shots. Kimmi Sawatzky scored 20 points for the second straight game. Korina Chapman (18) and Jade Jones (11) also finished in double-digit scoring
- Chapman finished with a double-double, finishing with a game-high 12 rebounds. Penner was second on the team with seven rebounds. Chelsea Bates and Sawatzky both finished with four rebounds
- The Lady Dawgs finished with 17 assists on 28 made baskets. Bates, Chapman and Jones all tied for a game-high four
- SWOSU took their lowest number of shots this season against the Aggies with 54 attempts, yet scored their second-highest total this season
- Southwestern held Cameron to the second-lowest 3-point shots made this season. The Aggies only connected on three of their 19 attempts from deep
 
Checking the Standings
- The Lady Bulldogs (2-4, 0-2 GAC) are tied for ninth in the conference with Ouachita Baptist (3-5, 0-2 GAC)
- East Central (6-1, 4-0) is currently in first. Harding (6-2, 3-0 GAC) and Arkansas Tech (7-0, 2-0 GAC) sit just behind ECU in second and third place respectively
- Southeastern Oklahoma State (8-1, 2-1 GAC) is in fourth, just ahead of Southern Arkansas (4-4, 2-2 GAC) and Arkansas-Monticello (3-5, 2-2 GAC) who are in a tie for fifth
- Northwestern (2-5, 1-1 GAC) is in seventh, while Southern Nazarene (4-4, 1-3 GAC) is in eighth
- Bringing up the standings is Henderson State (2-7, 0-4) who sit in 11th
- ATU remains the only unbeaten team in the conference
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU increased their average scoring by 2.9 points after recording 82 points against the Aggies. They are now averaging 67.7 points per game
- The Lady Dawgs are led in scoring by Jennifer Williams with 15.0 points. Sawatzky (13.3) and Bates (13.2) are also averaging double-digit scoring per contest. SWOSU has two more players averaging at least 8.8 points in Penner (9.5) and Chapman (8.8)
- Southwestern currently averages 11.2 assists per game. They have assisted on 50.4 percent of their 133 made shots, including a season-high 17 assists in their last game against Cameron
- SWOSU pulls down 38.5 rebounds per game. They are led by Chapman who is averaging 8.0 per contest. Bates is second on the team with 7.2 boards, while Penner is third with 6.3 in just four games this season
- Despite early season struggles with the 3-point shot, the Lady Dawgs' shots from deep are beginning to fall. Their last two games have been their best shooting performances from the 3-point stripe, knocking down 45.0 percent and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc against East Central and Cameron respectively
- Jones has begun to feature heavily from the bench, playing a career-high 33 minutes against Cameron and averaging 16.3 minutes per game this season. She leads the bench in scoring with 4.8 points, including a career-high 11 points against Cameron
- Penner currently leads all players with at least 20 shot attempts in shooting from the field. She is currently hitting 57.1 percent of her shots
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU returns home to face Southern Nazarene for conference action at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Saturday, December 13 at 1 PM