Setting the Stage
There is little time for the Lady Bulldogs to recuperate from a two overtime defeat on Thursday against Henderson State. SWOSU will be back in action in Arkadelphia on Saturday afternoon facing Ouachita Baptist at 2 pm, capping their final road trip of the 2013-14 season.
SWOSU still sits second in the Great American Conference standings, but the competition is closing in and the Lady Bulldogs need to add to their win column in order to wrap up the No. 2 seed at the upcoming conference tournament. Arkansas Tech, Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central are all within one-half game of the Lady Bulldogs in the standings.
Ouachita Baptist comes into the game following an 83-60 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday in one of their largest margins of victory in conference play. The Tigers are currently battling to qualify for the GAC Tournament, needing one more victory to secure their spot in the event.
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 73-63 and she has won five of six previous meetings against Ouachita Baptist.
Garry Crowder is in his 18th season as the head coach of the women's basketball team at Ouachita Baptist. In his time at OBU, he has become one of the most successful women's college coaches in Arkansas and his record of 278-215 is the all-time best mark in school history.
Last Time Out
It took ten extra minutes to decide a winner at the Duke Wells Center on Thursday night, but Henderson State defended their home court by defeating SWOSU 101-97 in double overtime.
The game marked the first time this season the Lady Bulldogs allowed an opponent to score over the century mark and it was the first double overtime game for SWOSU since a 61-59 victory over Northeastern State during the 1999-2000 season.
The Lady Bulldogs had a lead as high as 16 points in the first half, but Henderson State closed the half on a 12-2 run to get within two, 41-39, at the break. The Lady Reddies took the lead at the 11:44 mark and they pushed their advantage as high as seven, 74-67, with 4:10 to play.
SWOSU responded with seven straight to tie the game at 74-74 when
Jessica Penner laid in a basket with 1:53 to play and
Kylie Boggess gave SWOSU a 77-76 lead on the next possession as she put in a 3-pointer.
Taryn Sayama made the advantage 78-76 with a free throw with 33 seconds remaining, but Krystal Beachum scored with five seconds remaining to force an extra session.
Fisher and Penner fouled out in the first overtime but late baskets from
Taryn Sayama and
Jaimee Cohen tied the game at 89-89 and sent it to a second overtime. The Lady Bulldogs were held without a basket until the final 10 seconds of the second extra session, when
Sarina Sayama hit a 3-pointer that made it 99-97 but free throws by Beachum sealed the Lady Reddies victory.
Six of the eight players who entered the game for SWOSU scored 10 or more points, led by Fisher who had 23 points and seven rebounds before fouling out. Penner and Bates each had 15 points,
Taryn Sayama had 13 and Boggess and Cohen each put up 10.
Last Time vs Ouachita Baptist (January 18, 2014)
The Southwestern Oklahoma State University women's basketball team used a big second half to secure a second consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon, a 93-72 win over Ouachita Baptist in the team's final game at Rankin Williams Fieldhouse.
Sarina Sayama and
Michelle Fisher paved the way for the Lady Bulldogs offense, combining to score 52 points and connect on nine three-pointers. Sayama scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field while hitting 5-of-10 from long range. Fisher poured in 24 points and recorded the first double-double of her career with 11 rebounds.
Chelsea Bates scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out a season-best six assists in 34 minutes of action while
Jaimee Cohen came off the bench and nearly recorded her first career double-double, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds. As a team, SWOSU outrebounded Ouachita Baptist 47-32, giving them their largest rebounding margin advantage of the season.
OBU played the game tight early on and even took the lead once midway through the second half before the Lady Bulldogs pulled away. The Tigers got 22 points from Nashia James and 15 from Elise Holman in the losing effort.
Checking the Standings
Thursday's defeat did not cost the Lady Bulldogs any positioning in the Great American Conference standings, but it did allow for Arkansas Tech to gain some ground on SWOSU. Harding clinched the conference championship on Thursday, leaving the remaining teams battling for position behind them and SWOSU currently has a one-half game advantage over Arkansas Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma State for second place. East Central is still within striking distance as well at 11-7.
Scouting the Opponent
Ouachita Baptist defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State 83-60 on Thursday night to snap a two-game losing skid and improve to 7-16 on the year and 5-12 in conference play. The Tigers are still battling for the final spot in the Great American Conference tournament, needing one more victory to clinch a berth and a trip to Bartlesville in two weeks. OBU has struggled defending their own home court as they are just 5-6 at Bill Vining Arena this season.
The Tigers are among the lowest scoring teams in the GAC, averaging 65.8 points per game while allowing their opponents to score 70.4 points per contest. OBU also has the lowest field goal percentage among GAC teams as they've hit just 37.4% of their field goal attempts and 25.9% of their 3-pointers this season.
Nashia James is the leading scorer for OBU, averaging 14.8 points per game while Breanna Harris is scoring an additional 9.8 points per game. James is also one of the top defenders in the GAC, averaging 2.3 steals per game to rank third amongst conference players.
Quick Hits
- SWOSU has scored 90 or more points in three consecutive games, giving them nine 90-point games, tying the most in school history (1996-97). The Lady Bulldogs have now scored 90 or more points 23 times during
Kelsi Musick's tenure as head coach
-
Michelle Fisher added 23 points to her career total on Thursday, giving her 1,339 points for her career. She now needs 37 points to move into fourth place on the list, which is currently occupied by Julie Dawson (1,385 points, 2004-06).
- The reigning GAC Player of the Week,
Sarina Sayama, was held to 5 points against Henderson State on 2-of-6 shooting. She became the second 3-time winner of the award this season after scoring a career high 33 points against Southeastern last Saturday
- The Lady Bulldogs upped their scoring average to 85.0 points per game, the top mark in the GAC and third-best in NCAA Division II
Looking Ahead
SWOSU will honor five seniors on Tuesday evening when they host Southern Nazarene for Senior Day at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
