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Southern Nazarene (12-12, 9-9 GAC) at SWOSU (14-10, 11-7 GAC) Tuesday, February 25, 5:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
      A game originaly slated for early December will conclude the home schedule for the Southwestern Oklahoma State University women's basketball team as the Lady Bulldogs host Southern Nazarene on Tuesday evening for Senior Night at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
      Prior to tipoff, the Lady Bulldogs will honor five seniors who will be playing their final home game in a SWOSU uniform. The class of seniors includes Jaimee Cohen, Sarah Mendoza, Sarina Sayama and Taryn Sayama, who all joined the program prior to last season and Michelle Fisher, who has played four years at SWOSU and is currently the fifth all-time leading scorer in school history.
      The game itself will pit a Lady Bulldog team in need of a rebound victory after losses last weekend against Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist against a Southern Nazarene squad that is riding high with two wins last weekend over top teams in the conference. The Crimson Storm have won four of their last game and they are now just two games behind the Lady Bulldogs in the GAC standings.
 
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 73-64 and she is 3-0 against Southern Nazarene in the past two seasons.
      Derek Dorris is in his second season at Southern Nazarene after a decorated high school coaching career, most recently at Southmoore HS in Moore, Okla. Last season, he led the Crimson Storm to the NCCAA National Championship and a 21-10 overall record and his two-year record at SNU is 33-22.
 
Last Time Out
      The SWOSU women's basketball team suffered their second consecutive defeat on Saturday, falling to Ouachita Baptist 86-72 at Bill Vining Arena. The Bulldogs were swept on their Arkadelphia road trip and they fall to 14-10 (11-7 GAC) on the year.
      SWOSU never led in the game as Ouachita Baptist took control early and built a lead as high as 18 in the first half. That lead was more than enough cushion for OBU, who fought off multiple runs in the second half without letting the Lady Bulldogs get any closer than seven points.
      Turnovers and missed opportunities plagued SWOSU, who committed 18 turnovers in the game and lost despite shooting 40.0% (24-of-60) from the field. Ouachita Baptist also held a substantial edge on the boards, outrebounding SWOSU 42-to-32.
      Taryn Sayama had 25 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs, who connected on 9-of-26 (34.6%) 3-pointers in the game. Kylie Boggess was 4-for-9 from 3-point range and put in 14 points while Jessica Penner added 10 points while grabbing just two rebounds. Michelle Fisher was held below the 10-point mark for just the fourth time this season as she managed just nine points on 3-for-10 shooting.
 
Last Time vs Southern Nazarene (January 23, 2014)
      Sarina Sayama scored 23 points and four others chipped in 10 or more points as the Southwestern Oklahoma State University women's basketball team claimed their third straight victory, a 96-83 decision over Southern Nazarene on Thursday at the Sawyer Center.
      Sayama scored 20 points in the opening half, helping SWOSU turn an early 24-17 deficit into a 59-48 halftime advantage. The 59 first-half points is the second-most this season by the Lady Bulldogs, who took a 60-40 lead to the break against Arkansas-Monticello.
      The Lady Bulldogs connected on 36-of-74 (48.6%) field goal attempts and they topped the 90-point scoring mark for the sixth time this season and the third consecutive game. In addition to Sayama's game-high 23 points, four other Lady Bulldogs reached double figures including Jessica Penner, who scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in her first appearance off the bench this season.
      Michelle Fisher added 15 points and seven rebounds for SWOSU, connecting on 6-of-15 field goal attempts but being held without a three pointer for the just the second time this season. Jaimee Cohen scored a career-best 13 points in her first start of the season and Kylie Boggess also reached double figures with 10 points.
 
Checking the Standings
      Harding has clinched their first Great American Conference championship, but behind them is a four-way race for the second-through-fifth seeds at the upcoming GAC Tournament. Included in that mix is SWOSU, who despite back-to-back road losses still sits tied with East Central for third place in the conference heading into the final week of the regular season. Arkansas Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma State, who play each other Monday night are both in the conversation as well, with ATU one-half game ahead of SWOSU and ECU and Southeastern one-half game behind in fifth place.
 
Scouting the Opponent
      Southern Nazarene has won four of their last six games, including wins against East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State last weekend. The Crimson Storm have pulled into sixth place in the standings, just two games behind the pack of four teams occupying second through fifth places and they could continue to draw closer with a win on Tuesday.
      The main strength of the Crimson Storm is on the block, where the GAC's top post presence, Aminata Fall, resides. Fall ranks third in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game, and she leads the GAC in rebounding (14.6/per game) and blocked shots (2.9/game). The other top threat for SNU is Kristin Milster, who averages 17.3 points per game and ranks as one of the top free throw shooters in the conference.
      SNU is scoring 71.6 points per game, the fifth-best mark in the conference, but their struggles are at the defensive end, where they allow 73.6 points per game. Their scoring defense ranks only ahead of SWOSU, who is allowing 79.0 points per game but scoring north of 84 points per contest.
 
Quick Hits
- SWOSU has lost four straight road games since defeating Southern Nazarene 96-83 in Bethany back on January 23
- The Lady Bulldogs are 10-2 at home this season with a perfect 5-0 mark inside the brand new Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
- Michelle Fisher was held to nine points on Thursday, giving her 1,348 points for her career. Fisher now needs 38 points to move into fourth place on the list, which is currently occupied by Julie Dawson (1,385 points, 2004-06).
- SNU and SWOSU have the 10th and 11th-ranked scoring defenses in the GAC and they combined to score 179 points the first time they met
- SWOSU ranks third in the NCAA Division II in scoring offense, averaging 84.4 points per game, and second in 3-point shooting, marking an average of 9.9 3-pointers per game
- Southern Nazarene is the top free throw shooting team in the GAC, hitting 76.4% of their attempts, with SWOSU ranked second by making 74.6% of their shots from the stripe
- Jessica Penner leads the GAC in field goal percentage at 65.2% (75-of-115)
 
Looking Ahead
     The Lady Bulldogs wrap up the regular season on Thursday evening when they go to Alva to face Northwestern Oklahoma State.