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2014 GAC Tournament First Round (6) Henderson State (13-13) vs. (3) SWOSU (16-10) Friday, March 7, 12:00 pm Bartlesville, Okla. (Bruin Fieldhouse) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes GAC Championship Central

Setting the Stage
      For the second straight year, the Lady Bulldogs road to the Great American Conference tournament championship will begin against Henderson State. As the No. 2 seed last season, SWOSU ended the Lady Reddies season with a 69-59 quarterfinal victory and they attempt to do the same this year as they enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed.
      The previous meetings between the two teams have been very closely contested, with SWOSU holding on for a 90-82 victory at home back in January before falling to the Lady Reddies in 101-97 in double overtime just a couple weeks ago in Arkadelphia. That victory is the only win for Henderson State in their final nine games of the regular season while SWOSU closed out with wins in four of their last six games.
 
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 75-64 and she is 5-3 against Henderson State, including a 69-59 win over the Lady Reddies in the opening round of the GAC Tournament last season.
      Jill Thomas is in her first season as the head coach at Henderson State after taking over the program last April. Prior to HSU, Thomas spent four seasons as head coach at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. She is 13-13 this season at Henderson State and 78-61 in four-plus years as a head coach.
 
Last Time Out
      Sarah Mendoza posted a season-high 22 points, but none more important than two free throws with 18 seconds remaining, to help SWOSU defeat Northwestern Oklahoma State 71-68 on Thursday night at Percefull Fieldhouse.
      The Lady Rangers tied the game at 67-67 with one minute to play before Sarina Sayama regained the lead for SWOSU on a driving basket with 46 seconds remaining. The Lady Bulldogs then got a defensive stop and Northwestern fouled Mendoza, allowing her to push the lead back to three points at 71-68.
      On the final possession, SWOSU forced a tough 3-point look from Dierra Gilmore that bounced off the iron and onto the court as time expired, allowing the Lady Bulldogs to leave Alva victorious.
      Mendoza was the only Lady Bulldog to reach double figures in scoring with her 22-point effort on 8-of-14 shooting. Northwestern shaded to the SWOSU shooters all night, leaving plenty of driving lanes for Mendoza, who also pulled down six rebounds and dished out two assists.
      Michelle Fisher was held to eight points in 29 minutes before fouling out, but she did move into fourth on the all-time scoring list with a 3-pointer in the second half. Fisher now has 1,387 points in her four-year career, moving past Julie Dawson, who finisher her career with 1,385 points from 2004-06.
 
SWOSU vs. Henderson State This Season
January 16 in Weatherford
      The Southwestern Oklahoma State University women's basketball team snapped a two-game losing skid and pushed their record back above the .500 mark with a 90-82 win over Henderson State on Thursday night at Rankin Williams Fieldhouse.
      SWOSU held the GAC's leading scorer Aungelique Sledge below her season average of 22.6 points and they limited the Lady Reddies to 32.5% (27-of-83) shooting from the field. Krystal Beechum and Dulincia Keener each stepped in and recorded double-doubles for HSU, who SWOSU defeated despite allowing 26 offensive rebounds.
      In her return to the lineup, Taryn Sayama came off the bench to score 20 points in 16 minutes of action. Michelle Fisher struggled from the field, hitting just 6-of-20 field goal attempts, but still managed to score 18 points after connecting on 6-of-9 free throws. Sarina Sayama and Sarah Mendoza also contributed offensively, scoring 17 and 12 points, respectively.
 
February 20 in Arkadelphia
      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.
      Michelle Fisher and Jessica 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.
      HSU's Krystal Beachum turned in a record performance for Henderson State, scoring a Great American Conference record 41 points in 49 minutes of action. 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.
 
Checking the Standings
      SWOSU finished the regular season as the Great American Conference runner-up for the third consecutive season. Due to East Central owning the tiebreaker over the Lady Bulldogs, however, SWOSU earns the third seed at the GAC Tournament for the first time. Henderson State finished tied with Southern Arkansas in the standings, but they own the tiebreaker and take the sixth seed since Southern Nazarene is ineligible for the conference tournament this season.
 
Scouting the Opponent
      Henderson State is reeling as they enter the Great American Conference tournament, losing eight of their final nine games in the regular season to finish tied for seventh in the GAC standings. That one victory for the Lady Reddies, however, was a 101-97 double overtime victory over SWOSU in Arkadelphia on February 20.
      The 13-13 Lady Reddies are led by First Team All-GAC guard and the conference Defender of the Year Aungelique Sledge, who is the leading scorer in the conference at 19.7 points per game. Sledge also leads the GAC in steals with 81, an average of 3.1 per game, but she has been held in check by the Lady Bulldogs this season, averaging 13.0 points in the team's two meetings.
      While SWOSU has limited Sledge this season, they've had no answer for HSU's second-leading scorer, Krystal Beachum. Beachum is averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the year, but in two games against the Lady Bulldogs she has averaged 33.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, including scoring a GAC-record 41 points in the double overtime game last month.
 
Quick Hits
- Michelle Fisher was named the GAC Player of the Week for the second time in her career after tying her career high with 31 points on Tuesday and moving into fourth all-time in scoring at SWOSU against Northwestern. Fisher has 1,387 points for her career, moving past Julie Dawson (1,385 points, 2004-06) and into fourth place
- SWOSU finished the regular season ranked third in NCAA Division II in scoring offense, averaging 84.5 points per game, and second in 3-point shooting, making an average of 9.8 3-pointers per game
- The Lady Bulldogs are 2-0 all-time in the quarterfinal round of the GAC Tournament and 5-1 overall at the event
- Michelle Fisher was named First Team All-GAC for the second consecutive season on Wednesday while Sarina Sayama earned honorable mention honors
- Sarina Sayama leads the GAC and ranks ninth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (45.0%)
- Jessica Penner has made 79-of-122 (64.8%) field goal attempts this season to lead the GAC in field goal percentage