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2014 Great American Conference Tournament Semifinals (3) SWOSU (17-10) vs. (2) East Central (19-8) Saturday, March 8, 5:45 pm Bartlesville, Okla. (Bruin Fieldhouse) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes GAC Championship Central

Setting the Stage
      The SWOSU women's basketball team will look to advance to the Great American Conference Tournament championship game for the third straight season on Saturday evening when they face East Central in the tournament semifinals. The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Tigers split their season, with each team winning on their home court, and now they will take the court at Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville for the rubber match.
      SWOSU defeated Henderson State on Friday in the tournament's opening round, ending the Lady Reddies season for the second straight year. The Lady Bulldogs used 14 second-half points from Sarina Sayama to advance while East Central downed Southern Arkansas to setup the semifinal showdown.
 
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 76-64 and she is 7-4 against East Central which includes an 81-46 victory over the Tigers in the first round of the GAC Tournament two years ago.
      Emily Holombek is serving as the interim women's basketball coach at East Central this year after spending a season as the assistant coach. Holombek has been either a graduate assistant coach or student-athlete for the Lady Tigers since the 2008-09 season with stints working for both the volleyball and women's basketball teams.
 
Last Time Out
      Sarina Sayama scored 14 points after intermission and the Lady Bulldogs used a 17-4 run late in the second half to pull away from Henderson State for a 66-60 victory in the first round of the Great American Conference Tournament at Bruin Fieldhouse.
      After trailing by two at halftime, SWOSU fell behind by four early in the second half and fought back for the first 10 minutes of the period. Krystal Beachum scored an old-fashioned 3-point play with 8:32 to play to take a 48-45 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs went on a 17-4 run over the next six-plus minutes to take a 10-point lead.
      Sayama led the charge with two 3-pointers and a layup during the stretch while Michelle Fisher added a bucket and Kylie Boggess put in her lone 3-pointer of the game. Henderson State did get back within four at 64-60 on a 3-pointer from Jasmine Settles in the final minute, but SWOSU got a defensive stop and Chelsea Bates hit two free throws to provide the final margin of 66-60.
      Sayama had a game-high 20 points off the bench, hitting 7-of-17 field goal attempts, including 6-of-13 shots from 3-point range. Boggess poured in 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Fisher notched her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds while struggling to get her outside shot to fall.
 
SWOSU vs. East Central This Season
January 11 in Ada
      The SWOSU women's basketball team was held 23 points below their season average, scoring a season-low 63 points in a 73-63 defeat against East Central at Kerr Activities Center on Saturday.
      After trailing by one point at the break, the Lady Bulldogs struggled to convert from the field in the second half. SWOSU connected on just 8-of-33 field goals in the second half and they were outscored 40-31 by the Tigers after halftime.
      Michelle Fisher was again the most effective player for SWOSU's offense, scoring 20 points on 6-of-19 shooting while knocking down just one three pointer in five attempts. Sarina Sayama scored 13 points in the defeat while Jessica Penner added six points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a full 40 minutes of action.
      Four players scored in double figures for East Central, who defeated SWOSU in Ada for the first time in four seasons. The Tigers hit just 36.5% (27-of-74) field goals but put down nine three pointers and had 19 offensive rebounds, giving them ample opportunities against the Lady Dawgs defense.
 
February 13 in Weatherford
      The SWOSU women's basketball team tied a season high by making 16 3-pointers against East Central on Thursday night, allowing the Lady Bulldogs to snap a two-game losing skid with a 93-81 victory over the Tigers at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
      Kylie Boggess tied down a career high by knocking down 5-of-8 threes while Michelle Fisher and Sarina Sayama each knocked down four apiece. For Fisher – SWOSU's all-time leading 3-point shooter – she became the first player in Lady Bulldog history to hit 200 triples during their career. Her career tally sits at 202 and counting.
      Sarina Sayama and Fisher led SWOSU with a game-high 20 points while Boggess was close behind with 19 and Taryn Sayama scored 18 points in just 19 minutes before fouling out. The hot shooting of SWOSU allowed the Lady Bulldogs to withstand an outstanding shooting performance from East Central in the first half. ECU knocked down 19-of-32 (59.4%) field goals before the break, but still trailed the Lady Dawgs 47-43 heading into the locker room.
      East Central cut their deficit to two twice early in the second half, but SWOSU pushed their lead to double digits with a 15-4 run that included threes from Boggess and Fisher and put the Lady Bulldogs on top 69-55 with 12:40 to play. The lead would balloon to 21 on two occasions before ECU cut it back to 12 as the final margin.
 
Checking the Standings
      SWOSU and East Central tied for second place in the GAC regular season standings, with East Central claiming the tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed at the tournament. The Lady Bulldogs and ECU were both 13-7 in conference play, one game ahead of Arkansas Tech for the fourth spot in the standings.
 
Scouting the Opponent
      East Central advanced to the semifinals with a 67-57 victory over No. 7-seed Southern Arkansas on Friday. The Tigers were led by Ashley Robison, who tallied her second double-double of the season, with 24 points and 10 rebounds. ECU used a 14-1 run early in the second half to take to seize momentum and earn their date with SWOSU in the semis.
      ECU boasts the second-best scoring defense in the conference, holding their opponents to 62.0 points per game while scoring an average of just over 68 points per game. The Lady Tigers had two players earn All-GAC honors in senior forward Alycea Price, who was a second team selection and junior forward Dilan Webster, an honorable mention choice.
      Price is the leading scorer in a balanced effort with four players that average more than 10 points per game. For the season, Price averages 12.0 points per game while Ashley Robison is putting in 11.2 and Webster (11.0) and Erin Walling (10.9) are also main contributors at the offensive end. ECU's point guard, Alex Tucker, is tied for the conference lead in assists with ana verage of 4.0 per game and her assist:turnover ratio of 1.9 is the GAC's best.
 
Quick Hits
- Michelle Fisher, the reigning GAC Player of the Week, scored 11 points against Henderson State on Friday and now has 1,398 for her career. She can become the fourth player in SWOSU history with over 1,400 points in her career with two points against East Central
- SWOSU is 2-0 all-time in the GAC Tournament semifinals and they are 6-1 overall at the event. The Lady Bulldogs are 1-0 against East Central with an opening round win over the Tigers in 2012
- Michelle Fisher was named First Team All-GAC for the second consecutive season on Wednesday while Sarina Sayama earned honorable mention honors
- 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
- Kylie Boggess scored 18 points against Henderson State in the quarterfinals, her highest scoring output since going for 19 points against East Central on February 13
-  The Lady Bulldogs hit 16 3-pointers against ECU at home -- second-most this season -- after tying their season low with three made 3-pointers against the Lady Tigers in Ada