Setting the Stage- SWOSU squares off with in-state rival Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday, January 21 at 5:30 PM inside the Percefull Fieldhouse in Alva, Okla., in their third straight road tilt
The OpponentNorthwestern Oklahoma State (5-10, 4-5 GAC)- The Lady Rangers enter the game holding a 2-3 record in the month of January, most recently winning on the road at Southern Arkansas 68-56
- Northwestern ranks at the bottom in terms of scoring offense, posting just 58.9 points per game. They are led on offense by Kalea King who is averaging 10.1 PPG and Jonae Isaac who has 9.4 PPG
- They are currently giving up the sixth most points in the Great American Conference this season, allowing opponents to light up the board for 65.1 PPG. The Lady Rangers hold a scoring margin of -6.3, which is near the bottom of the conference
- NWOSU grabs just 29.2 rebounds per game, and have a rebounding margin of -6.7, ranking last in the conference
- The team shoots the ball well, ranking fifth in field goal percentage at 40.4 percent, and are 34.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. However, opponents are shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from deep
The CoachesSWOSU: Kelsi Musick (83-75, 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
Northwestern Oklahoma State: Eric Bozeman (13-37, 3rd season)- Eric Bozeman was introduced as the head coach of the Lady Rangers basketball program prior to the 2012-13 season and is in his third season in charge
- Since taking over the program, he has improved the team's total wins each year since NWOSU made the transition to NCAA Division II competition
- Northwestern has had one player earn GAC Player of the Week honors during his tenure as head coach with Kamera Bozeman earning the award last season
- Prior to his appointment in Alva, Bozeman has made stops at Henderson State and Southern Arkansas as the head coach of the men's basketball teams, and he also served as an assistant coach for NCAA Division I Ole Miss for seven years
Last Time Out- SWOSU played their second of four straight road games against Arkansas-Monticello this past weekend, falling to the Cotton Blossoms 68-56
- The Lady Bulldogs kept the game close in the first half trailing just 30-28, but turned the ball over 11 times over that time
- The Lady Dawgs came out of the second half and twice suffered scoring droughts spanning at least three minutes as UAM began to pull away.
Korina Chapman, who got into foul trouble early in the game, scored five quick points with just over a minute left, but UAM answered by scoring on four of their next five shots to secure the victory
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Jessica Penner finished with a game-high 20 points and her fourth-straight double digit scoring output.
Chelsea Bates and
Jennifer Williams scored the second most points in the outing with eight points as the Lady Dawgs struggled to find the bottom of the basket all night
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Nina Gregory came off the bench in the second half to provide a spark, going 2-4 from the field with one 3-point basket for a career-high seven points
- Chapman tied her career-high for blocks in a game with three. She last pulled off the feat against Harding back in November
- Led by Gregory, SWOSU's bench did well when called upon and outscored UAM 20-15
Checking the Standings- SWOSU (5-10, 2-7 GAC) moves into a three-way tie with Ouachita Baptist (6-10, 2-7 GAC) and Southern Arkansas (4-11, 2-7 GAC) for ninth
- Arkansas Tech (14-1, 9-0 GAC) and Harding (13-2, 9-0 GAC) will duke it out for sole possession of first place this week in Searcy, Ark. ATU is the only team left in the conference that has a perfect record on the road
- East Central (10-5, 6-3 GAC) is alone in third place. After a hot start, Southeastern Oklahoma State (12-5, 5-4 GAC) has lost three straight and is tied for fourth with UAM (7-7, 5-4 GAC)
- NWOSU (5-10, 4-5 GAC) sits just about Henderson State (5-10, 3-6 GAC) in sixth place. Southern Nazarene (6-10, 3-7 GAC) sits one game ahead SWOSU in eighth place
SWOSU Notes- The Lady Dawgs hold a seven-game win streak over the Lady Rangers dating back to 1996, and are 36-15 all-time against their in-state foe
- SWOSU ranks fourth in the conference in scoring offense, pouring in 70.7 PPG. However, they hold a -4.9 scoring margin
- Penner has dominated opposing defenses over the last four games, going .795 from the field while averaging a double-double with 20.3 PPG and 10.0 RPG. Her 62.7 percent shooting overall ranks sixth in NCAA Division II
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Kassy Easter and Jones have been the main distributors on offense since starting together against Ouachita Baptist, dishing out 5.3 assists per game combined. They also hold a 1.1 assist/turnover ratio
- SWOSU have struggled to find their range behind the arc, shooting just 16.5 percent over the last four games. They've done well from closer to the rim, however, shooting 41.3 percent from the field overall
- Bates has done a great job taking care of the ball this season, leading the conference and ranking 33rd in NCAA Division II with a 1.96 assist/turnover ratio. She is also third in the conference in assists with 3.7 APG and steals at 1.9 steals per game
- Chapman is fifth in the conference with 1.3 blocks per game, and has averaged 2.5 over the last two games
- Jones has struggled recently putting up points. After averaging 13.6 PPG over her first five games since earning her first start, she has scored just 6.3 PPG over the last three games
- SWOSU's road woes continue, dropping their fifth straight decision on the road. Their last road win came in Lawton, Okla., against Cameron on December 6
Looking Ahead- The road swing ends next Thursday, January 29 in Bethany, Okla., against Southern Nazarene at 5:30 PM. SWOSU will look to even the series after falling to the Crimson Storm at home 74-65 earlier this season
