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Southern Arkansas (4-9, 2-5 GAC) at Southwestern Oklahoma State (4-8, 1-5 GAC) Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Saturday, January 10, 1 PM Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
- SWOSU welcomes Southern Arkansas and reigning Great American Conference Player of the Week Rosa Bryant to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for a conference matchup at 1 PM on Saturday
 
The Opponent
Southern Arkansas (4-9, 2-5 GAC)
- Southern Arkansas comes into the game riding a GAC-worst five game losing skid, all against conference opponents. Their last win came on December 6 against Ouachita Baptist in a 69-67 contest
- The Lady Muleriders have struggled offensively, tying Henderson State for the ninth-best scoring offense in the conference at 63.2 points. Bryant paces SAU on the offensive side with 12.8 points per game and ranks tenth in the GAC. Chanel Miller is the only other SAU player in the Top 30 scorers in the conference, ranking 11th with 12.6 points
- Southern Arkansas has taken the second-fewest 3-point shots this season and has found the bottom of the net on just 52 shots, a GAC-low for makes from deep. Their 27.1 shooting percentage from beyond the arc is also a conference low. However, SAU boasts the fourth best field goal percentage in the conference, shooting 39.6 percent overall
- Chanel and Bryant are two of the league's most efficient shooters, shooting 53.6 percent and 48.2 percent respectively
- SAU generates numerous chances for turnovers, averaging 11.4 steals per contest and currently holds a +1.92 turnover margin
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (82-73, 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
 
Southern Arkansas: Rusty Rainbolt (12-15, 2nd season)
- Rusty Rainbolt enters his second season at the helm of the Lady Muleriders basketball program. He is the fifth coach in program history
- In his first season, Rainbolt took an SAU team that had gone winless in the 2012-13 season and produced a 12-win season en route to a program-first GAC Tournament berth
- Prior to his appointment at Southern Arkansas, Rainbolt served three years in the same capacity at NCAA Division III Concordia in Austin, Texas, where he amassed a 54-24 record and was named American Southwest Conference (ASC) West Division Coach of the Year in his second season. During that same season, his team became the first women's team in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division III Tournament
- Before going to CTX, Rainbolt also spent time at McMurry, Wayland Baptist, Hardin-Simmons and Trinity Christian High School
 
Last Time Out
- The Lady Bulldogs recorded their first win in conference play, blowing past Ouachita Baptist 85-61 in Weatherford
- SWOSU took the lead a little over a quarter of the way through the first half and would never look back, expanding their lead to as many as 26 points in the contest
- Chelsea Bates tied her season-high for points, pouring in 25 on the Lady Tigers including 14 from the free throw line
- Jessica Penner notched her team-high third double-double of the season, with 12 points and 16 rebounds. She shot a perfect 5-5 from the field and went 2-3 from the stripe
- Jennifer Williams (14 points) and Jade Jones (12 points) also finished in double digits. Williams accounted for half of SWOSU's bench points and the Lady Dawgs' bench outscored OBU 28-17
- The Lady Dawgs outscored OBU 38-18 in the paint, with the Lady Tigers making just 12 shots from inside the arc
- SWOSU forced OBU into 19 turnovers and turned them into 20 points. Ouachita Baptist only scored 10 points off turnovers
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU (4-8, 1-5 GAC) sits alone in tenth. OBU (4-9, 0-6 GAC) is in last after dropping Thursday night's contest to the Lady Bulldogs
- There is a three-way tie for first with Arkansas Tech (11-1, 6-0 GAC), East Central (10-2, 6-0 GAC) and Harding (10-2, 6-0)
- Southeastern Oklahoma State (12-2, 5-1 GAC) is in fourth
- Arkansas-Monticello (5-7, 3-4 GAC) currently sits in fifth while Northwestern Oklahoma State (3-9, 2-4 GAC) is one spot behind in sixth
- Southern Nazarene (5-8, 2-5 GAC), Henderson State (4-9, 2-5 GAC) and SAU (4-9, 2-5 GAC) are all tied for seventh
 
SWOSU Notes
- After averaging 65.3 points through their first nine games, the Lady Dawgs have averaged 90.0 points over their last three games. They have the fourth-ranked scoring offense in the league, averaging 71.5 points overall
- SWOSU boasts five players in the Top 27 in scoring. Bates leads the way in ninth with 12.8, while Williams is second on the team, tied for 19th with 10.9. Also on the list are: Penner (10.9) in 21st, Kimmi Sawatzky (10.4) in 23rd andJones (9.5) in 27th
- The Lady Dawgs have been moving the ball well, assisting on 53.3 percent of their made shots this season. They average 12.8 assists per game, led by Bates' GAC-leading 4.1 assists
- Boasting the best free throw percentage in the conference at 74.3 percent, SWOSU has found their way to the line the fourth-most times among GAC foes. Bates leads the team, and is fifth in the conference, shooting 81.2 percent from the stripe, including a season-high 14-15 against OBU
- Penner is enjoying a breakout season this year. She is averaging nearly a double-double with 10.9 points and a team-high 9.6 rebounds while shooting 55.7 percent from the field
- Korina Chapman leads the team with 1.3 blocks per game, the fifth best mark in the GAC
- Bates is second in the conference with a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio. She is also averaging 1.8 steals per game, a team-best
- Southwestern remains stingy around the perimeter, allowing just 29.7 percent of shots from deep turning into points
 
Looking Ahead
- The Lady Dawgs go back on the road to take on Henderson State in Arkadelphia, Ark., next Thursday at 5:30 PM in the Duke Wells Center