Setting the Stage- The Lady Bulldogs continue a tough opening slate of games as they welcome No. 18 Arkansas Tech to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for the first Great American Conference game of the season at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday
- SWOSU finished sixth in conference play last year. The Lady Dawgs started off conference play with a five-game losing skid last season, and will look to avoid that this season
- Thursday night's game is the third of six straight home games to open the 2015-16 season
The OpponentsNo. 18 Arkansas Tech (1-0, 0-0 GAC)- The Golden Suns opened the season last weekend with a win against Lane University, 82-62
- Fatima Adams, the reigning GAC Newcomer of the Year, led the team with 27 points off 11-of-15 shooting. She also led the team with eight boards, including two on the offensive glass
- Arkansas Tech assisted on 61.5 percent of their made baskets, but finished with a -2 turnover margin. Calli White dished out a team-best five assists, but recorded a .714 assist-to-turnover ratio
- Lane actually outshot the Golden Suns from the field (58.3-43.3), but ATU's defense kept the Lady Dragons from making a basket from beyond the arc for the entire game
The CoachesSWOSU: Kelsi Musick (90-82; 7th 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 fours years and earning back-to-back NCAA Division II National Tournaments during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 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 three of the last four seasons
- A great developer of talent, Musick has coached one All-American and 12 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
No. 18 Arkansas Tech: Dave Wilbers (191-49; 8th season)- Dave Wilbers is ATU's sixth coach in program history and is entering his eighth season at the helm
- He led Tech to the NCAA Division II Tournament in each of his first three seasons, including back-to-back Elite Eight finishes in the 2009-10 and 2010-11. His team has reached the NCAA Tournament six times
- Since joining the GAC, Wilbers' teams have won three regular season titles, as well as one GAC Tournament title
- His teams have finished as the top field goal shooting team in NCAA Division II twice in his seven previous seasons
- Prior to his move to Tech, Wilbers spent six seasons at NCAA Division I Oral Roberts where he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Golden Eagles. He has also spent time at Missouri and Seward County Community College as an assistant coach
The Series- The Lady Bulldogs are 2-7 against Arkansas Tech since the teams joined the GAC for the 2011-12 season
- SWOSU has won just one game against the Golden Suns in the last two years. That win came at home on January 4, 2014 when the Lady Dawgs dropped ATU, 89-71, behind 22 points by
Kylie Franz. Arkansas Tech has won three straight
- Both of the Lady Dawgs' victories have come on their home court
- Musick is 2-9 overall against the Golden Suns
Last Time Out- SWOSU dropped both games at the SWOSU Classic to open the 2015-16 season at 0-2
- The Lady Bulldogs opened the season against No. 1-ranked Emporia State, falling 72-63 as the Lady Hornets led from wire-to-wire.
Hailey Tucker had a team-high 13 points in her debut
- Despite rallying back to take the lead late, SWOSU suffered a reversal to Missouri Southern State 71-68 in the second game of the SWOSU Classic.
Jade Jones poured in a team-best 23 points, while Tucker had 16 points and
Janae Coffee scored 12 points
GAC Preseason Poll- The Lady Dawgs were picked to finish third in the GAC preseason coaches poll with 92 points. It's the second straight year SWOUS has been picked third in the preseason poll
- Reigning champion Arkansas Tech collected 10 first-place votes and received 120 points overall and are the favorites to win the league. Harding entered the poll in second place after taking 103 points and the other two first-place votes
- Arkansas-Monticello is one point shy of SWOSU in fourth place with 91 points, while Southeastern Oklahoma State is not far behind in fifth place after receiving 89 points in the poll
- The rest of the poll in order: Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma Baptist, East Central, Southern Arkansas and Southern Nazarene
SWOSU Notes- SWOSU's 0-2 start marks just the second time the Lady Dawgs were unable to record a win in their first two games. The first time was in 2009-10, Musick's debut season with the program
- Tucker leads the team in minutes with 69 played through two games for an average of 34.5 minutes per game. During that time, she is second on the team with 14.5 points per game
- Jones leads the team with 17.0 ppg, and currently boasts a 2.25 assist/turnover ratio with a team-leading nine assists in the early portion of the season
- Coffee is the team's rebound leader with an aveage of 7.0 per game. Nine of her 14 boards have been on the offensive glass
- Tucker and
Korina Chapman have combined for eight blocked shots, and Tucker leads the team with five. Coffee and
Whitney Dunn each have two blocks, while Jones has one. The Lady Dawgs are currently averaging 6.5 blocks per game
- SWOSU is outshooting opponents in the field 38.7 percent to 36.1 percent. However, opponents are shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc compared to SWOSU's 28.6 percent
- The Lady Bulldogs are convering on just 63.0 percent of their attempts at the charity stripe
Looking Ahead- Conference play continues as the Lady Bisons of Harding visit the Pioneer Center on November 21 for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off
- SWOSU upset the then No. 20-ranked Lady Bisons, 78-65, when Harding visited Weatherford last year. Jones led the team with 19 points, while
Nina Gregory scored a career-high 14 points in the victory
