Setting the Stage- The challenges continue for SWOSU when the Lady Bulldogs welcome Harding to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center at 1:00 p.m. as the team continues the early part of the Great American Conference schedule
- The Lady Dawgs are still searching for their first win of the season following three tough tests, including two games against teams that rank in the Top 25 of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Poll
- Harding marks the third team the Lady Dawgs will face this season that features on the WBCA Poll. The Lady Bisons are currently receiving votes
The Opponent(RV) Harding (1-1, 1-0 GAC)- The Lady Bisons come into Saturday's game at 1-1, earning their first win of the season by dropping Northwestern Oklahoma State, 64-42, in the GAC opener for both teams
- Harding ranks eighth in scoring offense at 64.5 points per game, but boast a +10.5 scoring margin, the second-best in the league. They own the staunchest scoring defense in the GAC, permitting an average of 54.0 points per night
- Three players for HU rank in the top five in three-point field goal percentage. Sydney Layrock leads the conference hitting 75.0 percent of her shots from downtown. As a team, the Lady Bisons are converting a league-leading .364 from long range
- With a +6.5 rebounding margin, Harding leads the league in the category. They are averaging 40.5 rebounds per game while holding their opposition to 36.0 rpg. Layrock leads the team with an average of 7.5 per night, while Falan Miller is grabbing 7.0 boards per contest
The CoachesSWOSU: Kelsi Musick (90-83; 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
(RV) Harding: Tim Kirby (193-97; 11th season)- Tim Kirby enters his tenth season in charge of the Harding women's basketball program
- Set a program record in wins during the 2013-14 season by going 29-3. His team only lost one game in the regular season
- He has coached 19 all-conference players, as well as one GAC Player of the Year and three Freshman of the Year honorees,
- Prior to arriving at Harding, Kirby spent five years at Carl Albert State College in Poteau,Okla., where he served as an assistant coach for two years before taking the post of men's head coach for three
The Series- The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Bisons have squared off on the hardwood 18 times dating back to the 1996-97 season. SWOSU currently holds a 10-8 series lead
- Since both teams joined the Great American Conference for the 2011-12 season, SWOSU holds a 6-5 record against Harding, and a 3-1 record at home. Three of the Bulldogs wins have come in the GAC Tournament, including two championship games
- SWOSU won the last meeting between the two teams, 78-65, when then-No. 20 Harding visited Weatherford on February 7th of this year.
Jade Jones scored a game-high 19 points, and
Nina Gregory chipped in with 14 points. Three other Lady Bulldogs reached double figures in the upset victory
Last Time Out- The Lady Bulldogs shot just .338 from the field as SWOSU fell to No. 18 Arkansas Tech, 94-73, in the GAC opener at the Pioneer Center
- A slow start to the game saw SWOSU behind 29-18 after the first quarter. SWOSU won the second quarter, 21-19, but the Golden Suns pushed their advantage in the second half to close out the game
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Jennifer Williams hit the only two three-pointers for the Lady Bulldogs, finishing with a team-high 16 points off the bench. Jones and
Morgan Vogt scored 15 and 11 points respectively
- A bright spot for SWOSU was on the boards. They outrebounded ATU 50-49, led by
Jessica Penner with 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass
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- The Lady Bulldogs boast the fourth-best offense in the GAC, averaging 68.0 points per game. However, they rank last in the conference in scorind defense, allowing opponents to put up 73.0 ppg
- Jones and
Hailey Tucker both rank in the GAC's top 20 in terms of scoring. Jones leads the team and is tied for 11th with 16.3 ppg, while Tucker is pouring in 12.0 per night and is 17th in the GAC
- Penner is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game, ranking in the top 10 in the league
- Three Lady Dawgs are averaging at least a block per game: Tucker,
Janae Coffee and
Korina Chapman- SWOSU leads the league in defense rebounds, averaging 32.7 rpg on the defensive glass
- The Lady Dawgs struggles at the line continue as they shot just .697 on free throws against ATU. They are shooting just .658 from the charity stripe this season
- This is just the second time in the Musick era that SWOSU has started 0-3. The first time was in 2009-10 in Coach Musick's first season
Looking Ahead- SWOSU puts a halt to conference play for a pair of nonconference games next week
- The first opponent is Oklahoma Christian, who SWOSU hasn't faced in the Musick era. The Lady Eagles currently sit at 1-3, with their lone win coming against Southwestern Christian of the NAIA
