Setting the Stage- Southwestern returns home to close out the season on a four-game home stand. They will welcome Arkansas-Monticello to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center Thursday, Feb. 19 at 5:30 PM
- The Lady Bulldogs fell to the Cotton Blossoms earlier this season 68-56 in Monticello, Ark., with
Jessica Penner pouring in 20 of SWOSU's points
The OpponentArkansas-Monticello (12-9, 10-6 GAC)- UAM comes into Thursday's game winning four of their last five
- Despite holding the eighth-best scoring offense at 63.7 points per game, the Cotton Blossoms are shooting .404 from the field and .362 from long range which rank third and first in the conference respectively. They are also winning their games by an average of +2.9
- Jordan Goforth is Monticello's leading scorer at 17.9 PPG and is the fifth-most potent scorer in the conference. Nikki Mullen is second on the team and 19th in the conference with 10.8 PPG
- UAM grabbing just 35.2 rebounds per game, but have limited their opponents to the third-lowest rebounding total at 35.6 RPG. Tori Nichols is sixth in the conference with 7.6 RPG
- The Cotton Blossoms have made it tough for opponents to score inside, blocking 4.5 shots per game this season and ranking 22nd in NCAA Division II. Nichols is 11th in Division II, and second in the conference, averaging 2.62 blocks per game
- Monticello controlled the ball well this season with a 1.1 assist/turnover ratio and a turnover margin of +2.52
The CoachesSWOSU: Kelsi Musick (86-79, 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
Arkansas-Monticello: Tanya Ray (25-55, 4th season)- Tanya Ray became the seventh coach to lead the Arkansas-Monticello women's basketball
program prior to the 2011-12 season and is entering her fourth year at the helm
- The team enjoyed their best season under Ray in her inaugural season, posting an 11-16
record
- She has twice lead the Cotton Blossoms to GAC Tournament berths, but has yet to get past
the first round
- Prior to coming to UAM, Ray enjoyed a lengthy career at the NCAA Division I level as an
assistant coach with stops at Arkansas State and Oklahoma State. She also has served as the
assistant coach of Blinn College in the junior college ranks
Last Time Out- Southwestern played their final road game of the season against Southern Arkansas in Magnolia, Ark., and fell to the Lady Muleriders 58-53
- The Lady Bulldogs started off slow, scoring just nine points through the first 16 minutes of the game as SAU built an 11 point lead. SWOSU would score just one basket from beyond the arc
- SWOSU worked their way back into the game in the second half, taking the lead with 14:58 left to play in the game on a pair of
Kimmi Sawatzky free throws. The end of the game was tightly contested, featuring five lead changes. It was the Lady Muleriders, however, that closed out the game on a 9-3 run to earn the victory
- SWOSU's offense struggled throughout the game, with no players reaching double digit scoring.
Chelsea Bates,
Korina Chapman and Sawatzky each had a team-high nine points, while Chapman pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds
Checking the Standings- SWOSU (8-14, 5-11 GAC) is now tied for eighth with Ouachita Baptist (9-14, 5-11 GAC) after SWOSU dropped both games in a two-game road swing
- Arkansas Tech (19-3, 14-2 GAC) has used a four-game win streak to take sole possession of first place. Harding (17-5, 13-3 GAC) is in second place but have dropped to games in a row
- East Central (14-8, 10-6 GAC) and UAM (12-9, 10-6 GAC) are tied for third. Southeastern Oklahoma State (16-8, 9-7 GAC) is the most recent team to clinch a GAC Tournament berth and are fifth
- Northwestern Oklahoma State (9-14, 8-9 GAC) is in sixth, one place ahead of Henderson State (9-14, 7-10 GAC)
- Southern Arkansas (7-16, 5-12 GAC) is one spot below SWOSU in 10th place and Southern Nazarene (7-16, 4-13 GAC) rounds out the standings in 11th
SWOSU Notes- John Liddle, "The Voice of the Bulldogs," received the Play-by-Play Outstanding Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters this week for his call of the 2014 GAC Tournament Championship between SWOSU and Harding, who was at the time ranked second in Division II
- The Lady Dawgs come in boasting the fifth-ranked offense in the GAC at 68.8 PPG. SWOSU is led by Bates with 12.3 PPG and is 12th in the GAC for the category. Penner comes into the rankings at 17th in the conference, pouring in 11.3 PPG
- Rebounding has been an emphasis this year, and Southwestern is second in the conference in rebounding offense at 41.6 RPG. Their 29.5 defensive rebounds rank 34th in Division II, and they are led on the boards by Penner who is grabbing 9.1 RPG. Penner excels on the offensive glass, pulling down 3.7 ORPG which places her 34th in Division II in the category
- After hitting 13-33 3-point attempts against Ouachita Baptist, SWOSU combined to make just three baskets from beyond the arc against SAU. The Lady Dawgs have shot just .272 from deep this season
- The bench has done well over the last four games, averaging 27.0 points over that stretch.
Jennifer Williams and Sawatzky have led the bench, scoring 8.3 and 6.5 PPG respectively.
Morgan Vogt has also been solid on the bench with 6.0 PPG over that stretch
- Bates leads the conference and is 38th nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 1.9. Since the game against Southern Nazarene on Jan. 29, she has a ratio of 2.72
- Chapman is third in the conference and ranks 41st nationally in defensive rebounds at 7.1 DRPG. In the loss to SAU, 14 of her career-high 16 rebounds came on the defensive glass
- Penner leads the conference in field goal percentage, going .625 from the field. However, she's been held to just 4.3 field goal attempts over the last four games
Looking Ahead- Southwestern stay at home when they welcome the Lady Reddies of HSU to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center. Tip-time is set for 1 PM
