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Henderson State (9-14, 7-10 GAC) at SWOSU (9-14, 6-11 GAC) Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Saturday, February 21, 1:00 PM Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
- The homestand continues for the Lady Bulldogs when they take on Henderson State in a crucial late-season conference clash on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1 PM
- The Lady Reddies downed SWOSU 85-73 earlier this season in Arkadelphia, Ark., despite Chelsea Bates tying her season high with 26 points
- With the regular season coming to a close, SWOSU is still in the hunt to lock up a Great American Conference Tournament berth
- SWOSU Basketball alumni will be acknowledged at halftime as part of Alumni Weekend
 
The Opponent
Henderson State (9-14, 7-10 GAC)
- Henderson State comes into the game having won back-to-back games against Southern Nazarene and Northwestern Oklahoma State, but lost their three games prior
- The Lady Reddies boast the fourth-best scoring offense, pouring in 69.6 points per game. Aungelique Sledge leads the team and is ranked 24th in NCAA Division II with 20.2 PPG. She scored 35 points the last time the two teams met
- Despite their potency on offense, HSU has the most porous defense in the conference. Opposing teams are averaging 73.4 PPG on .433 shooting from the field. The Lady Reddies, however, do a good job protecting the perimeter where opponents have shot just .273
- Holding a -0.7 rebounding margin, Henderson State grabs 39.0 rebounds per game and allows opposing teams to grab 39.7 boards. Sledge leads the team with 7.1 RPG and is ninth in the conference in the category, while Dulincia Keener ranks 11th with 6.7 RPG
- Keener is a particularly lethal shooter who shoots .549 from the field, the third-best mark in the GAC
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (87-79, 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
 
Henderson State: Jill Thomas (13-14, 2nd season)
- Jill Mitchell begins her second season in charge of the Lady Reddies basketball program after
going 13-14 and earning the sixth seed in the GAC Tournament
- During her fi rst season, two of her players earned GAC Player of the Week honors and Sledge
was placed on the All-GAC First Team roster
- Prior to taking the post at Henderson State Thomas spent four seasons at the helm of NCAA
Division III Pfeiffer University, amassing a 65-48 record in four years with seven of her players
earned all-conference honors
- Thomas has also spent time as an assistant coach at NAIA Division II Dakota Wesleyan and
Mitchell (S.D.) High School
 
Last Time Out
- The Lady Bulldogs responded well after going 0-2 last week, leading wire-to-wire against Arkansas-Monticello for a 69-54 victory on Thursday night
- Korina Chapman set the tone early, knocking down two 3-pointers inside the first minute of play. The Lady Dawgs shot .462 from long range in the first half to lead 30-24 going into halftime
- Chapman started the second half in much the same way as she did the first, splashing in a shot from deep to begin the second half. With SWOSU leading by no fewer than 10 points from the 17:03 mark on, head coach Kelsi Musick went to the bench. Morgan Vogt repaid the faith, pouring in nine points in the half
- Chapman had a game-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the win. Jessica Penner recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Bates also broke double figures, pouring in 12 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and five steals
 
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
- Penner's double-double was her team-leading fifth double-double of the season. It was the first time she had broken the double digit scoring barrier in February
- Over the last three games, Bates has averaged 4.3 steals per game. She leads the GAC in steals at 2.3 per game
- Chapman has been a force over the last three games, averaging 13.3 points and 10.7 rebounds over that stretch
- SWOSU's perimeter shooting suffered against OBU, converting on just 12.5 percent of their 3-point shot attempts. They scored on 40.0 percent of their attempts from deep against UAM with Chapman leading the way with three buckets made from beyond the arc
- Vogt has been a reliable presence off the bench, pouring in 8.3 points over the last three games on just 12.3 minutes of action
- For the fourth time in five games, Jade Jones has dished out four assists. She holds a 1.41 assist/turnover ratio over that same span
- Penner continues to shoot lights out, going .620 from the field to lead the conference in the category
- The Lady Dawgs have been strong on the offensive glass, ranking third in the category at 12.7 ORPG. Penner leads the conference with 3.8 ORPG
 
Looking Ahead
- The Lady Dawgs play their third straight home game as they welcome in-state rival Northwestern to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- The Pioneer Cellular Event Center was christened last season against NWOSU, with SWOSU dominating the Lady Rangers 87-68 behind 20+ point performances from Sarina Sayama and Michelle Fisher