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SWOSU (11-6, 7-4 GAC) at #21 Arkansas Tech (13-2, 11-0 GAC) Thursday, January 28, 5:30 pm Russellville, Ark. (Tucker Coliseum) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- The second half of Great American Conference play begins on Thursday evening as the Lady Bulldogs head to Russellville, Arkansas to face No. 21 Arkansas Tech
- Arkansas Tech has won four straight meetings against SWOSU, including a 94-73 victory back in November in Weatherford
- The Golden Suns enter the contest atop the GAC standings with a perfect 11-0 mark, and they are ranked No. 21 in the latest WBCA Top 25 with an overall record of 13-2
- SWOSU is 1-8 all-time at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville, their lone victory a 60-53 triumph on November 15, 2005
- Arkansas Tech has a three-game lead on the rest of the field in the GAC, but SWOSU has moved into a three-way tie for third place and they are one game back of Harding in second
- The Lady Bulldogs have won 10 of their last 11 games after starting the season 1-5 and they are 2-2 in true road games this year
 
The Opponent
Arkansas Tech (13-2, 11-0 GAC)
- Ranked 21st in the most recent WBCA Top 25 poll and they are one of five teams from the Central Region currently in the Top 25
- Lead the GAC and ranked ninth nationally in scoring offense with an average of 81.2 points per game and they are outscoring their opponents by an average of 18.4 points per game
- ATU leads the GAC in field goal percentage, shooting 47.1% from the field and they rank second in field goal percentage defense - behind SWOSU - at 37.3%
- Led by Fatima Adams, who ranks third in the GAC and 14th nationally with a 20.6 points per game average and she's second in the GAC with 9.8 rebounds per game
- Anissa Pounds is ATU's second-leading scorer at 11.5 points per game and five other players average better than 5.5 points per game for the Golden Suns
- ATU is the best rebounding team in the conference, outrebounding their opponents by an average of 6.3 boards per game this season
- Four players scored in double figures against SWOSU earlier this season, led by Bre Brooks with 25 points
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (101-86; 7th season)
- Two-time GAC Coach of the Year has been the model of consistency, winning GAC Tournament titles in two of the last four years and earning back-to-back NCAA Division II National Tournaments during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons
- Earned her 100th victory as head coach of the Lady Bulldogs on January 18th, 2016 against Northwestern Oklahoma State
- 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
- Has a record of 2-10 against Arkansas Tech as the head coach of the Lady Bulldogs, including an 0-4 record in Russellville as conference foes
 
Arkansas Tech: Dave Wilbers (204-56; 9th season)
- In his ninth season at Arkansas Tech, where he has won at least 20 games in six seasons, including two 30-win seasons
- Has led his teams to at least a share of the GAC regular season championship three times in the league's first four years
- Has guided five of his teams to the NCAA Division II national tournament, including a berth in the Elite Eight in 2010
 
The Series
GAC History Only
      Date                Location                            Score             
      *1/12/2012       Weatherford, Okla.           W 85-82
      *2/9/2012         Russellville, Ark.               L 87-101
      *1/5/2013         Russellville, Ark.               L 74-79
      *2/7/2013         Weatherford, Okla.           L 76-82
      3/10/2013        Bartlesville, Okla.              L 66-70 (OT)
      *1/4/2014         Weatherford, Okla.           W 89-71
      *2/6/2014         Russellville, Ark.               L 54-78
      *12/17/2014     Russellville, Ark.               L 52-97
      *2/5/2015         Weatherford, Okla.           L 62-64 (OT)
      *11/19/2015     Weatherford, Okla.           L 73-94
*GAC Conference Meeting
 
Last Time Out
- The Lady Bulldogs shot 51.7% in the second half to defeat Oklahoma Baptist 84-77 on Saturday, earning their ninth straight victory at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- Jade Jones scored 16 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs, while Morgan Vogt had 12 in the victory, which saw SWOSU never relinquish the lead after halftime
- Each player who saw action for the Lady Dawgs scored at least three points, with seven players scoring eight points or more for SWOSU
 
SWOSU Notes
- Thursday's game will pit the top two scoring offenses in the GAC against each other with ATU leading the league at 81.2 ppg and SWOSU close behind averaging 79.1 ppg
- Another strength-on-strength to watch in the game is field goal shooting percentages with Arkansas Tech leading the league shooting 47.1% while SWOSU has the best field goal defense by limiting opponents to 34.9% shooting
- SWOSU continues to lead NCAA Division II with 35.0 defensive rebounds per game and they've now moved up to sixth in the country with 97 blocked shots (5.7/game)
- Hailey Tucker has been limited to 6-for-23 (26.1%) shooting from three-point range the past four games, dating back to January 14 when she hit 7-of-12 three's against East Central
- Kylie Franz was charged with her first turnover in three games on Saturday against OBU, but her assist:turnover ratio of 2.94:1 still ranks her ninth in NCAA Division II
- Janae Coffee is averaging 13.0 points and 11.8 rebounds per game over the past five games while shooting 24-for-37 (64.9%) from the field
- With five assists on Saturday, Jade Jones reclaimed her lead in the conference rankings with 86 assists (5.1/game) to her credit during her sophomore season
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU's weekend road trip concludes on Saturday against another one of the top contenders in the GAC with SWOSU playing in Searcy against Harding
- February opens with home games against Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas, the first of four home games in the final month of the season