Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Women's Basketball (1-1) opens up Great American Conference play in Russellville, Arkansas against No. 25-ranked Arkansas Tech for their second top-25 matchup the last three games
- The Golden Suns have won the last six meetings against the Lady Dawgs, including the GAC Championship game last season
- SWOSU has yet to play a home game as this will mark the third-straight game on the road to open up the year
- The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a 90-73 victory over Missouri Southern State, a team they had lost their previous two meetings to dating back to the 2013-14 season
The Opponent
#25 Arkansas Tech (1-0)
- Arkansas Tech was picked to finish second in the conference in the preseason coaches poll
- The Golden Suns posted a 27-4 record en route to its fourth GAC regular-season championship and second GAC tournament championship last season
- Two key starters from that championship squad return in the form ofÂ
Anissa Pounds andÂ
Calli White
- ATU won their first game in the Central Region Tournament by defeating Missouri Western 81-80, but fell in the second round to Pittsburg State 91-80 to end their season
- Currently Tech is 1-0 on the year, after beating Lane College 81-51 in their season opener
- The Golden Suns are currently ranked 25 in both major polls for Division II, the WBCA and D2SIDA
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (110-91, 8th season)
- Coach Musick is a two-time GAC Coach of the Year, winning back-to-back honors for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons
- A great developer of talent, Musick has coached one All-American and 15 All-GAC selections, including one Player of the Year recipient
- She earned her 100th win as a head coach last season against rival Northwestern Oklahoma State on January 18, 2016
- Musick has won GAC Tournament Championships in two of the last five years, and made consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2012-13 and 2013-14
- Coach 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 qualifi ed for the NCAA Division I National Tournament in the 2008-09 season
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Arkansas Tech: Dave Wilbers (218-58, 10th season)
- Wilbers was named Tech's sixth women's head coach on April 30, 2007
- Coach Wilbers has seen his Golden Sun squad make it as far at the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament multiple years, and has led a ranked ATU team in at least six seasons
- Prior to coming to Tech, Wilbers spent six years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oral Roberts University, an NCAA Division I school in Tulsa, Okla., that is a member of the Mid-Continent Conference
-Prior to Oral Roberts, Wilbers spent three seasons on Cindy Stein's staff at the University of Missouri of the Big 12 Conference, as the first assistant coach and recruiting coordinator
- Before heading to Missouri, Wilbers served as the assistant women's basketball and head volleyball coach at Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kan., for five years (1993-98)
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The Series
SWOSU vs. Arkansas Tech (Division II era)
ATU leads series 9-2 since 2012
Date                                                  Location                                                              Score
*1/12/2012 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Weatherford, Okla. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â W 85-82
*2/9/2012 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Russellville, Ark. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â L 87-101
*1/5/2013 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Russellville, Ark. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â L 74-79
*2/7/2013                                        Weatherford, Okla.                                                     L 76-82
3/10/2013 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Bartlesville, Okla. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â L 66-70 (OT)
*1/4/2014 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Weatherford, Okla. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â W 89-71
*2/6/2014 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Russellville, Ark. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â L 54-78
*12/17/2014 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Russellville, Ark. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â L 52-97
*11/19/2015 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Weatherford, Okla. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â L 73-94
*1/28/2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Russellville, Ark. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â L 69-91
3/6/2015                                            Bartlesville, Okla.                                                     L 85-106
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*GAC Conference Meeting
SWOSU Notes
- The Lady Bulldogs have been chosen as a third-place finisher for the upcoming season in the preseason coaches' poll after finishing the regular season last year in that same position
- SWOSU is coming off a (20-11, 14-8 GAC) season which came to an end in the GAC Tournament Championship game against Arkansas Tech 106-85
- To start the 2016-17 season, the Lady Bulldogs hold an even 1-1 record after falling to No. four-ranked Emporia State on opening night and then bouncing back the following day to defeat Missouri Southern State in the GAC / MIAA Crossover
- In the first two games of the season,
Hailey Tucker has posted back-to-back double doubles by reaching double digits in both points and rebounds
- Tucker leads SWOSU in both of those categories by averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds
-
Hayden Priddy is the leading sharer of the basketball for SWOSU, having recorded 13 assists through two games followed by
Tyra Aska's nine
-
Savannah Gray has knocked home a team high four three-point shots and is shooting 57 percent from deep so far this season (4-7)Â
- As a team, SWOSU is shooting 42 percent from the field including 37 percent from the three-point line while holding opponents defensively to 32 percent from the field and 26 percent from three point lineÂ
- The Dawgs will look to improve upon their rebounding margins, currently being out rebounded 123-77Â Â
Looking Ahead
- The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Searcy, Arkansas following the game at ATU, where they will take on Harding on Saturday at 4 pm in another GAC game
- From there, SWOSU will not play another game until the following Saturday in Tahlequah, Oklahoma to take on Northeastern State in a non-conference affair
- Thursday, December 1 marks the first home game in the friendly confines of the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for the Lady Dawgs, when they will take on Arkansas-Monticello  Â
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