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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Women's Basketball (3-2, 1-1 GAC) is set to face Arkansas-Monticello in Great American Conference action on Thursday, December 1 at 5:30 pm inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- After having their small two-game winning streak snapped at Harding, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back last game against Northeastern State by overcoming a 12-point, late-third quarter deficit to beat the Riverhawks
- SWOSU lost both contests to the Cotton Blossoms last season by a combined five points
- The Lady Dawgs are currently one of four teams in the GAC with a 1-1 conference record putting them behind four other teams with 2-0 perfect slates and ahead of four teams winless at 0-2 records

The Opponent
Arkansas-Monticello (3-1, 1-1 GAC)
- UAM ended the 2015-16 season at 13-14, finishing eighth in the GAC last season with a 10-12 conference record and qualifying as the final seed in the postseason tournament
- This season the Cotton Blossoms are already 3-1 with an even 1-1 record in league competition
- The Cotton Blossoms are led by forward Treasure Evans who is averaging 15 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, shooting 48 percent from the field and has hit four three-point shots this year on 11 attempts (36%)
- UAM is coming off a 64-57 victory over East Central back on November 19, but haven't played a game since

The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (112-93, 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 qualified for the NCAA Division I National Tournament in the 2008-09 season

Arkansas-Monticello: Tanya Ray (55-83, 6th season)
- During her time at UAM, Ray has coached four All-Great American Conference selections
- Coach Ray came to UAM after serving as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level for the previous 11 seasons (Arkansas State, Oklahoma State)
- Ray's playing career consists of a four-year high-school stint at Brenham (Texas) High School, one-year stints at the University of Texas-San Antonio and South Plains College of Levelland, Texas, and finally a two-year stint at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.
 
The Series
SWOSU leads series 7-3 since 2012 (GAC History Only)
 
 Date              Location                            Score
 *1/19/2012   Monticello, Ark.                W 88-82 (OT)
 *2/16/2012   Weatherford, Okla.            W 71-52
 *11/29/2012  Weatherford, Okla.            W 77-66
 *2/2/2013     Monticello, Ark.                W 81-67
 *11/21/2013  Monticello, Ark.                W 118-88
 *2/1/2014     Weatherford, Okla.            W 72-46
 *1/17/2015   Monticello, Ark.                 L 56-68
 *2/19/2015   Weatherford, Okla.            W 69-54
 *12/3/2015   Monticello, Ark.                 L 71-74
 *2/4/2016     Weatherford, Okla.             L 85-87
 
*GAC Conference Meeting

SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU will finally play its first game of the season in front of a home crowd after starting the year with five-straight games on the road
- Hailey Tucker is nearly averaging a double-double by posting 19.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest
- After exploding in the second half with 23 points (29 total) last week against Northeastern State, Tyra Aska is now second on the team with 13.2 points per game and is second on the team with 21 assists through five games
- Aska's performance against NSU also gave her the GAC's Women's Player of the Week award, becoming the second Lady Bulldog to be recognized this season after Tucker won the honor on Nov. 14
- Hayden Priddy is the Dawg's only other double-digit scorer (11.8 ppg) and leads the team with 25 assists (5 per game)
- SWOSU is proving to be a second-half team through the season's first five games, being outscored by opponents 193-156 in the first two quarters of games but outscoring them 227-190 in the final two quarters

Looking Ahead
- The Lady Bulldogs will host Southern Arkansas on Saturday (Dec. 3) for an afternoon game at 1:00 pm inside Rankin Williams Fieldhouse
- SWOSU will play a non-conference road game at Oklahoma Christian on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7:00 pm
- To close out competition before Christmas Break, the Dawgs will welcome Lubbock Christian to Weatherford on Saturday, December 10 at 1:00 pm