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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Women's Basketball (4-2, 2-1 GAC) plays in their second-straight home game against Southern Arkansas on Saturday after beginning the season with five-consecutive games away from Weatherford
 - Tip off is scheduled for 1:00 pm inside Rankin Williams Fieldhouse to accommodate a state-wide workshop, hosted by the SWOSU Department of Education, which will be held in the multi-purpose Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Saturday afternoon
- The Lady Bulldogs won both meetings against the Muleriders last season which came during the regular season (W 89-78, W 98-80)
- Since coming back from Thanksgiving Break, the Dawgs are a perfect 2-0 with wins over Northeastern State and Arkansas-Monticello

The Opponent
Southern Arkansas (1-4, 1-2 GAC)
- Last season, SAU finished (19-9, 14-8) and fourth in the GAC regular-season standings before falling to Arkansas Tech in the semifinals of the postseason tournament
- In 2016, the Muleriders are currently 1-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play with their lone win coming against East Central
- Three SAU players are carrying the load in scoring this season as Demi Read, Anna Djedjemel, and Kimberly Crown all are averaging 10 points per contest
- The Muleriders are turnover prone in the early going of the season, losing the turnover battle at a -36 margin (109-73)
- Rebounding is a strength for SAU, winning the battle of the boards 228-164 over opponents so far this season

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

Southern Arkansas: Julio Pacheco (0-0, 1st season)
- Pacheco comes to SAU after a year away from the coaching world, but in the seven years prior, Pacheco was the top assistant at Arkansas Tech
- In his time at Tech, Pacheco helped lead the Golden Suns to four regular season conference championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances, three conference tournament championships, and consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight
 
Checking the Standings
- Harding, Southeastern, and Henderson State all sit atop the GAC standings with 3-0 records in league play
- SWOSU, Arkansas Tech, and Ouachita Baptist are next in the rankings with 2-1 records in the conference
- Arkansas-Monticello, Northwestern, and Southern Arkansas hold 1-2 records
- Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma Baptist, and East Central round out the standings with 0-3 league records
 
The Series
SWOSU leads series 9-1 since 2012 (GAC History Only)
 
Date               Location                                        Score
 *1/21/2012   Magnolia, Ark.                                 W 80-73
 *2/18/2012   Weatherford, Okla.                           W 98-66
 *12/1/2012   Weatherford, Okla.                          W 101-59
 *1/31/2013   Magnolia, Ark.                                 W 87-59
 *11/23/2013  Magnolia, Ark.                                 W 76-62
 *1/30/2014   Weatherford, Okla.                           W 86-71
 *1/10/2015   Weatherford, Okla.                           W 73-70
 *2/14/2015   Magnolia, Ark.                                  L 53-58
 *12/5/2015   Magnolia, Ark.                                 W 89-78
*2/6/2016      Weatherford, Okla.                          W 98-80


*GAC Conference Meeting
 
SWOSU Notes
- Against UAM in the last game, it was a balanced effort offensively as both Hailey Tucker and Tyra Aska scored a team high 14 points, followed by Taylor Hedrick with 12
- Against the Cotton Blossoms, SWOSU never trailed in the contest and lead for more than 37 minutes of game time
- The bench stepped up to score 31 of the team's 78 points in the game, led by Hedrick's 12, Katie Percival's 9, and Shalie McAlister's 6
- Percival's 9 against Monticello is a new career high for the sophomore
- On the season, the Lady Dawgs still have three players averaging double-digit scoring: Hailey Tucker (18.2 ppg), Tyra Aska (13.2 ppg), and Hayden Priddy (10.5 ppg)
- Priddy also is leading the team in both the assists and steals category, averaging 5.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game through the first six games
- Collectively, SWOSU is being outrebounded 301-262 as a squad
- Tucker crashes the boards the best on the team, averaging 9.3 rebounds a game, followed by Aska at 6.8 rpg
- Hedrick is getting to the charity stripe more than any other Bulldog (36), but has only knocked down 56% of her attempts (20 of 36)
- Tucker is second on the team with 27 free shots, and is hitting them at a 78% clip (21 of 27)

Looking Ahead
- Thursday, December 8 the Lady Dawgs hit the road again to face Oklahoma Christian at 7:00 pm in a non-conference matchup
- Two days later, SWOSU will host defending national champion Lubbock Christian in another non-conference game for the last game before Christmas Break