Setting the Stage- The Lady Bulldog basketball team starts their second round of games against in-state foes on Thursday with a trip to Ada to face East Central
- SWOSU has won the last two meetings against ECU and four of the last five overall, but they have suffered two straight defeats against the Tigers in Ada
- In six road games this season, the Lady Dawgs are 3-3 but they've lost two of their last three games away from home
- SWOSU is 8-1 against NCAA Division II foes from Oklahoma this season, including a 4-1 record against the GAC schools from Oklahoma this first time through the conference schedule
- Awaiting the Lady Bulldogs on Thursday night is an East Central team that SWOSU defeated 65-49 last month in their lowest-scoring game during conference play
- East Central is just one game behind SWOSU in the league standings at 8-7 and the Tigers are 7-5 on their home floor this season
- SWOSU is 2-2 at the Kerr Activities Center against ECU as conference foes, with their last victory in Ada by a score of 72-68 in February 2013
The OpponentEast Central (8-11, 8-7 GAC)- Enter the game with a two-game winning streak overall and winners of five straight home games, with their only conference home loss since January 1st coming against undefeated league-leader Arkansas Tech
- ECU leads the GAC in scoring defense, holding their opponents to just 59.1 points per game, and they limited SWOSU to 65 points in their first meeting, which is the second-lowest scoring game this season by the Lady Bulldogs
- One of their specialties is covering on the perimeter, where they hold opponents to 29.5% shooting from three-point range, the second-best mark among league teams
- Led in scoring by Alexa Adair, who averages 13.4 points per game, while no other player is putting in better than nine points per contest
- ECU's Jalyn Jackson ranks sixth in the GAC in rebounding (7.4/game) and eighth in field goal percentage (52.9%)
The CoachesSWOSU: Kelsi Musick (103-88; 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 10-5 against East Central as the head coach of the Lady Bulldogs, but her teams have been defeated in their last two trips to Ada
East Central: Matt Cole (23-23; 2nd season)- In his second season at East Central, where he became just the fourth head women's basketball coach in Tigers history prior to the 2014-15 season
- Led ECU to a 15-12 overall record and a quarterfinal appearance at the GAC Tournament in his inaugural season in Ada
- Spent the prior 11 seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at Northeastern State, where he helped the Riverhawks to seven NCAA Tournaments and two Sweet 16 appearances
The Series GAC History Only Date Location Score *1/23/2012 Weatherford, Okla. W 93-55
*2/20/2012 Ada, Okla. W 101-72
3/2/2012 Bartlesville, Okla. W 81-46
*1/12/2013 Weatherford, Okla. L 85-94
*2/14/2013 Ada, Okla. W 72-68
*1/11/2014 Ada, Okla. L 63-73
*2/13/2014 Weatherford, Okla. W 93-81
3/8/2014 Bartlesville, Okla. W 87-83
*12/4/2014 Ada, Okla. L 62-67
*1/31/2015 Weatherford, Okla. W 64-54
*1/14/2016 Weatherford, Okla. W 65-49
*GAC Conference Meeting Last Time Out- Three different players recorded a double-double and SWOSU never looked back after scoring the first 12 points of the game as they defeated Southern Arkansas 98-80 on Saturday
- SWOSU took a commanding 53-29 lead to the break, but SAU went on a run to get within nine at one point in the third quarter before the Lady Bulldogs pulled away
- The freshmen duo of
Hailey Tucker (27 points/13 rebounds) and
Hayden Priddy (26 points/10 assists) led SWOSU while
Janae Coffee (10 points/10 rebounds) also had a double-double
SWOSU Notes-
Jessica Penner is one offensive rebound shy of 200 for her career, a plateau reached by only two SWOSU players in the NCAA Division II era:
Sumiya Darden, 226 (2010-12) and Kayla Horn, 207 (2002-06)
- SWOSU's scoring offense of 79.8 points per game ranks second in the GAC and 13th in NCAA Division II this season and it would rank fifth in school history for single-season scoring average
- In addition to scoring prowess, the Lady Bulldogs lead NCAA Division II in defensive rebounds per game (35.0) and rank second in total rebounds per game (48.2)
-
Kylie Franz has 12 assists and two turnovers to her credit in the past three games, helping her raise her assist:turnover ratio to 3:05:1, a mark that ranks her fifth in NCAA Division II
-
Hailey Tucker has hit 62 three-point attempts this season, the most among freshman in NCAA Division II and the seventh-most in a single season in SWOSU history
-
Janae Coffee has recorded six double-doubles this season, four in the past five games, to rank third on the team in scoring (10.4 ppg) and third in the GAC in rebounding (9.1 rpg)
Looking Ahead- SWOSU returns home to face Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon in the annual Hall of Fame game at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- Four of the final five games of the season are away from home, beginning on Monday at Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva
