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Arkansas-Monticello (9-8, 6-7 GAC) at SWOSU (12-7, 8-5 GAC) Thursday, February 4, 5:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- Coming off an emotional road victory on Saturday at Harding, the Lady Bulldog basketball team is back at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for two games this weekend, beginning on Thursday evening against Arkansas-Monticello
- SWOSU is looking to avenge a close, 74-71 defeat earlier this season in Monticello, their second straight road defeat against the Blossoms
- The Lady Bulldogs enter February having alternated wins and losses in their past four games, but they finished the month of January with an 8-2 record
- In Great American Conference play, SWOSU is 7-2 against Arkansas-Monticello, including a perfect mark of 4-0 in home contests
- Both teams are battling for conference positioning, with SWOSU currently tied for third place in the standings while Arkansas Monticello is just two games behind in a share of seventh place
- SWOSU is 9-4 on their home floor this season, with nine consecutive wins after starting the season with four straight defeats, while UAM is just 2-5 on the road this year with three straight losses
 
The Opponent
Arkansas-Monticello (9-8, 6-7 GAC)
- Led by the GAC's top scorer, senior Jordan Goforth, who averages 21.3 points per game this season and earlier this year surpassed the 1,000-point scoring mark for her career
- UAM snapped a four-game losing slide on Saturday with a 67-63 victory over East Central on their home floor
- Goforth also leads the team in rebounding (7.6/game), assists (69) and steals (31) and she's second on the team with nine blocked shots
- Nikki Mullen is UAM's other top scoring threat, averaging 11.0 points per game while shooting 40.1% from the field
- Blossoms rank ninth in the league in scoring, averaging 67.5 points per game while holding opponents to 68.9 points per contest
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (102-87; 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 7-2 against Arkansas-Monticello as the head coach of the Lady Bulldogs, including 4-0 record in games played in Weatherford
 
Arkansas-Monticello: Tanya Ray (48-75; 5th season)
- In her fifth season at Arkansas-Monticello after being named the seventh head coach in program history prior to the 2011-12 season
- Her program captured their 29th winning season in program history last year by finishing 14-13 and advancing to the GAC Tournament
- Came to UAM after serving as an NCAA Division I assistant coach for the previous 11 seasons, spending time at Arkansas State and Oklahoma State
 
The Series
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
*GAC Conference Meeting
 
Last Time Out
- After losing a 17-point lead in the first half, SWOSU scored seven of the final nine points to defeat Harding 79-77 on a buzzer-beating lay in by Janae Coffee
- Kylie Franz hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter, keeping the Lady Bulldogs within striking distance during a sequence that saw the team's trade three's on four straight possessions
- Hailey Tucker led SWOSU with 24 points, tying her career high, while Morgan Vogt scored 17 points in a season-high 38 minutes
 
SWOSU Notes
- Hailey Tucker tied her career-high with 24 points on Saturday at Harding, the fourth 20-point game of her freshman season, and she's ranked 12th in the GAC with a team-leading 13.6 points per game
- Janae Coffee was limited to four rebounds against Harding, her lowest number in six games, but she maintains the team lead and ranks third in the GAC with 8.6 per game
- SWOSU maintains the top spot in NCAA Division II with 35.0 offensive rebounds per game while ranking third overall with 47.9 rebounds per contest
- Jessica Penner continues to lead the GAC in field goal percentage, shooting 66.7% (64-for-96) from the field for the year
- Morgan Vogt scored a season-best 17 points while playing 38 minutes against Harding and tied her career-high with her fifth assist, the game-winner to Coffee as time expired
- The Lady Bulldogs have scored 70 or more points in 15 of their last 17 games, upping their scoring average to 78.6 points per game, the second-best mark in the league
- With an assist:turnover ratio of 2.9:1, SWOSU's Kylie Franz is second in the GAC and ranks eighth nationally in that category
- SWOSU also leads the GAC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 35.3% shooting from the field
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU is back at home on Saturday afternoon, looking for a season-sweep of Southern Arkansas in a game that will tipoff at noon
- Following this weekend's games, SWOSU is on the road for five of their final seven contests to conclude the regular season