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GAC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS (7) East Central (11-16) vs. (3) SWOSU (19-10) Saturday, March 5, 5:45 pm Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- For the fourth time in five years, SWOSU Women's Basketball has advanced to the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament, where they will face East Central on Saturday evening at 5:45 pm
- SWOSU is undefeated in the GAC Tournament semifinals with a 4-0 record, including an 87-83 victory over East Central in the second round of the 2014 tournament
- The Bulldogs also defeated East Central 81-46 in the opening round of the 2012 GAC Tournament, making SWOSU 3-0 against the Tigers at the event
- Since the beginning of the Great American Conference, SWOSU is 9-3 against East Central and they've won the last three games and five of the last six games in the series
- A victory for the Lady Bulldogs on Saturday would be their 20th win of the season and mark the third 20-win season under head coach Kelsi Musick, first since 2012-13
 
The Opponent
East Central (11-16)
- Advanced to the semifinals of the tournament with a 62-48 upset victory over No. 2-seed Harding on Friday afternoon
- ECU went on a 17-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters and outscored Harding 23-7 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory
- Led in scoring by Jalyn Jackson with 23 points and 12 rebounds while Whitney Stotler added 15 points and Alexa Adair had 12
- Second-lowest scoring team in the GAC during the regular season, averaging just 58.3 points per game while holding opponents to 62.3 points per game for the top scoring defense in the league
- Top scorer for the Tigers is Alexa Adair, who averages 13.0 points per game, while Jalyn Jackson (8.9 ppg) and Aalyiah Blakely (8.1 ppg) also rank as leading scorers
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (109-90; 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 11-5 against East Central as the head coach of the Lady Bulldogs and she's 9-2 in her career at the GAC Tournament, including a 2-0 mark against ECU in Bartlesville
 
East Central: Matt Cole (26-28; 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
      *2/11/2016       Ada, Okla.                         W 74-71
*GAC Conference Meeting
 
The Season Series
- SWOSU swept the season series, defeating ECU in Weatherford 65-49 and at Ada by a score of 74-71
- Hailey Tucker led the Bulldogs with an average of 27.0 points per game, including a 30-point effort against the Tigers in Ada
- Janae Coffee averaged a double-double of 10.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game this season against East Central
- ECU held SWOSU to their lowest-scoring game during conference play this season with 65 points in Weatherford
 
SWOSU Notes
- In her return to her native Bartlesville, SWOSU's Hailey Tucker scored a game-high 27 points against Southeastern
- With three made three-pointers against Southeastern Tucker moved into third in single-season made three's with 78, leaving her one behind Michelle Fisher (79, 2012-13) heading into Saturday's game
- Janae Coffee has set a new single-season SWOSU and Great American Conference record with 129 offensive rebounds
- Senior Jessica Penner currently ranks seventh in SWOSU Women's Basketball history for rebounds (556) and second in offensive rebounds (216)
- Kylie Franz has dished out 86 assists this season against 29 turnovers, good for the fifth-best assist:turnover ratio in NCAA Division II this season (3.0:1)
- Hayden Priddy is averaging 15.7 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game since being inserted into the starting lineup and she had 15 points and eight assists in her first NCAA postseason game
 
Looking Ahead
- The winner of Saturday's semifinal meets the winner between Arkansas Tech and Southern Arkansas for the tournament championship on Sunday at 3:30 pm