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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Women's Basketball (6-0) will enter Thursday's road game against Arkansas Tech ranked No. 25 in both NCAA Division II polls, marking the first time that the Lady Bulldogs have found themselves in the Top 25 in the school's D2 era
- The Lady Dawgs will have a tall task facing the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns having defeated ATU just four times in 15 meetings in SWOSU's GAC history
- SWOSU defeated a ranked Golden Suns twice last year during the regular season by scores of 72-69 in Russellville and 90-79 in Weatherford in the Division II Basketball Showcase, but were ousted by ATU in the GAC Semifinals 96-60
- Both teams come into the matchup this year undefeated with a combined 10 wins between the pair
- Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 pm on Thursday inside Tucker Coliseum in Russellville
 
The Opponent
#19 Arkansas Tech (4-0, 2-0 GAC)
- The Golden Suns were slated in the 19th spot in the recently released D2SIDA National Poll, despite being unranked in the WBCA Poll
- ATU's offense ranks just above SWOSU nationally, averaging 85.0 points per game which puts them 10th in all of NCAA Division II
- Predominant players include: Jayana Sanders (13.3 ppg), Ke'VonShaye Stackhouse (12.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Kylie Ladd (11.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.3 apg), Jacie Higgins (11.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg), and Cheyenne North (11.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.5 apg)

The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (136-101, 9th season)
- Two-time GAC Coach of the Year, winning back-to-back honors for the '11-12 and '12-13 seasons and she has now led the Lady Bulldogs to four 20-win seasons after a 20-10 finish a year ago
- Musick has coached two All-Americans and 18 All-GAC selections, including two Player of the Years (Darcie Dick, 2012 / Hailey Tucker, 2017) and one Freshman of the Year (Hailey Tucker, 2016)
- Musick has led SWOSU to four GAC Tournament Championship games with two GAC Tournament Championships (2012, 2014) and two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2013, 2014) to her credit
- In nine seasons at SWOSU, Musick has a career record of 136-101, including a mark of 4-13 against ATU all-time
 
Arkansas Tech: Dave Wilbers (244-61; 11th season)
- Has led Tech to the NCAA D2 Tournament in each of his first three seasons, including back-to-back Elite Eight finishes in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
- Wilbers' teams have won 3 regular season titles and two GAC tournament championships, including the 2016 tournament crown
 
Checking the Conference Standings
- Four teams remained undefeated in GAC play after the opening week of conference action: SWOSU, Arkansas Tech, Southern Nazarene, and Northwestern
- Four teams split with a win and a loss: Arkansas-Monticello, Oklahoma Baptist, Southeastern, East Central
- Four teams dropped both games: Henderson State, Harding, Ouachita, Southern Arkansas
 
The Series
Date                Location                                           Score
*1/12/2012       Weatherford, Okla. ....................W 85-82
*2/9/2012         Russellville, Ark. .......................L 87-101
*1/5/2013         Russellville, Ark. .........................L 74-79
*2/7/2013         Weatherford, Okla. ......................L 76-82
3/10/2013        Bartlesville, Okla. ............... L 66-70 (OT)
*1/4/2014         Weatherford, Okla. ....................W 89-71
*2/6/2014         Russellville, Ark. .........................L 54-78
*12/17/2014     Russellville, Ark. .........................L 52-97
*2/5/2015         Weatherford, Okla. ............. L 62-64 (OT)
*11/19/2015     Weatherford, Okla. ......................L 73-94
*1/28/2016       Russellville, Ark. .........................L 69-91
3/6/2016          Bartlesville, Okla. ......................L 85-106
*11/17/2016     Russellville, Ark. .......................W 72-69
*1/28/2017       Weatherford, Okla. ....................W 90-79
4/4/2017          Bartlesville, Okla.......................... L 60-96
 
GAC Era: Arkansas Tech leads 11-4
In Weatherford: Series tied 3-3
In Russellville: Arkansas Tech leads 5-1
In Bartlesville: Arkansas Tech leads 3-0

SWOSU Notes
- The Lady Bulldogs were recently placed in the Top 25 right at No. 25 in both the WBCA and D2SIDA Polls, marking the first time in SWOSU's NCAA Division II history that they have entered a national poll dating back to the 1997-98 season
- The Dawgs are the only team in the GAC with six wins to date, sporting a perfect record with a win over No. 11 Emporia State
- SWOSU had another two-win week last week, picking up decisive victories over Cameron 98-81 and Northeastern State 87-71
- Hailey Tucker exploded against the Aggies and Riverhawks, scoring a combined 56 points in two games (28.0 ppg) and grabbing 20 rebounds combined (10.0 rpg)
- For her efforts, Tucker was named SWOSU's Bulldog of the Week, the GAC's Player of the Week, and the USBWA National Player of the Week
- Tyra Aska continued her defensive presence, picking up seven more steals last week to give her 25 (4.2 spg) total in six games -- a mark that leads the GAC 
- Aska also ranks second on the team behind Tucker in scoring, averaging 16.2 points per night, notching double-digits in five of SWOSU's six games so far
- Hayden Priddy, the Lady Dawgs other double-figure scorer at 13.8 points per game, heated up last week with a 26-point performance against Cameron and 13 against NSU

Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will travel to Searcy, Arkansas on Saturday to take on Harding at 1 pm inside Rhodes Reaves Field House which will conclude their conference road trip to Arkansas