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Setting the Scene
- The top two seeds in the GAC Tournament are set to battle it out on Championship Saturday, with a guaranteed winner this time after the pair have tied twice already this season
- SWOSU ousted Harding in its semifinal match on Thursday, beating the Lady Bisons 3-0 to advance to their third consecutive championship match
- Oklahoma Baptist also was victorious over East Central by a final score of 3-0 in their semifinal, advancing to their first ever GAC Championship in their first year of full NCAA Division II eligibility
- Saturday's start time is set for 1 pm and will be broadcasted on the GAC Sports Network  
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Mark Persson (91-62-19; 9th season)
- Since taking over the program in 2009, Persson has amassed a 91-62-19 record, becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history
- Persson has now led the Bulldogs to three regular season Great American Conference crowns and two GAC Tournament championships in the last five years
- A two time All-Conference Coach of the Year, Persson holds a 53-28-11 record in GAC play
- He has coached three All-Americans, 16 All-Region players, and numerous All-Conference players during his time in Weatherford
 
Oklahoma Baptist: Michael White (97-63-12; 9th season)
- White took the helm for the Lady Bison in 2009, after being the assistant for two years
- Coach White's 2014 squad won the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament which led to the school's first ever NAIA National Tournament appearance
- In 2016, White and the Lady Bison finished as the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Runners-Up following a third-place finish in the Great American Conference
 
The Opponent
(1) Oklahoma Baptist (15-1-3, 9-0-3 GAC)
- The 2017 GAC regular season champs will bring a 15-game unbeaten streak into the match on Saturday
- OBU's lone loss on the year came at the hands of Midwestern State back on September 18
- The Lady Bison offense is led by Ruth King, with 13 goals and seven assists on the season and she has already scored a goal in the postseason with her game winner against ECU  
- 10 other players have netted a goal this season, including Hannah White (7 goals, 4 assists), Emmily Infante (4 goals, 5 assists), and Abigail Parker (4 goals, 2 assists)
- The reigning GAC Goalkeeper of the Year, Emily Griffith, anchors the OBU defense guarding the net by averaging just 0.81 goals per contest and with just 16 conceded goals in in 1,788 minutes of game time
 
The Series
- In 2017, SWOSU and OBU have tied twice by scores of 3-3 back on October 5th in Shawnee and 0-0 on October 28th in the final game of the regular season in Weatherford
- In the first matchup, three separate Bulldogs were responsible for scores: Alimata Rabo, Sarah Wilson, and Ashlyn Collier
- The Bulldogs led 3-2 after halftime, but surrendered a late goal in the second half (82nd minute) which led to the draw
- In the second matchup, Oklahoma Baptist outshot SWOSU 16-8 but the two were knotted with seven shots on the goal
- Neither team could score however and they went on to tie for the second time on the season
- Since SWOSU has been in the GAC dating back to 2011, they hold a 4-1-2 overall record against the Lady Bison  
 
Final Standings
1. Oklahoma Baptist.. 15-1-3, 9-0-3
2. SWOSU.. 11-3-4, 7-1-4
3. Harding.. 7-9-3, 6-5-1
4. East Central.. 6-8-4, 3-4-4
5. Northwestern.. 5-12-1, 4-8
6. Southern Nazarene.. 5-12, 3-8
7. Ouachita.. 3-13-1, 3-9
 
SWOSU Notes
- Alimata Rabo, the NCAA Division II leader in scoring, netted two scores against ECU on Thursday to give her 26 goals on the year – her first two scores of her postseason career after failing to record a goal in last year's playoff run
- Lauren Williams also added a goal in the first half for her second score of the season
- The 3-0 shutout over the Tigers now marks the third straight contest SWOSU has blanked its opponent, having not given up a goal now in 334 minutes of consecutive game time
- Lexie Bates, the goalie on record on Thursday, now has five solo shutouts on the season
- SWOSU has been in the GAC Tournament's Championship game in five of the previous six seasons, with wins on Championship Saturday in back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013
- The Dawgs will be looking to snap a two-year skid of losses in the championship match, but those defeats have came at the hands of Harding both times
- The Bulldogs end the regular season leading the conference in scoring, averaging 2.94 goals per game
- On the flipside, SWOSU has surrendered 1.29 goals per game which ranks them third in the GAC behind ECU and OBU
 
Looking Ahead
- The winner of Saturday's matchup will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament set to get underway Friday, November 10