---

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Women's Basketball will take on #11 Emporia State and Missouri Southern for the third consecutive season, this year in Joplin at the GAC/MIAA Crossover
- Friday the Lady Bulldogs will take on Emporia State at 2 pm, looking to defeat ESU for the first time in the Kelsi Musick era (0-4)
- Saturday, SWOSU closes out their time in Joplin against Missouri Southern at 2 pm, seeking a second consecutive victory over the Lady Lions 
- SWOSU returns their top three scorers from last season and 10 players overall, losing just one starter from the 2016-17 team which finished 20-10
- Leading the way for the Lady Bulldogs is reigning GAC Player of the Year Hailey Tucker, who averaged 18.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore to also earn Honorable Mention All-America honors from the Division II Bulletin
 
The Opponents
#11 Emporia State
- ESU finished 29-5 a year ago, winning the MIAA Conference Tournament and advanced all the way to the NCAA Central Regional Final where they fell to Harding 58-56
 
Missouri Southern
- MSSU ended in a three way tie for ninth place in the MIAA standings a year ago, finishing with a 7-12 league slate and were ousted out of their conference tournament in the first round by Fort Hays State 83-46, ending their season 12-17 overall on the year
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (130-101, 9th season)
- Two-time GAC Coach of the Year, winning back-to-back honors for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons and she has led the Lady Bulldogs to four 20-win seasons
- Musick has led SWOSU to the GAC Tournament Championship games with two GAC Tournament Championships (2012, 2014) and two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2013, 2014) to her credit
- In eight seasons at SWOSU, Musick has a career record of 130-101
 
#11 Emporia State: Jory Collins (182-47, 8th)
- Collins is the first Lady Hornet coach to have seven 20-win seasons in his first seven years as head coach
In those seven seasons he has led Emporia State to five MIAA Tournament Championships, seven conference title games, six NCAA Tournaments and six trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 including a berth in the 2015 NCAA Division II Final Four
 
Missouri Southern: Ronnie Ressel (12-17, 2nd)
- Ressel was named the head women's basketball coach on March 16, 2017 after serving three years as an assistant and one year as an interim head coach
 
GAC Preseason Poll
1. Harding, 121 (11)
2. SWOSU, 107
3. Arkansas Tech, 103 (1)
4. Southeastern, 82
5. Ouachita, 67
6. East Central, 63
7. Southern Nazarene, 58
8. Henderson State, 54
9. Oklahoma Baptist, 49
10. Northwestern, 34
11. Arkansas-Monticello, 33
12. Southern Arkansas, 21
 
The Series
SWOSU vs. Emporia State (ESU leads series 5-0)
Date           Location                             Score
12/15/02      Emporia, Kan. ................. L 72-78
3/14/14       Searcy, Ark. (Central Regional) L 65-97
11/29/14      Emporia, Kan. ................. L 56-63
11/13/15      Weatherford, Okla. ........... L 63-72
11/12/16      Emporia, Kan................... L 65-87
 
SWOSU vs. Missouri Southern State (MSSU leads series 3-1)
Date           Location                             Score
11/22/03      Joplin, Mo. ...................... L 38-46
11/16/13      Joplin, Mo. ...................... L 83-99
11/14/15      Weatherford, Okla. ........... L 68-71
11/13/16      Emporia, Kan.................. W 90-73
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU was picked to finish second in the Great American Conference this season after finishing tied for third in the league standings during the 2016-17 campaign
- The Bulldogs return all three of their All-GAC honorees from last season in First Teamers Hailey Tucker and Hayden Priddy along with Tyra Aska, an honorable mention selection
- Tucker - recently crowned the Homecoming Queen at SWOSU - is the top returner after being named the GAC Player of the Year and an Honorable Mention All-American by the Division II Bulletin
- Tucker led the conference in both scoring (18.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg) during her sophomore season, when she also became the 10th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point plateau
- Priddy returns for her junior season after earning First Team All-GAC honors as a sophomore when she ranked third in the league in scoring (15.5 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg)
- Aska was one of the top freshmen in the GAC last year, averaging 12.1 points per game on 44.1% shooting to earn All-GAC Honorable Mention
- SWOSU remains youthful with two other sophomores - Taylor Hedrick & Nicole Middleton - projected to round out the starting lineup at the start of the season
 
Looking Ahead
- The Lady Bulldogs will jump right into GAC play following their time at the GAC/MIAA Crossover, hosting Ouachita (Nov. 16) and Henderson State (Nov. 18) inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center