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Setting the Scene
- The Lady Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 19-9 overall record and a 15-7 Great American Conference slate that clinched them a number three seed in the GAC Tournament for the second-consecutive year
- SWOSU will take on the sixth seeded Southern Nazarene on Friday at 2:15 pm in the opening round of the tournament held in Bartlesville, Okla.
- Since the formation of the GAC, SWOSU is 10-3 all-time in the postseason tournament dating back to 2012 including two tournament championships in 2012 and 2014
- This tournament matchup between the Dawgs and SNU will be the first in the history of the conference
- During the regular season the Crimson Storm claimed the first victory over SWOSU 81-67 before the Lady Bulldogs were able to split the regular season by defeating SNU 93-75 in the final meeting

The Opponent
Southern Nazarene (13-13, 10-12 GAC)
 - The Crimson Storm lost four out of their previous six contests coming into the tournament, however they were victorious in back-to-back games to close out the regular season against Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello and come into the postseason  having won two-straight
-  SNU is led by two All-GAC selections: Abby Boyd and Adrienne Berry who both average 13.5 points per contest
- Southern Nazarene holds the second highest scoring offense in the GAC (76.7 ppg)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (129-100, 8th 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 three 20-win seasons
- Musick has coached one All-American and 15 All-GAC selections, including one Player of the Year (Darcie Dick, 2012) and one Freshman of the Year (Hailey Tucker, 2016)
- 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 129-100, including a mark of 8-2 against SNU all-time
 
Southern Nazarene: Derek Dorris (60-74, 5th season)
- After starting his fi rst year at SNU at 4-7, the Dorris and the Crimson Storm went 17-3 over
the final 20 games and won the NCCAA National Championship
- The SNU alumni came back to SNU after spending the last two seasons at Southmoore
High School where he was named the 2011-12 Mid-State Conference Coach of the Year)
 
Checking the Bracket
- (2) Arkansas Tech plays (7) Ouachita Baptist in the first women's game of the tournament   on Thursday having won both regular season matchups this season
- (1) Harding plays (8) Arkansas-Monticello in the second women's game of the tournament on Thursday having won both regular season matchups this season
- (4) Southeastern plays (5) East Central in the first women's game on Friday having split the regular season 1-1 against the Tigers
- (3) SWOSU plays (6) Southern Nazarene in the second game on Friday having split the regular season 1-1 against the Crimson Storm
The Series
Date               Location                                Score
*12/15/2012  Bethany, Okla.                      W 91-81
 *1/24/2013   Weatherford, Okla.                W 86-74
 *1/23/2014   Bethany, Okla.                      W 96-83
 *2/25/2014   Weatherford, Okla.                W 101-66
 *12/13/2014 Weatherford, Okla.                 L 65-74
 *1/29/2015   Bethany, Okla.                      W 88-71
 *1/16/2016   Bethany, Okla.                      W 77-65
*2/13/2016    Weatherford, Okla.                W 88-78
*2/9/2017      Bethany, Okla.                      L 67-81
*2/20/2017    Weatherford, Okla.                W 93-75
 
 
*GAC Conference Meeting                      In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 4-1
GAC Era: SWOSU leads series 8-2       In Bethany: SWOSU leads 4-1
 
SWOSU Notes
- The Lady Dawgs come into Friday's contest riding a three-game winning streak over Southern Nazarene, Ouachita and Henderson State and have won five of the last six dating back to Feb. 13 with a lone loss to Southeastern in Durant on Feb. 18
- SWOSU ended the regular season with the top scoring offense in the GAC, averaging 79.9 points per game during the regular season
- At the awards banquet on Wednesday night in Bartlesville, the Lady Bulldogs had three players recieve All-GAC recognition led by Hailey Tucker who was named the Player of the Year and a first team recipient
- Tucker is two points shy of the 1,000 point career scoring mark coming into Friday
- Hayden Priddy was named to the first team while Tyra Aska was recognized as an honorable mention
- Tucker finished the season averaging 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest
- Priddy averaged 15.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest while Aska was SWOSU's only other double-digit scorer at 11.9 ppg and 5.5 rpg
- Savannah Gray is the deep threat on the offensive side of the ball, leading the team with 56 treys on the season and shooting 34.4% on the year from behind the arc
- Whitney Dunn was the league's second most efficient scorer by shooting 57.7% from the floor through the course of the season

Looking Ahead
- With and only with a win, SWOSU would play at 2:15 on Saturday against the winner of (2) Arkansas Tech and (7) Ouachita