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Setting the Scene
- No. 13 SWOSU Women's Basketball closes out the first half of conference play on Saturday against Oklahoma Baptist on the road in Shawnee
- Saturday also wraps up SWOSU's busy week of games after the Lady Bulldogs played Northwestern on Monday and Southern Nazarene on Wednesday
- This is the third year SWOSU and Oklahoma Baptist will meet each other two times in the regular season as a part of the GAC schedule after the Lady Bison began competing in the conference as part of their transition into NCAA Division II
- The GAC series between the Lady Dawgs and Bison is an even 2-2, with both teams unblemished inside their home arenas
- SWOSU fell to OBU 81-79 in Shawnee last season after the Lady Bulldogs fell behind as many as 23 in the first half, but rebounded in Weatherford with an 87-59 rout of the Lady Bison 
 
The Opponent
Oklahoma Baptist (9-7, 4-6 GAC)
- Just one game away from the midway point of the GAC schedule, OBU sits tied for eighth in the league with Northwestern
- Their offense is second in the GAC by averaging 83.0 points per game (behind SWOSU)
- In contrary, their defense is second worst in the league behind SWOSU in scoring defense by allowing 75.2 points per game
- McKenzie Cooper (16.8 ppg) and Tasha Edge (16.2 ppg) both rank in the top five in the GAC in scoring

The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (145-102, 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 145-102, including a mark of 3-3 against OBU all-time
 
OBU: Casi Bays (104-68; 6th season)
- Bays has been head coach at OBU since 2012 after two seasons as the assistant coach of the team
- In her second season at the helm, Bays was named Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Bison to a 28-6 record
 
Checking the Standings
- Henderson State was victorious on Thursday night against Harding, pushing their winning streak to seven games -- matching SWOSU's current winning streak
- East Central snapped their losing streak with a win over Oklahoma Baptist on the road in Shawnee on Thursday night
 
The Series
Date                Location                                           Score
*1/23/2016       Weatherford, Okla..................... W 84-77
*2/20/2016       Shawnee, Okla. ........................... L 81-85
*1/21/2017       Shawnee, Okla. ........................... L 79-81
*2/16/2017       Weatherford, Okla...................... W 87-59
 
GAC series ties 2-2
SWOSU leads series 2-0 in Weatherford
OBU leads series 2-0 in Shawnee

SWOSU Notes
- Hayden Priddy will enter Saturday looking to obtain a career milestone, needing just four points to join the 1,000-point career scoring club in her third year with as a Bulldog
- Against SNU on Wednesday, Priddy again dished out seven assists for the second consecutive game and she now has collected 5+ assists in six straight games
- Wednesday was a joint effort from the offense unit as all five starters finished the game in double figures, led by Hailey Tucker with 17
- Taylor Hedrick ended with 13, her fifth time this season in double figures
- Maddie Sperle scored nine of SWOSU's 22 fourth-quarter points, marking the second straight game the freshman has finished in the scoring column
- So far this week, the Lady Bulldogs are 2-0 and outscoring opponents 188-142 -- having notched 95-point and 93-point scoring efforts so far
- This hot week also has SWOSU shooting an even 50% from the field (64-of-128) and 48% from beyond the arc (23-of-47)
- On Wednesday against Southern Nazarene, the defense stepped up to hold the Crimson Storm to just 30.1% shooting on the night which marked SWOSU's defensive effort of the season in terms of opponent field goal percentage
- This season, SWOSU holds a +143 scoring margin in the first and third quarter of games combined, but just a +22 margin in the second and fourth quarters combined

Looking Ahead
- Next week the Lady Bulldogs will be on the road in Arkansas against Henderson State (Thursday, Jan. 25) and Ouachita Baptist (Saturday, Jan. 27)