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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Women's Basketball returns to the court for the first time in 2018 following a 19-day hiatus due to Christmas Break
- The No. 19/18 Lady Bulldogs are set to host Arkansas-Monticello in GAC action on Thursday, January 4th at 5:30 pm
- The Lady Dawgs have 18 contests remaining on their regular season schedule -- all of which are conference games split right down the middle with nine of them home and nine of them away
- A year ago, SWOSU took both matchups with the Cotton Blossoms, winning 78-56 in Weatherford and 81-72 in Monticello
- In games played in Weatherford, the Lady Bulldogs are 5-1 against UAM with their lone loss coming back in the 2015-16 season in a year where SWOSU went winless against the Cotton Blossoms
 
The Opponent
Arkansas-Monticello (5-4, 1-3 GAC)
- After opening up GAC play with a win against Oklahoma Baptist, UAM has dropped three straight league games to fall to 1-3 in the GAC and in a tie for ninth place in the standings
- The Cotton Blossoms have two double digit scorers in Charlynn Perry (11.4 ppg) and Brittnee Broadway (11.3 ppg)
- The UAM defense currently ranks atop the entire GAC by holding opponents to just 58.8 points per game through nine contests

The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (139-102, 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 139-102, including a mark of 9-3 against UAM all-time
 
UAM: Tanya Ray (68-102; 7th season)
- During her time at UAM, has coached four All-Great American Conference selections
- Came to UAM after serving as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level for the previous 11 seasons (nine at Arkansas State as an assistant and two at Oklahoma State as an assistant)
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU still sits atop the standings with a 4-0 league slate as the only undefeated team in conference play, following by Southeastern, Arkansas Tech, and East Central who all have suffered one single loss in GAC action
- Three teams hold an even 2-2 league record as Henderson State, Ouachita, and Northwestern hold down sports five through seven
- Southern Nazarene currently has the eighth and final playoff spot sitting at 2-3
 
The Series
Date                Location                                           Score
*1/19/2012       Monticello, Ark. ................. W 88-82 (OT)
 *2/16/2012      Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 71-52
 *11/29/2012    Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 77-66
 *2/2/2013        Monticello, Ark. .......................... W 81-67
 *11/21/2013    Monticello, Ark. ........................ W 118-88
 *2/1/2014        Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 72-46
 *1/17/2015      Monticello, Ark. ........................... L 56-68
 *2/19/2015      Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 69-54
 *12/3/2015      Monticello, Ark. ........................... L 71-74
 *2/4/2016        Weatherford, Okla. ...................... L 85-87
*12/1/2016       Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 78-56
*2/4/2017         Monticello, Ark. .......................... W 81-72
 
SWOSU leads series 9-3 since 2012
In Monticello: SWOSU leads 4-2
In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 5-1

SWOSU Notes
- Prior to Christmas Break, SWOSU collected a hard fought bounce back win on Dec. 15th against Oklahoma Christian by a final score of 93-89 to close out the 2017 portion of the schedule
- The Lady Bulldogs trailed the Lady Eagles by six points with 2:19 remaining in the fourth quarter, but found a way to claw back and collect the victory -- avoiding their second loss of the season following a blowout loss to No. 4 Lubbock Christian a week prior
- In the newest edition of the National Coaches and Media Polls released back on December 19th and 21st, SWOSU found themselves ranked for the fourth consecutive week at No. 18 and 19 respectively
- Against OC, Bethany Franks posted the best game of her freshman campaign with a 16 point and 11 rebound performance -- collecting her second double-double of the season and earning GAC Player of the Week honors in the process
- In an opening quarter where SWOSU struggled to score, Savannah Gray knocked down three three-point shots in the first 10 minutes off of the bench to keep the Dawgs in the game -- matching her best scoring total of the season
- Hayden Priddy, the league's best free throw shooter at 91.3%, knocked down all six of her free throw attempts against OC
- Taylor Hedrick tied her career best and set a season high by grabbing seven rebounds

Looking Ahead
- In normal conference schedule format, SWOSU will take the court again just two days later on Saturday, January 6th against Southern Arkansas in an afternoon contest set to start at 1 pm inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center