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Setting the Scene
- The No. 10/9 Lady Bulldogs return home this week with a pair of home games against Arkansas foes, first against a Harding team who is beginning to come on strong having won three straight games coming into Thursday's contest
- SWOSU was victorious against the Lady Bisons in the first meeting this season with an 84-73 victory in Searcy -- just the Dawgs' second win inside Rhodes Reaves Fieldhouse in the GAC era
- No team has won more than two straight games in this series dating back to 2012, but SWOSU does still hold a 9-7 lead in the series which includes a 4-2 mark in Weatherford
- That fact will be put to the test on Thursday as the Lady Bulldogs have won two consecutive matchups with Harding after taking HU down 80-79 in Weatherford last season which came down to the final possession
- Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 pm from inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
 
The Opponent
Harding (9-12, 5-8 GAC)
- Has won three straight conference games against UAM, ECU, and SE
- Sits in a four-way tie for seventh place in the GAC standings with a 5-8 league record and one game out of fourth place where there is a three-way tie with 6-7 records
- They are allowing 67.1 points per game on defense and holding opponents to 38% shooting, marks that ranks fourth and third in the league respectively
- Offensively they are led by 11-point scorers Kellie Lampo (11.5 ppg) and Sydney Layrock (11.1 ppg)

The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (148-102, 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 148-102, including a mark of 9-7 against HU all-time
 
HU: Tim Kirby (250-123; 13th season)
- Kirby has led the Lady Bisons to 11 straight conference tournament berths and directed the 2017 team to a 31-4 record and an appearance in the national semifinals
- His teams have won GAC regular-season championships in 2014, 2015 and 2017, qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Tournament all three seasons
 
Checking the Standings
- Seven teams are currently within one game from each other in the standings and fighting for postseason spots four through eight with 6-7 and 5-8 records
- SWOSU remains two games up on Arkansas Tech who is in second place and riding a six game winning streak
- Henderson State sits alone in third place two games behind Tech in second, but also three games above the three teams tied for the fourth spot
 
The Series
Date                Location                                           Score
*1/14/2012       Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 66-61
 *2/11/2012      Searcy, Ark. .................................. L 54-73
 3/4/2012         Bartlesville, Okla. ....................... W 69-58
 *1/3/2013        Searcy, Ark. .................................. L 61-69
 *2/9/2013        Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 84-69
 3/9/2013         Bartlesville, Okla. ....................... W 82-68
 *1/2/2014        Weatherford, Okla. ...................... L 69-95
 *2/8/2014        Searcy, Ark. .................................. L 74-89
 3/9/2014         Bartlesville, Okla. ....................... W 78-74
 *11/22/2014    Searcy, Ark. ...............................L 69-105
 *2/7/2015        Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 78-65
 *11/21/2015    Weatherford, Okla. ......................L 74-85
*1/30/2016       Searcy, Ark. ................................ W 79-77
*11/19/2016     Searcy, Ark. .................................L 72-76
*1/26/2017       Weatherford, Okla...................... W 80-79
*12/2/2017       Searcy, Ark.................................. W 84-73
 
GAC Era: SWOSU leads 9-7
In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 4-2
In Searcy: Harding leads 5-2
In Bartlesville: SWOSU leads 3-0

SWOSU Notes
- The Lady Bulldogs have never swept the regular season series against Harding and can do so with a victory over the Lady Bisons on Thursday
- Against Harding in Searcy back on December 2, both Hayden Priddy and Hailey Tucker had success against the Lady Bisons when they both tallied 24 points
- Freshman Bethany Franks is coming on strong the last four games, averaging 17.3 points per game over that time which leads the team during that stretch
- Franks and Hailey Tucker have combined for 12 double-doubles this season with each having six apiece
- If adding Hayden Priddy's Northwestern scoring outburst to the mix, she leads the team in scoring over the past five games by averaging 18.2 points
- With Franks and Priddy performing well as of late, Tucker's role has slightly decreased and she has now has failed to reach her scoring average of 20.4 ppg in five consecutive games
- SWOSU has picked it up on the defensive side of the ball too, holding opponents below the Dawgs' season defensive scoring average of 74.9 ppg in three of the last four games (93-61 SNU, 71-61 HSU, 76-73 OUA)  
- The Lady Bulldogs rank one, two, and three in the GAC in players with the most minutes played this season (Tucker, 36.5 mpg; Priddy, 34.4 mpg; Aska 34.0 mpg) 

Looking Ahead
- Saturday will feature a matchup of the league's top two teams when Arkansas Tech visits the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- Tipoff has been altered for that game and will now commence at 11 am, with the men to follow at 1 pm