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Setting the Scene
- The Lady Bulldogs won't have much time to dwell on their first loss since Dec. 7th as they will travel to Alva to face rival Northwestern on Monday (Feb. 19) at 5:30 pm inside Percefull Fieldhouse
- The loss to East Central on Saturday was the first GAC defeat of the season for SWOSU, who was trying to become the first women's team in the conference to go undefeated in league play during a regular season
- Instead, the Dawgs are now 18-1 in conference play and still hold a two game lead over the field with three games left to play on the schedule while holding all possible tiebreakers with the teams underneath them
- SWOSU holds a 9-2 slate against Northwestern in the GAC era, but both of those losses have come inside Percefull Fieldhouse including a loss last season in Alva
 
The Opponent
Northwestern (11-14, 7-12 GAC)
- The Rangers are playing for their postseason lives coming into the final stretch of the season, currently sitting one game out of a share of the eighth and final playoff spot
- NWOSU suffered from SWOSU's loss to East Central -- had the Dawgs won, the Rangers would be tied for seventh in the GAC with Oklahoma Baptist
- Since the last meeting with the Lady Bulldogs, Northwestern is just 3-7
- Jade Jones (13.5 ppg) leads three players who are averaging double figures in conference play (Kinsey Neiderer 10.6 ppg, Selena McDonald 10.3 ppg)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (153-103, 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 153-103, including a mark of 10-2 against NWOSU all-time
 
NWOSU: Tasha Diesselhorst (20-33; 2nd season)
- Diesselhorst is heading into her second season as the head coach for Northwestern Lady Ranger basketball, following a solid first season at the helm where her team just narrowly missed the conference tournament
- She arrived at Northwestern following a nine-year stint at Pond Creek-Hunter HS

Checking the Standings
- Harding is now the hottest team around the league, holding a five game winning streak coming into the final week of the season; followed by Arkansas Tech with a four game winning streak themselves
- Northwestern will take on East Central who sits one game ahead of them in the standings on Thursday (Feb. 22) in a pivotal game with postseason implications
- Southern Arkansas also has some work to do sitting at 7-12 and tied with NWOSU
 
The Series
Date                Location                                           Score
*1/26/2013       Alva, Okla. ................................ . W 78-41
 *2/28/2013      Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 80-66
 *1/25/2014      Weatherford, Okla..................... W 87-68
 *2/27/2014      Alva, Okla. .................................. W 71-68
 *1/22/2015      Alva, Okla. .................................... L 31-61
 *2/26/2015      Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 83-72
 *1/18/2016      Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 89-50
*2/15/2016       Alva, Okla. .................................. W 79-65
*1/16/2017       Alva, Okla. .................................... L 80-87
*2/13/2017       Weatherford, Okla...................... W 80-65
*1/15/2018       Weatherford, Okla...................... W 95-81
 
GAC series: SWOSU leads 9-2
In Weatherford- SWOSU leads 6-0
In Alva- SWOSU leads 3-2

SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU's NCAA Division II program best 15 game winning streak was halted against East Central on Saturday when they fell to the Tigers 76-66
- The Lady Bulldogs are now 1-2 this season when scoring in the 60-point range, with their lone win a close 68-66 victory over Ouachita
- The offense has failed to score its season average (84.5 ppg) in four of the last five contests
- In SWOSU's two losses this season, their opponent has shot better than 50% from the field (LCU 50.8%, ECU 53.3%) while the Dawgs shot under 40% in both games (LCU 39.1% , ECU 34.4%)
- Both of the Lady Bulldogs' losses this season have also come on the road
- Bethany Franks recorded her ninth double-double of the season against ECU, totaling 12 points and 16 rebounds -- one off tying her career high in rebounding
- Hayden Priddy connected on 4-of-9 from beyond the arc against the Tigers, her second straight game hitting four three point shots and the ninth time this season she has hit at least three deep balls in a game (season high seven against Northwestern)
- Hailey Tucker nearly snapped her streak of double-digit scoring against ECU, but extended it to 24 games after tallying 11 against the Tigers -- her second lowest scoring total of the season (eight against Emporia State)
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will take on Oklahoma Baptist at home on Wednesday for Senior Night and wrap up the regular season on Saturday against Southern Nazarene in Bethany