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Setting the Scene
- The No. 10/7 Lady Bulldogs will take their 12 game winning streak on the road with them to Magnolia when they take on Southern Arkansas on Thursday in more GAC action
- The Lady Muleriders have won their last three contests coming into Thursday and currently sit in a three-way tie for seventh place in the GAC standings and in a battle for a postseason spot
- Back on January 6th, SWOSU was on the winning end of a 98-60 rout of Southern Arkansas in Weatherford in a game where the offense shot greater than 50% as a team
- In the GAC era, the Lady Dawgs have dominated the series with Southern Arkansas by holding a 12-1 overall series record against SAU
- SWOSU will bring a six game winning streak over the Lady Muleriders into the contest that dates back to the 2014-15 season
- During the win streak over SAU, no game has been decided by fewer than 10 points
 
The Opponent
Southern Arkansas (7-14, 6-9 GAC)
- Finds themselves in a log jam in the GAC standings, with one game separating three teams ahead of the Lady Muleriders, three teams tied with them, and two just below them
- They are riding a three game winning streak over conference foes, but their last two games have been decided by two points or fewer
- In 15 conference games this season, the Lady Muleriders lead the league in steals by averaging 9.7 per game 
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kelsi Musick (150-102, 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 150-102, including a mark of 12-1 against SAU all-time
 
SAU: Julio Pacheco (32-43; 3rd season)
- Named the Great American Conference's Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm during the 2015-16 season
- Seven years prior to his arrival in Magnolia, Pacheco was the top assistant at fellow GAC opponent and perennial national contender, Arkansas Tech

Checking the Standings
- Thanks to SWOSU's victory over Arkansas Tech, the Lady Dawgs now have distanced themselves even further away from the field and now hold a three-game lead over the Golden Suns 
- The GAC standings for seeds four through eight continue to be a cluster with eight teams battling for five postseason spots
 
The Series
Date                Location                                           Score
*1/21/2012       Magnolia, Ark. ............................ W 80-73
*2/18/2012       Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 98-66
*12/1/2012       Weatherford, Okla. .................. W 101-59
*1/31/2013       Magnolia, Ark. ............................ W 87-59
*11/23/2013     Magnolia, Ark. ............................ W 76-62
*1/30/2014       Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 86-71
*1/10/2015       Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 73-70
*2/14/2015       Magnolia, Ark. ............................. L 53-58
*12/5/2015       Magnolia, Ark. ............................ W 89-78
*2/6/2016         Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 98-80
*12/3//16          Weatherford, Okla. .................... W 71-61
*2/2/2017         Magnolia, Ark. ............................ W 79-68
*1/6/2018         Weatherford, Okla...................... W 98-60
 
GAC Era: SWOSU leads 12-1
In Weatherford: SWOSU leads 7-0
In Magnolia: SWOSU leads 5-1

- SWOSU Notes
SWOSU's victory over Arkansas Tech moved their record to 20-1 this season -- the third consecutive 20-win season for the program and the fifth since Kelsi Musick has been at the helm
- The offense is scoring below their season scoring average on the road in nine games this season, averaging 81.9 points per game in road venues compared to 87.8 points per game inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- The Lady Dawgs' 85.3 points per game continues to rank them nationally in scoring offense, good enough for fourth in all of NCAA Division II and a spot in front of in-region foe Augustana (82.6 ppg)  
- Shots weren't falling on Saturday vs Tech as the Lady Bulldogs shot 37% from the field for just the seventh game this season finishing under 40% shooting
- Defensively, SWOSU held ATU to just 33% shooting as a team to counteract their poor shooting afternoon
- Bethany Franks notched her seventh double-double of the season against the Golden Suns, posting 10 points and 13 boards to follow up just a three point scoring night against Harding which snapped her four game scoring streak of 10+ points
- Alexa Harvey hit big shots off of the bench against Tech, totaling nine points (3-for-5 from three) for the second straight game and for the third time this season
- SWOSU hasn't lost a game in two months, dating back to December 7

Looking Ahead
- Saturday the Lady Bulldogs will conclude their Arkansas road trip with Arkansas-Monticello, set to tipoff at the usual 1 pm time