Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Women's Basketball enters the new calendar year with a pair of conference home games, the first of which comes on Thursday night as the Lady Bulldogs welcome Arkansas-Monticello to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- SWOSU enters 2019 ranked #21 in the D2SIDA Top 25 poll and just outside the national rankings with votes received in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll
- The Lady Bulldogs have won nine consecutive games and they are 6-0 at home this season, riding a 24-game win streak in games played at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- SWOSU has won four consecutive games against the Cotton Blossoms and the last two meetings between the teams in Weatherford
- Senior standout Hailey Tucker became the GAC's all-time leading scorer earlier this season when she surpassed former UAM standout Jordan Goforth, who amassed 1,803 points for the Blossoms from 2012-16
 
About the Opponent
Arkansas-Monticello (3-6, 2-2 GAC)
- The Cotton Blossoms had a three-game win streak snapped prior to the holiday break by Delta State, but UAM has won their last two conference games over Arkansas Tech and Henderson State
- UAM has the fourth-best scoring defense in the conference, holding their opponents to 62.4 points per contest while also ranking fourth in the league with an average of 11.0 steals per game
- MacKenzie Johnson leads the Blossoms with 19.7 points per game and she is joined in double figures by Chari Swift (13.4 ppg) and Berniezha Tidwell (12.5 ppg)
- Veteran coach Tanya Ray is in her eighth season leading the Blossoms, with five GAC Tournament appearances to her credit
 
The Series

Date	Location	Score
11/27/87	Plainview, Texas	W, 73-64
11/24/88	Plainview, Texas	W, 76-75
11/25/89	Plainview, Texas	W, 100-88
3/20/90	Jackson, Tenn	W, 82-75
11/26/92	Plainview, Texas	W, 67-54
1/6/95	Russellville, Ark.	W, 87-70
1/19/12	Monticello	W, 88-82 (OT)
2/16/12	Weatherford	W,71-52
11/29/12	Weatherford	W, 77-66
2/2/13	Monticello	W, 81-67
11/21/13	Monticello	W, 118-88
2/1/14	Weatherford	W, 72-46
1/17/15	Monticello	L, 56-68
2/19/15	Weatherford	W, 69-54
12/3/15	Monticello	L, 71-74
2/4/16	Weatherford	L, 85-87
12/1/16	Weatherford	W, 78-56
2/4/17	Monticello	W, 81-72
1/4/18	Weatherford	W, 85-80
2/10/18	Monticello	W, 96-46
NCAA Division II Era: SWOSU Leads 17-3
in Weatherford: SWOSU Leads 6-1
in Monticello: SWOSU Leads 5-2
Neutral Site: SWOSU Leads 6-0
at Pioneer Cellular Event Center: SWOSU Leads 4-1

 
SWOSU Notes
- All 14 players who suited up against the University of the Southwest scored at least two points as the Lady Bulldogs wrapped up exhibition play with a 135-26 victory over the Mustangs last Saturday
- Hailey Tucker led the Lady Dawgs with 23 points in that contest, but stats from that game will not count towards career stats
- Tucker moved into sole possession of second place on SWOSU's all-time scoring list with 15 points in the Lady Bulldogs victory over Oklahoma Baptist and she enters Thursday's matchup with 1,860 points to her credit
- SWOSU currently leads the GAC and ranks seventh nationally with a scoring offense of 84.1 points per game, having scored 80 or more points in seven-of-ten games this season
- Following her second double-double (13 pts, 13 reb vs. OBU) of the season and 12th of her career, Bethany Franks sits fourth on the team with 9.6 points per game while leading the Great American Conference with 9.5 rebounds per game this season
- Hayden Priddy recently dished out her 400th career assist, becoming the first player in program history and second in conference history to reach that milestone
- Priddy continues to climb up the record books in several categories, including ranking sixth in both SWOSU and GAC history with 1,394 career points
- Tyra Aska is 71 points away from becoming the 13th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point milestone, currently ranking 15th on the scoring list with 929 points
- Taylor Hedrick is ranked fourth on the team with 8.6 points per game after scoring nine in the Lady Dawgs victory over Oklahoma Baptist
 
Looking Ahead
- The Lady Bulldogs are back at home on Saturday afternoon to host Southern Arkansas in the final game of a four-game home stand
- The conference schedule then begins to turn and sends SWOSU on the road for their next four games, starting with a weekend road trip to Arkadelphia, Ark., to face Ouachita (Jan. 10) and Henderson State (Jan. 12)