Setting the Scene
- For the third time in the eight-year history of the Great American Conference, the Women's Championship game of the GAC Basketball Tournament will feature SWOSU and Arkansas Tech
- The Lady Bulldogs advanced to the title game for the first time since 2016 with a 70-42 victory over Harding on Saturday afternoon
- SWOSU makes their fifth appearance in the GAC Tournament Championship game and third against ATU, who has won the previous meetings in 2013 and 2016
- The Lady Bulldogs won the conference tournament crown in 2012 and 2014 with victories over Harding
- The winner of the Tournament Championship will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championship, which will be held next week at the home of the top-seeded team in the region
- SWOSU entered the week as the No. 1 team in the Central Region while ranked in the top 10 of both national polls for the second straight week
 
About the Opponent
(7) Arkansas Tech (15-15)
- The Golden Suns advanced to the GAC Championship game for the fifth straight year by upsetting East Central and Southern Nazarene in the first two rounds of the tournament
- As the No. 7 seed, ATU becomes the lowest-seeded team in conference history to play for the championship
- Jayana Sanders led the Golden Suns with 21 points and seven rebounds against SNU in the semifinals while Ke'Vonsha Stackhouse added 18 points
- Arkansas Tech is led by veteran coach Dave Wilbers, who has guided ATU to five conference tournament championships and eight NCAA Division II Regional appearances
 
Lady Dawgs vs. Arkansas Tech at the GAC Tournament
2013: (1) Arkansas Tech def. (2) SWOSU 70-66 (OT) in Championship Game
2016: (1) Arkansas Tech def. (3) SWOSU 106-85 in Championship Game
2017: (2) Arkansas Tech def. (3) SWOSU 96-60 in Semifinals
 
SWOSU Notes
- With Saturday's victory over Harding, SWOSU improved to 14-5 all-time at the GAC Tournament and 5-2 in the semifinal round
- SWOSU is 0-3 all-time at the conference tournament against Arkansas Tech, with losses in the championship game in 2013 and 2016 along with a semifinal defeat in 2017
- The Lady Bulldogs 17 steals against Harding set a new GAC Tournament record and they turned 21 turnovers by Harding into 21 points
- SWOSU held Harding to a season-low 42 points on 34.0% (17-50) shooting, which is the lowest-scoring night against the Lady Bulldogs this season
- Bethany Franks was one rebound away from a double-double against Harding, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds while also matching the tournament-record with seven steals
- Franks matched her career-high with seven steals, a number she also collected in the Lady Dawgs win at Harding on February 28th
- GAC Player of the Year Hayden Priddy led the Lady Bulldogs with 19 points in the semifinals along with three rebounds and three assists
- Hailey Tucker also neared a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds against Harding while filling out her stat sheet with three blocked shots and three steals
- Taylor Hedrick snapped a five-game streak with fewer than 10 points scored by hitting 6-of-11 field goal attempts against Harding, good for 16 points
- Tyra Aska stepped up to the challenge defensively against Harding and set a new career-high with four blocked shots, including a rejection on two separate three-point attempts
- Maddie Sperle set a new career-high with seven rebounds in 12 minutes of action against Harding on Saturday
 
Looking Ahead
- The winner of Sunday's Championship game receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championships, which will take place on March 15-16, 18
- The Division II selection show will take place on Sunday evening at 9:00 pm and be streamed online at NCAA.com