Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Women's Basketball will face the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, Central Missouri, in the semifinals of the Central Regional Tournament on Saturday evening at 5:00 pm in Hays, Kansas
- The Lady Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals with a 71-65 victory over Emporia State on Friday while UCM eliminated Lindenwood from the postseason with a 76-64 victory in the quarterfinals
- This will be the second NCAA Tournament meeting between the two programs, with SWOSU claiming a 73-71 victory in the 2013 Regional Quarterfinals in Topeka, Kansas
- That victory had been SWOSU's lone NCAA tournament win until they defeated Emporia State on Friday
- UCM will be the second ranked foe for the Lady Dawgs to face this season after coming in at No. 23 in the latest WBCA Coaches Poll and No. 22 in the final D2SIDA Media Poll
- SWOSU is ranked No. 7 in the Coaches Poll and No. 4 in the Media Poll heading into the national tournament
 
About the Opponent
(3) #23/22 Central Missouri (25-6)
- UCM is in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in the last 15 seasons and they've won seven straight tournament games after claiming the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship with a 66-52 victory over Ashland last March
- The Jennies are ranked third in the MIAA in scoring, putting up 72.3 points per game while holding their opponents to an average of 62.5 points for the fourth-best scoring defense in the league
- Four players earned All-MIAA recognition for UCM, including First Team selections Morgan Fleming and Paige Redmond, who was also chosen as a First Team All-Central Region selection
- Dave Slifer, the reigning WBCA Central Region Coach of the Year, is in his 15th season at UCM, where he has won at least 20 games nine times, including a school-record 30 wins in their 2018 National Championship run
 
The Series

Date	Location	Score
11/21/87	Dodge City, Kan.	L, 65-82
3/15/13	Topeka, Kan.	W, 73-71
All-Time: Series Tied 1-1
NCAA Division II Era: SWOSU Leads 1-0
Neutral: Series Tied 1-1
in NCAA Tournament: SWOSU Leads 1-0

 
SWOSU Notes
- With their 31st victory of the season on Friday, SWOSU now has the third-most single-season wins in program history and most of the NCAA Division II era
- The 31 victories also ties the single-season Great American Conference record for victories, matching the mark set by the 2016-17 Harding women's basketball team
- Hailey Tucker led the Lady Bulldogs with 20 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots against Emporia State, good for her 13th 20-point game of the season
- Bethany Franks continued her streak of scoring in double figures with a massive double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds in the win over Emporia State
- Franks has scored at least 10 points in six straight games, and eight-of-ten overall, and she's now recorded five double-doubles this season and 15 in her career
- Hayden Priddy scored 14 of her 18 points against ESU in the fourth quarter, helping the Lady Bulldogs outscore ESU 19-5 in the final 10 minutes
- Despite being held to two points against ESU, Tyra Aska moved into SWOSU's top-10 list for all-time scoring and she needs 17 points to surpass Paige Adams (2001-05) to move up to ninth
- Taber Beer came off the bench for crucial minutes in the regional quarterfinals, knocking down 2-of-5 three-point attempts and finishing with eight points, two rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes of action
- Emporia State became the first SWOSU opponent this season to finish a game with more steals than the Lady Dawgs (9-8), but that keep SWOSU from holding a 15-to-11 edge in points off turnovers
- After hitting 19-of-24 (79.2%) free throws against Emporia State, the Lady Bulldogs have now hit at least 70% of their free throw attempts in 17 consecutive games
- SWOSU will be making their second all-time appearance in the NCAA Central Regional semifinals, with the first being a 68-64 loss to Augustana on March 16, 2013
 
Looking Ahead
- The winner of Saturday's semifinal matchup advances to the Central Regional Championship game, where they will face the winner between (1) Fort Hays State and (5) MSU-Moorhead at 7:00 pm on Monday night