Setting the Scene
• The 21st-ranked Lady Bulldog Basketball team brings a four-game win streak into 2020 and a pair of matchups in Arkansas to ring in the new year
• SWOSU will take on two teams with matching records of 8-2, starting at Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday evening before facing Southern Arkansas on Saturday afternoon
• The Lady Dawgs have won four straight games following their lone conference loss, which came at Southeastern Oklahoma State on November 23rd and they are tied atop the GAC standings with four teams - including UAM - at 3-1
• SWOSU has won six consecutive matchups against Arkansas-Monticello and eight straight over Southern Arkansas and they're a combined 13-3 on the road against the two teams in Great American Conference play
• Head Coach Kelsi Musick enters the weekend with 199 career wins at SWOSU and she'll have two chances to record her 200th victory as the leader of the Lady Bulldogs
 
About the Opponent
Arkansas-Monticello (8-2, 3-1 GAC)
• After being picked 12th in the GAC preseason poll, the Cotton Blossoms won their first seven games of the season and they're currently tied atop the league standings at 3-1
• UAM has the top scoring defense in the conference, holding opponents to just 53.3 points per game while scoring 69.9 points per for the second-best scoring margin in the GAC at +16.6
• Berniezha Tidwell is the Blossoms' top player, leading the team in points (17.1), rebounds (6.3) and assists (3.8) per game
 
Southern Arkansas (8-2, 2-2 GAC)
• The Muleriders have nearly tripled their win total from the 2018-19 season before the turn of the new year with eight wins in their first 10 games this year
• SAU is the third-highest scoring team in the conference, putting up 78.6 points per game while outscoring their opponents by 13.4 points on average
• Diamond Morris is SAU's lone double-digit scorer with 10.6 points per game while five other players are posting between 7.0 and 9.5 points per contest
 
SWOSU Notes
• The Lady Bulldogs enter 2020 as one of five teams tied atop the Great American Conference standings at 3-1 and they'll meet one of the teams they're tied with on Thursday at UAM
• Senior guard Tyra Aska scored a season-high 20 points on 9-16 shooting at Oklahoma Baptist while also finishing one rebound off her season high with eight boards
• Aska is now tied with Bethany Franks for third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 points per game
• In addition to her scoring, Franks leads the conference and ranks second in NCAA Division II with 4.5 steals per game and she's sixth in the GAC with 8.1 rebounds per game
• SWOSU had four different players in double figures scoring at OBU, led by Aska and Maddie Sperle with 20 points apiece in addition to Makyra Tramble (13) and Franks (11)
• Through 10 collegiate games, Tramble has scored in double figures eight times and over 20 points on three occasions and she's second on the team with 13.5 points per game for the year
• The Lady Bulldogs have scored more than 70 points in all but one game this season and they are second in the conference and 25th nationally with a scoring average of 79.6 points per game
• SWOSU ranks second in the conference and 13th in the country with an average of 13.1 steals per game with three players - Franks, Tramble, Aska - averaging better than 2.0 steals per game individually
• Taber Beer has dished out at least four assists in 8-of-10 games this season and she's currently tied for third in the league with an average of 4.8 assists per game
• Making just her third appearance of the season, freshman guard Lauren Hapgood scored five points in five minutes against Oklahoma Baptist, hitting both of her field goal attempts while also dishing out two assists
• SWOSU ranks third in the GAC in assists with an average of 15.3 per game and the Lady Dawgs have an assist:turnover ratio of 1.1:1, which ranks second among league schools
 
Looking Ahead
• Starting next week, the Lady Bulldogs will be at home for four straight games, beginning on Thursday (Jan. 9) against Ouachita
• Other matchups in the home stand will be against Henderson State (Jan. 11), Northwestern Oklahoma State (Jan. 16) and Southeastern Oklahoma State (Jan. 18)
• Following the home games, the Lady Dawgs make the road trip to Arkansas Tech (Jan. 23) and Harding (Jan. 25)