Setting the Scene
• Two rivalry opportunities await the SWOSU Women's Basketball team this week as they host Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday night before welcoming #18 Southeastern Oklahoma State to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Saturday afternoon
• SWOSU will be playing Northwestern on Thursday for the first time this season and looking to extend a six-game winning streak against the Rangers, who are 8-6 on the year and 4-4 in GAC play
• The Lady Bulldogs will then look to avenge an 85-76 loss against Southeastern from earlier in the season when they host the league-leading Savage Storm on Saturday
• SWOSU has the third-longest active home win streak in NCAA Division II with 37 consecutive wins at the PCEC dating back to February 2017
• SWOSU is 4-3 all-time against ranked foes at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center, which includes victories in three straight home games against ranked opponents
• The last ranked team to visit the PCEC was Lubbock Christian, who was also ranked #18 when they came to Weatherford on December 3, 2018
 
About the Opponent
Northwestern Okla. (8-6, 4-4 GAC)
• The Lady Rangers snapped a two-game slide on Saturday by defeating Ouachita 78-68 to improve to 4-4 in GAC play
• Northwestern ranks fourth in the GAC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 65.3 points per game while scoring an average of 68.4 points per game
• Three different players are scoring better than 10 points per game for NWOSU, led by Bailey Brown (15.0 ppg), Kalea King (13.9) and Jakeria Otey (10.1)
 
#18/RV Southeastern Okla. (10-2, 7-1 GAC)
• The 18th-ranked Savage Storm have won five straight games to open up a one-game lead over SWOSU and Southern Nazarene in the GAC standings
• Southeastern is the highest-scoring team in the conference at 77.3 points per game and they've got the second-best scoring margin in the league, outscoring opponents by 10.6 points on average
• In Katie Webb (19.2 ppg) and Kamryn Cantwell (17.9 ppg), Southeastern features the two highest-scoring players in the conference while Webb is also in the top 10 in rebounding with 5.8 per game
 
SWOSU Notes
• SWOSU point guard Taber Beer has scored in double figures in four straight games, including a career-high 20 points against Henderson State on Saturday as she improved her scoring average to 10.2 points per game for the year
• The Lady Bulldogs lead the conference in three-point field goals made (132) and they're ranked 13th nationally with an average of 9.4 made three-pointers per game
• With six rebounds on Saturday, junior forward Bethany Franks moved to third place in school history with 714 career rebounds, surpassing Muriel Brown (710; 1990-94)
• Franks also had four steals against HSU, her eighth game this season with four or more steals, and she now leads NCAA Division II with 60 steals (4.3 per game) for the season
• Maddie Sperle averaged 14.0 points per game last weekend to retake the team lead in scoring at 14.3 points per game for the year and she's scored at least 10 points in 9-of-14 games this season
• SWOSU is the second-highest scoring team in the conference (77.1 ppg) and the Lady Bulldogs are one of four teams in the league outscoring their opponents by more than 10.0 points per game on average
• Makyra Tramble extended her streak of scoring in double figures to seven straight games after totaling 10 points against Ouachita before adding 11 on Saturday against Henderson State
• For the year, Tramble ranks second on the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg) while leading the Lady Bulldogs with 30 made three-pointers
• Tyra Aska had played all 40 minutes in each of the last three games and she finished just two points shy of her fourth career double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds last Thursday against Ouachita
• Taylor Hedrick reached double figures in scoring for the third time this season with 10 points in addition to four rebounds against Henderson State, which improved her scoring average to 6.0 points per game for the year
 
Looking Ahead
• Saturday's game concludes a four-game home stand for the Lady Bulldogs, who head to Arkansas next weekend for a pair of conference matchups
• Next Thursday (Jan. 23), SWOSU will be in Russellville to face Arkansas Tech before heading to Searcy on Saturday (Jan. 25) to meet Harding
• SWOSU will be back at home the following weekend to host Southern Arkansas (Jan. 30) and Arkansas-Monticello (Feb. 1)