TOPEKA, Kan. – SWOSU Women's Basketball dropped a pair of games at the GAC/MIAA Crossover to begin the 2022-23 season. The Lady Bulldogs fell 71-55 to Washburn on Friday and 69-66 to Pitt State Saturday.
SWOSU (0-2) will take nearly a week off and will be back to action next Friday, November 18 on the road against West Texas A&M. The Lady Buffs are preseason ranked No. 6 in Division II.
GAME ONE – at Washburn – 11/11/22
Hot shooting had SWOSU up by 10 points after the first quarter of the season opener. Morgan Smith had nine of her 16 points in the early going, while Layni Zinn added seven of her own. Zinn finished the game with those seven points.
Things looked to be rolling until a cold spell in the next two quarters caused issues.
The Lady Bulldogs shot 1-10 (10%) in the second and 3-16 (18%) in the third and trailed by 12 entering the fourth quarter. The margin shrunk to eight points in the early going, but Washburn squashed any chance for a comeback by narrowly outscoring the visitors in the final quarter.
SWOSU finished at 32% (20-61) shooting as a group, compared to 48% (27-56) by Washburn.
Smith led the way with 16 points in the game as SWOSU's lone double-digit scorer. The Dawgs were slightly outrebounded 38-35, while both sides had 17 turnovers in what could more than likely be chalked up to first-game jitters.
GAME TWO – vs Pitt State – 11/12/22
SWOSU found itself in a much closer game Saturday afternoon against Pitt State. Entering the fourth quarter, both sides were knotted at 47-47 and it was anyone's game.
The Lady Bulldogs outscored the Gorillas 25-20 in the third quarter to get the game tied in what was the highest scoring quarter for them all weekend.
In that final 10-minute stretch, back-to-back three pointers from PSU in the early going had SWOSU playing from behind. Nearing the midway point of the quarter, a layup from Carson Dillard and a jumper from Morgan Smith had the game back tied.
The Gorillas immediately pushed the margin back out in their favor and did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way. SWOSU trailed by one point inside of one minute and had a chance at the lead after getting a stop on defense and had another chance at the tie with a three-pointer after foul shots – but did not convert either opportunity.
Eight of Averi Zinn's 14 points came in the fourth quarter. Morgan Smith led the team for the second straight game and finished with 19 points. Macy Gore added 13.
