ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – SWOSU Women's Basketball forced Henderson State into 22 turnovers on Thursday night and went on to defeat the Reddies 90-78 for their fifth consecutive victory.

The win did a couple of things for the Lady Bulldogs. It made them the first team to clinch a spot in the 2022 Great American Conference Tournament coming up on March 3-6, as well as marked the sixth time in seven seasons they have amassed 20 wins in a season.

Their only season in that span they did not get to 20 wins? Last year in a shortened COVID season.

"We can be our own worst enemy, but the girls brought it tonight and I couldn't be prouder," Head Coach Kelsi Musick said in her post game interview. "We're right where we want to be and have a lot of goals in front of us. But right now, it's time to think about Ouachita across the street for Saturday."  

Those 22 turnovers turned into 29 points for the Lady Bulldogs who were the beneficiaries of the defensive pressure all night. Though at times the defense had small breakdowns, which Musick alluded to in her post game interview, it was clear the pressure gave Henderson State issues.  

SWOSU built their lead to double digits midway through the second quarter and the margin stayed there essentially the rest of the way. Henderson State had small spurts in the second and early third quarters to cut the game to single digits, but the Dawgs constantly answered to eliminate any threat of a momentum shift.

In a game where SWOSU shot just 20% from beyond the arc (3-for-15), they instead utilized the paint and second chance points to score their buckets. They ended with 58 points in the paint and 20 second chance points off 15 offensive rebounds.

Makyra Tramble led all scorers with 25 points and collected her fifth double-double of the season by adding in 14 rebounds. For the first time in five games, Karly Gore got back to double digits in scoring and finished with 15 points as SWOSU's second highest scorer. Lauren Ramey added 12 points, while Bethany Franks notched eight points and outrebounded Tramble by one – with 15 boards.

Layni Zinn also returned to the lineup after missing games due to an injury. She finished with six points. 

SWOSU moves to 20-4 overall and 14-2 in the GAC. They will remain in Arkadelphia and battle Ouachita on Saturday across the street. Tipoff for that contest is set for 1pm.