SHAWNEE, Okla. – The SWOSU women's basketball team kicks off the 2023-24 season against Washburn and Pittsburg State on November 10-11 at the GAC/MIAA Crossover held in Shawnee.

The Lady Bulldogs finished last season with an 8-19 record which included an 8-14 mark in GAC competition. The rebuilding season saw them narrowly miss the GAC Tournament for the first time.

SWOSU returns junior All-Conference selection Averi Zinn to the lineup who led the team with 14.3 points and 3.4 assists per game. She ranked second in the GAC with 2.3 steals per game. Other familiar faces coming back include additional juniors Layni Zinn and JaMaya Johnson.

Head coach Jeff Zinn enters year two as leader of the program with his first full recruiting cycle under his belt. He's joined by new assistant coaches James Bagwell, a familiar face in Weatherford, and Kaytlen Johnson.

10 new players highlight the season's roster. Two incoming freshman and a host of transfers from junior college, NCAA Division I & II, and NAIA levels complete the 13-member roster.

SWOSU will compete in two early season non-conference tournaments – the GAC/MIAA Crossover in Shawnee on Nov. 10-11, and the Lone Star Conference Crossover in Lubbock, Texas on Nov. 17-18 – and mix in their home opener against Oklahoma City (Nov. 14) prior to the start of conference play on November 30.

Bulldog Nation will have 13 chances to catch the Lady Bulldogs in action this season. 11 of those will come against conference opponents, with two other non-conference games against out-of-conference foes.  

The GAC Tournament will commence March 7-10, 2024 in Shawnee, Oklahoma at FireLake Arena. The top-8 teams in the league qualify for postseason play.

"We've got a great group with 10 new players who had chemistry from the start," said head coach Jeff Zinn in his GAC Media Day appearance last month. "Our key all year will be to continue to build one step at a time and try to become a great defensive team while being a very efficient 'share the ball' offense that plays at a high speed."

You can watch the entirety of SWOSU's 2023-24 Media Day with Coach Zinn, Averi Zinn and Mason Jones below.