GAC Tournament Quarterfinals

(6) SWOSU vs (3) Northwestern

8:00 pm || Friday, March 8 || Shawnee, Okla. (FireLake Arena)

GAME NOTES || COVERAGE LINKS

SWOSU has clinched the six seed in the 2024 Great American Conference Women's Basketball  Tournament and are preparing for a rivalry matchup with three seed Northwestern Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals. The game is slated to start at 8:00 pm on Friday evening and will be the last quarterfinal played.

Northwestern swept the regular season series against SWOSU this year 2-0. They won 66-52 in Weatherford on January 25 and 72-48 in Alva on February 15. This is the first time in SWOSU's Division-II era that Northwestern has had a regular season sweep. 

SWOSU will have to find an answer for Lady Ranger forward Faith Simpson in this game. The third leading scorer in all of Division-II has averaged 30.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in the two prior matchups.The Lady Dawgs allowed the Lady Rangers to shoot 20-plus free throws in both regular season games, while they shot just nine in the first game and four in the second. 

This will be the 12th GAC Tournament appearance for the Lady Bulldogs. They have only missed the postseason once in the history of the conference which came last season. SWOSU holds a quarterfinal record of 9-2, a semifinal record of 6-3, and a final record of 4-2. The six seed is the lowest seed that SWOSU has ever been in the GAC Tournament. They held the six seed one other time in 2015.

SWOSU and the Lady Rangers have only met once before in the GAC Tournament. It was in the 2019 GAC Tournament quarterfinals where the one seeded Lady Dawgs prevailed 78-73.  

After a hot start to the year, SWOSU has faltered off heading into the postseason. The Lady Bulldogs have lost seven of their last eight games. They once held a 9-5 record in conference play but that dwindled down to their eventual 10-12 GAC record.

The one bright spot at the end of this season is their 54-51 win over then No. 3/5 Harding on February 24. It showed the SWOSU defense at its peak, holding the Lady Bisons to sub-30% shooting for the first time all year and limiting Harding to their season low in total points.   

Averi Zinn has been the leader for the Lady Dawgs all year. Zinn was named to the All-GAC Honorable Mention team for the second straight year. She scores a team high 12.7 points per game while commanding the offense from her point guard position. Her 4.8 assists per game and 1.8 assist to turnover ratio both rank second in the conference. 

Forward Hailey Grant has come on at the right time for SWOSU. She has scored 10-plus points in four of the last six games, including a career high 19 points against East Central on February 29.

Mason Jones is another offensive player to watch for in this GAC Tournament contest. Her 8.6 points per game are second on the team. She can fill it up from long range as she has 14 games with multiple made three-pointers on the season.

Lanie Gooch brings an infectious energy to the SWOSU lineup when she is on the court. She hounds opposing ballhandlers to the tune of 1.5 steals per game and leads the Lady Bulldogs in rebounding with 5.7 rebounds per game.

A good start is make or break for SWOSU. They have a 10-1 record when leading at halftime in 2023-24.