Thursday, Feb. 27 – SWOSU at East Central – 5:30 pm

Ada, Okla. (Kerr Activities Center)

Saturday, March 1 – SWOSU vs Southern Nazarene – 1:00 pm

Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Event Center)

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SWOSU Women's Basketball (15-11, 11-9 GAC) is coming off a perfect Arkansas trip and is winners of five of the last six and will look to carry that momentum into the final week of the regular season before heading to Fort Smith to compete in the GAC Tournament.

This week, they will travel to Ada to face East Central, a team they beat in Weatherford after closing the game with a 6-0 run in the final minute, stunning the Tigers 62-60. Then, the Lady Bulldogs will host league-leading SNU on Saturday, March 1 in the final regular-season game of the year, where seven seniors will be honored before their final game inside the PEC.

With two games to play, SWOSU currently holds the fifth spot in the conference standings -- one game ahead of Northwestern in sixth. 

East Central (10-14, 8-12 GAC) enters this game in seventh place in the conference with a one-game lead over Southern Arkansas and Henderson State for the final spot to make the postseason. They have the lowest offensive production in the GAC, averaging just 58.9 points per game, but boast the third-best defense, allowing 59.2 points per game to opponents. They hold the third-highest three-point percentage at 32.8% inside the league but only make 5.3 three-pointers per game, ranking 10th in the GAC. Katie Edelen averages a team-high 14 points, while Eva Fernandez adds 10.7 points per game, along with team highs in assists (3.5 apg) and steals (1.6 spg).

ECU and SWOSU have met 60 times since 1998, with SWOSU holding a 37-23 lead. In Ada, the Lady Dawgs are 15-13, including the last meeting between the two teams in the Tigers' home, where SWOSU came out on top with a 65-35 win on December 9, 2023.

Southern Nazarene (20-6, 17-3 GAC) is looking to win a third consecutive GAC regular-season championship and will win it outright by winning both games this week. They could also share the title with Harding, depending on how the final week plays out. SNU took down SWOSU earlier in the year, 74-49, in Bethany. Hannah Giddy leads the way for the Storm, averaging nearly a double-double with 16.1 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game (second in GAC). She has 14 double-doubles this year, tied for 10th in the nation and tied for most in the GAC (Sage Hawley, Harding). They lock down on the defensive end, allowing just 55.8 points per game on 36% shooting, both stats leading the GAC. They have the second-best turnover margin behind SWOSU at +3.88 per game. SNU blocks 3.88 shots per game, also second-best, behind Oklahoma Baptist.

Since 2012, SWOSU has a 19-10 advantage but has lost the last five meetings between the two teams. At home, the Lady Bulldogs hold a 10-4 lead.

Averi Zinn still leads the way in scoring for the Lady Bulldogs with 11.3 points per game. She also adds a team-high in assists with 3.2 and steals at 1.8 per game, ranking sixth in the conference. Layni Zinn (9.8 ppg) and Hailey Grant (9.5 ppg) round out the top three, with Grant averaging 1.1 blocks per game, also sixth in the GAC.

The Lady Bulldogs have won six of their last eight games and have limited teams to just 54.1 points per game in that span, nearly five points lower than their season average of 59.1 points per game allowed. They now control the second-best scoring defense in the league behind SNU. SWOSU has turned teams over 20.3 times per game in the last eight games, compared to just 11.6 for the Lady Dawgs.