ADA, Okla. – The Lady Bulldogs picked up their largest conference win of the season with a 76-54 victory over ECU. SWOSU was anchored by five players who notched double-digit scoring efforts to lead a balanced attack in the final true road game of the year.
SWOSU now sits at 16-11 and 12-9 in the GAC and has caught a hot streak at the right time, with just one more game before heading to Fort Smith to compete in the GAC Tournament. They will return home for one last game inside the PEC, hosting the top team in the conference, SNU, on Saturday, March 1, at 1:00 p.m. Seven seniors will receive recognition before the game.
The Lady Bulldogs allowed just 18 points in the first half to contribute to their 22-point lead going into the break, the largest lead at halftime in any GAC game this season. Nine Lady Dawgs scored in the first half, led by
Averi Zinn with nine points and
Hailey Grant with eight. SWOSU shot 5-10 from deep and 14-29 (48.3%) from the field, while holding ECU to just 7-24 (29.2%) and 0-4 from beyond the three-point line. The Lady Bulldogs had a 5-3 lead on the offensive boards, which helped them have a 6-1 second-chance point lead into the half. SWOSU trailed 8-4 in the first frame before closing the half on a 36-10 extended run.
SWOSU continued to dominate the Tigers in the latter half. ECU got the game to 44-27 with six minutes to go in the third quarter before a 12-0 run over four minutes separated the game for good, and the 29-point lead would be the largest of the game. The Lady Dawgs eventually earned a 76-54 win for their sixth win in seven games, with the 22-point margin being the largest in GAC play.
Five Lady Bulldogs reached double-figure scoring, with
Averi Zinn having a team-high 15 points. She added five rebounds and assists to her stat line.
Libbi Zinn had a season-high four three-pointers as she went for 12 points on the day.
Mason Jones (11),
Layni Zinn (11), and Grant (10) also reached 10+ points.
The numbers show SWOSU shooting 28-57 (49.1%), the highest in a GAC game. They went 9-22 (40.9%) from the deep ball, their sixth time shooting 40%+ this season. They are 5-1 in those games. ECU went 20-58 (34.5%) from the field while only managing 4-18 (22.2%) from the deep ball. SWOSU had 16 assists on the night, the second-most in a game this year and most in conference play.
Following Thursday's results around the league, the Lady Bulldogs lock in the number five seed at the upcoming GAC Tournament.
