RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – SWOSU Women's Basketball has been picked to finish third in the annual Great American Conference Coaches Poll, released Thursday. 

The Lady Bulldogs collected 87 total points. Harding led the poll with 120 points and 10 first-place votes, while Southeastern gathered 108 points and the remaining two first-place votes. Northwestern, the reigning GAC Tournament champion, came in fourth with 82 points. This marks the second straight year the Lady Dawgs have been picked to finish third in the conference. 

SWOSU is coming off a 12-15 season, including a 10-12 mark in conference play. The Lady Dawgs were tied for the final spot in the GAC Tournament race, but the tiebreaker scenarios did not go their way, pushing them outside the playoff field in the final seconds of the regular season. 

The Lady Dawgs return eight players from last season's squad, including their three leading scorers. Two transfers and two first-year players round out the 2026-27 roster. 

Head Coach Jeff Zinn enters his fifth season leading the Lady Bulldogs after compiling a 51-63 record through his first four seasons. Zinn has guided SWOSU to the conference tournament twice and led the team to the GAC Championship game in 2024, where the Lady Dawgs knocked off two nationally ranked programs during their run. 

The 2026-27 campaign will begin inside the Pioneer Event Center, with the Lady Dawgs hosting MIAA opponent Pittsburg State. SWOSU will then travel to Tahlequah for the GAC/MIAA Crossover, where it will face Northeastern State and Rogers State on November 13-14. Conference play will begin on December 3, when SWOSU travels to Alva to face Northwestern Oklahoma State. 

The GAC Tournament will begin on March 2, with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal games to determine the semifinal field. The remaining rounds will take place March 6-7 in Enid, Oklahoma. 

2026-27 GAC Preseason Coaches Poll