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SETTING THE STAGEThe Southern Arkansas women's basketball team is looking to break a five-game skid as they travel to Weatherford, Okla. to take on Southwestern Oklahoma in GAC action on Saturday afternoon.
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SCOUTING SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMAThe Southwestern Oklahoma women's basketball team enters play with a 4-8 overall record and are 1-5 in the GAC. The Lady Bulldogs are the defending GAC Tournament champions and have won two of the first three tournament crowns in the GAC's history, but this season, with an influx on freshman talent, SWOSU is currently battling for a spot in the 2014-15 GAC Tourmament with just one conference win in hand.
Statistically, the Lady Bulldogs are averaging 71.5 points per game and are shooting .367 (287-of-782) overall from the floor. Their scoring per game ranks in fourth in the GAC while their shooting percentage ranks 10th in the league. Currently four Lady Bulldogs are averaging double figures in scoring with Chelsea Bates leading the way at 12.8 ppg. The next three top scorers are within 0.5 ppg of each other as Jennifer Williams and Jessica Penner are scoring 10.9 ppg and Kimmi Sawatzky is averaging 10.4 ppg.
As a team, the Lady Bulldogs rank 10th in the GAC in shooting from beyond the arc at .291 (90-of-309), but they are the top team in the league at the free throw line at .743 (194-of-261).
Defensively, the Lady Bulldogs are allowing their opponents to score an average of 75.8 points per game while also allowing a .416 (335-of-806) success rate from the floor. Their opponents' points per game average ranks 11th in the GAC and their -4.3 scoring margin ranks seventh.
In terms of rebounding, the Lady Bulldogs rank third in the GAC with 41.8 boards per game. On the other end of the court, the Tigers are allowing 43.0 boards per game and their -1.2 rebounding margin ranks sixth in the GAC.
As far as steals and assists, the Lady Bulldogs rank ninth and seventh in the respective categories. On the year, SWOSU is averaging 6.7 steals per game while averaging 12.8 assists.
COACH:The Lady Bulldogs are coached by Kelsi Musick, who is in her sixth season at Southwestern Oklahoma. In her time at SWOSU, Musick has amassed an 82-73 overall record. Over the past three seasons, Musick, a two-time GAC Coach of the Year, has turned the Lady Bulldogs into one of the top teams in the GAC and region as her Lady Bulldogs are 63-27 overall with two GAC Tournament championships and two NCAA Central Region Tournament apperances.
LAST YEAR/LAST TIME OUT:Last year, the Lady Muleriders and Lady Bulldogs met twice in GAC action and it was the Lady Bulldogs who would capture both contests.
THE SERIES:This is the 7th meeting all-time between Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Oklahoma in a series that began in 2011-12 as members of the newly-founded
Great American Conference. In the brief history of the series, SWOSU has yet to be defeated in six previous meetings.
ON TAP:The Lady Muleriders will only play once this upcoming week as they return home and prepare to take on Northwestern Oklahom on Saturday, January 17. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
Rainbolt Era: Year TwoSouthern Arkansas head women's basketball coach
Rusty Rainbolt is now in his second season and in his short time, Rainbolt has taken major strides towards building the Lady Muleriders into a top-tier team within the Great American Conference. Last year, in his first season, Rainbolt won 12 games and led the Lady Muleriders to their first conference tournament game since 2006-07. Those 12 wins surpassed the win total for the program over the past three years combined.
Stealing is a Good ThingA continuing trend from last season is the fact that the Lady Muleriders are ranked in the upper echelon of the GAC and the NCAA in steals per game. Last season, the Lady Muleriders led the GAC and ranked 15th in DII in steals per game with 11.3. This season, the Lady Muleriders are second in the GAC and rank 27th in DII in steals per game at 11.4
Cause and Effect: TurnoversAs fans grew to expect last season, head coachÂ
Rusty Rainbolt will employ a hard-nosed, full-court press defense for much of a given game. As a result of that up-tempo and aggresive style of defense, opponents have grown frustrated within their offenses and it has caused them to turn the ball over 276 times with 148 (53%) of those forced turnovers coming via the steal.
Bryant GAC Player of the WeekSouthern Arkansas junior forward
Rosa Bryant was named the GAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the week-ending January 4, 2014. Bryant, a native of Bastrop, La., earned the weekly conference honor after a highly-efficient shooting performance against Henderson State. In that game, Bryant would go 10-of-11 from the floor (.909) on her way to scoring a team-high 21 points in the game. Her field goal% for that game was the highest in a game (min. 10 FG made) since the 2006-07 season when Kim Davis went 11-of-13 vs. UAM.
Bryant Emerging as Scoring ThreatJunior newcomer
Rosa Bryant has become one of SAU's top scoring threats this season as she is one of two Lady Muleriders currently averaging double figures
in scoring (12.8 ppg). Nine times this season, Bryant has scored 10 or more points in a game and she has scored 20 or more in three of her last four games, including a
season-high 24 against #18 Arkansas Tech.
Equal-Opportunity ScoringIn 13 games played this season, SAU's bench has outscored its opponent's bench nine times. In those games, the Lady Muleriders are 4-5. Additionally, the Lady Muleriders have grown to rely rather heavily on their bench scoring as currently 49% of their scoring is coming from their bench.
Chanel No. 3Chanel Miller returns to the Lady Mulerider basketball team for her senior season after the Waxachachie, Texas turned in a sensational junior campaign at SAU in which she was honored as the GAC's Newcomer of the Year. Last season, Miller lead the team in scoring at 15.3 ppg and shot at a 44% clip overall from the floor (149-of-336), 22% from beyond the arc (4-of-18), and 76% from the free throw line (96-of-127). This season, Miller is once again one of the team's top scorers as she is averaging 12.6 ppg. Additionally, Miller is among the most efficient overall scorers in the GAC as she is shooting 54% overall from the floor (45-of-84), 40% from long range (6-of-15), and 86% from the charity stripe (30-of-35).
