Lacrosse Faces Oldest Rival Saturday

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Oklahoma Baptist (3-6) and Midland (2-6) Saturday, April 2, 11 a.m. Fremont, Neb. (Heedum Field) Game Notes

SHAWNEE, Okla. – The Lady Bison are set to face their longest-tenured opponent on Saturday, April 2nd when they take on the Warriors of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska. First draw is scheduled for 11 a.m., and it is the final road tilt for the women's lacrosse team this season.
 
Oklahoma Baptist (3-6) is primed to put a halt to a five-game losing skid. The Lady Bison last enjoyed victory on March 4th against Missouri Baptist, 12-7, in the first of seven straight road games, and will look to bookend the month-long journey away from Shawnee with their fourth win of the season.
 
Alexis Martin leads an offense that is averaging 8.7 goals per game, though OBU is averaging 13.7 goals against NAIA opponents. For her part, Martin has 24 goals and is just two shy of the freshman goal-scoring record set by her sophomore teammate Allison Ingrim.
 
Defensively, the Lady Bison have been stout against NAIA opponents letting in no more than seven goals in any of their three contests against NAIA foes this season (Saint Mary, Ottawa and Missouri Baptist). Suzie Wisham and Ingrim have each accounted for 16 caused turnovers this season, and opposing teams have averaged 23.3 turnovers per game while facing the Lady Bison.
 
Midland (2-6) enters the game having suffered their own five-game losing streak, including four-straight one-goal losses. The offense for the Warriors averages 10.0 goals per game, and Sarah Hill is responsible for nearly 40 percent of the team's total offense. Defensively, the Warriors have given up 27.3 shots per game, and goalie Tessa Singleton holds a 12.47 goals-against average.
 
The two sides have met four times, and the series is currently tied at 2-2. Oklahoma Baptist won the last two meetings between the squads in back-to-back games last year in Shawnee.
 
OBU returns to Shawnee next week on Saturday, April 9th at 6 p.m. at the OBU Lacrosse Complex. The Lady Bison will be honoring their three graduating seniors: Sabrina Attaway, Kari Callahan and Emily Joslin, as part of Senior Night festivities.
 
Game Notes
 
Setting the Scene
- Oklahoma Baptist women's lacrosse's oldest rival awaits the Lady Bison in the form of Midland
- The Lady Bison and Warriors will square off in Fremont, Nebraska, at Heedum Field. First draw is slated for 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 2
- This is the seventh consecutive road contest for OBU, who haven't played a game in Shawnee since February 27
 
The Series
- Midland is the only team to have played Oklahoma Baptist in each year since the program's first season in 2013. Midland holds a 3-2 advantage overall, though OBU has claimed the last two victories in the series
- The Warriors claimed a 21-0 victory over the Lady Bison in Shawnee in the squads' first-ever meeting on March 3, 2013, in Fremont
- Oklahoma Baptist won both games in Shawnee last season by a combined score of 24-17. Paige Morrison and Allison Ingrim led the way with five goals each across the two games
 
Scouting the Warriors
Current Record: 2-6
- Midland enters the game on a five-game losing skid, though they have lost their last four games by one goal each, including overtime losses to Missouri Valley and Ottawa
- Against shared opponents of the Warriors and OBU (Ottawa, Rockhurst and Saint Mary), Midland has been outscored 46-21, though Rockhurst accounted for 24 of the goals against
- The Warriors are averaging 10.0 goals per game, led by Sarah Hill with 30 goals this season for an average of 3.75 goals per game
- Midland currently averages 19.3 shots per game, converting just over half their shots into goals. Opponents hold a +8.0 advantage in shots (27.3 shots/game) and own a .616 shooting percentage
- On the ground, Midland accounts for just 11.7 ground balls per game. Malia Shimabukuro paces the team with 18 to her name
- In the goal circle, Tessa Singleton owns a 12.47 goals-against average, and has given up at least nine goals per game during the squad's current losing streak
 
The Coaches
Oklahoma Baptist: Jordan Beech
- Jordan Beech took over as the fourth coach in program history in December 2015
- Beech played collegiately for Oklahoma State and the University of Oklahoma in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association, featuring as a defensive midfielder
- Developing the sport from the grassroots levels, helped to form the first boys' high school program in Oklahoma in 2006
- Prior to taking over at OBU, Beech made coaching stops at Deer Creek Lacrosse Club and Edmond Lacrosse Club and holds a Level 2 coaching certificate through US Lacrosse
 
Midland: Sam Aucoin
- Sam Aucoin was introduced as Midland's head coach during the 2015 season, and is in her second season at the helm for the Warriors
- Has developed one National Women's Lacrosse League (NWLL) All-American honorable mention honoree
- Before assuming the head role at Midland, Aucoin spent two years as the head coach at Anna Maria College
 
Lady Bison Fall to Hendrix
- The road has not been kind to OBU this season, as the Lady Bison were saddled with a fifth-straight road loss, this time 15-4 at the hands of Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas
- Hannah Dowell, Emily Gilbert, Alexis Martin and Morrison each scored one goal for the Lady Bison
- Savannah Tompkins led the team and had a game-high five ground balls, while Ingrim and Martin each had four
- Gilbert grabbed a game-best four draw controls as OBU won the battle at the center circle, 11-9
- Sabrina Attaway posted a season-best 12 saves, and held a .480 save perecentage in the loss
 
Offensive Notes
- Oklahoma Baptist averages 8.67 goals per game, but has yet to score more than four goals in the last five games. OBU is 3-1 when scoring 10 or more goals, and has not won a game this season without eclipsing the 10-goal mark
- Martin continues to edge closer to the freshman scoring record, needing just three goals to surpass Ingrim's record of 26 goals scored last year
- After being held without a goal since March 5, Gilbert found the back of the net against Hendrix for her fourth goal of the season. She now has 52 career goals
- For the first time since Feburary 27 against Ottawa, the Lady Bison won the draw control battle. Gilbert's game-high four draw controls were one shy of her personal record of five, which she set last year against Asbury
- With her goal against Hendrix, Martin moved into the top five for points (goals and assists) in a single season with 28 (24g, 4a)
- Averaging just over an assist every other game, Ingrim and Morrison are tied for the third-most assists per game in a single season at .56
- Her free-position goal last week gave Morrison the single-season record for most free-position goals with seven
- Despite converting free-position shots at a .357 rate, the Lady Bison have set a new season record for free-position goals (16)
 
Defensive Notes
- The OBU defense is giving up 13.33 goals per game, and hasn't held a team below 10 goals during any of the Lady Bison's five straight losses. However, against NAIA teams, OBU has allowed an average of just four goals per game
- Oklahoma Baptist is averaging 23.8 ground balls per game
- Ingrim is tied for 26th in Division II averaging 3.33 ground balls per game, and is tied for 18th in the nation with 30 total ground balls
- Ingrim, Morrison and Suzie Wisham are all tied for third in single-season caused turnovers per game, accounting for 1.78 per game through nine games in 2016
- The Lady Bison have successfully cleared 70.6 percent of the time. Opponents have cleared the ball at just a .596 rate
- Attaway has amassed 57 saves this season, and 263 in her career
 
Looking Ahead
- The Lady Bison return home to close out the 2016 season with two games in as many weeks
- First up for OBU will be Benedictine College on Saturday, April 9 at 6 p.m. The game will also serve as Senior Night for the Lady Bison's three seniors: Sabrina Attaway, Kari Callahan and Emily Joslin
- It will be the first all-time meeting between the two teams