Women's Lacrosse 02.07 Jordan Beech | Assistant Director of Athletics Communication | jordan.beech@okbu.edu

Lacrosse Opens Season at Ottawa

Oklahoma Baptist - Women's Lacrosse Notes
Oklahoma Baptist (0-0) at Ottawa (0-0)

THE GAME

Oklahoma Baptist opens up the season on the road when they face Ottawa in Ottawa, Kansas, on Friday, Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. It is the second-straight year OBU has opened up the season away from Shawnee
It will be a young squad's first taste of collegiate action as OBU brings in a squad with 15 freshmen or sophomores on a team of 21
The Lady Bison are 1-2 in season openers under head coach Jordan Beech

SCOUTING THE BRAVES

Ottawa went 7-8 in head coach Samantha Aucoin's first season in charge, including a 4-3 mark in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Association and a berth in the KCAC Championship. The Braves are picked to finish second in the KCAC this year
The Braves will be without their top two leading scorers from last year in Kiarah Thompson and Quinn Crandall. Kayla Saucedo (9g, 14a) is OU's top returning scorer
Bailey Williams is slated to return between the pipes again after posting a 10.12 goals-against average and .449 save percentage. However, the Ottawa defense will be without 2018 KCAC Defensive Player of the Year Diana Moreno, who graduated at the end of last season
Ottawa averaged 9.3 goals/game while allowing 9.1 to their opponents. The Braves enjoyed a plus-6.6 advantage in ground balls

THE COACHES

THE SERIES

Oklahoma Baptist and Ottawa have met only one other time, in 2016. The Lady Bison secured a decisive 14-3 win and own a 1-0 series lead
Paige Morrison and Hannah Dowell combined for 10 goals in the win

OBU OUTLOOK

A youthful offense is set to take the field as Lauren McCormack, Brooke Harden, Taylor Skomp and Taryn Burks are the only returners on that side of the ball. The four players combined for 60 goals and 23 assists last season
The defense will enjoy cohesiveness, only losing one starter from last season's squad while returning Savannah Tompkins, Katie Kuehn and Monique Mossop. Three-year starter Courtney Barnickle will return in goal for the Lady Bison
Friday's game will mark the collegiate debut for attackers Nina Handley, Emery Kennedy, Devin Miller and Shay Morgan, midfielders Morgan Friend, Madison Gordon and Morgan McCoy, defenders Rachel Carlson and Laurel Rosenthal, and goalkeeper Lauren Scott
OBU averaged 6.9 goals, 17.4 ground balls and 12 draw controls/game in 2018. However, in seven non-conference games last year, OBU averaged 12.6 goals, 22.9 ground balls and 15.7 draw controls
McCormack is coming off a sophomore season that saw her set OBU career records in assists (25) and draw controls (136), as well as season records in assists (20), draw controls (78) and free-position goals (10). Barnickle, in her sophomore season, set the season record with 111 saves, and needs just 68 more saves to break Sabrina Attaway's career mark of 281

COMING UP

Oklahoma Baptist faces a short turnaround as they take on Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m.

Players Mentioned