SHAWNEE - The Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball team is back in action as they return home for a pair of contests on Thursday and Monday night against Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene at 5:30. Sandwiched in between is a 2:00 p.m. road contest in Durant against Southeastern Oklahoma State this Saturday.
Thursday and Monday's game will be on the Bison Sports Network on the
OBU YouTube channel featuring Todd Miller on play-by-play and Scott Wanish on color commentary. The game will also be featured on the
Bison Radio Network across the state of Oklahoma and on the iHeartRadio app. On Saturday, the Bison's contest will be on the Bison Radio Network with Miller and Wanish.
Oklahoma Baptist inches closer to its first win of the season under first year Head Coach
Bo Overton. Improvements have shown in the first five contests and the Bison hope to break through starting with Thursday against the Rangers.
The Bison have done a pretty good job on the defensive end, but the Bison must find more of a consistency on the offensive end as they only shoot 36 percent from the field as a team and 28 percent from deep. OBU is averaging 54.0 points per game while opponents average nearly 70 per game, though that number in inflated after the recent match up with SWOSU, the nation's leading scoring team.
Senior
Jaylin Stapleton returned to the lineup on Saturday against nationally-ranked Southwestern Oklahoma State and has picked up where she left off, leading the team in scoring thus far with 12.0 points per game on 10 of 14 (71%) from the field. Stapleton adds 3.5 rebounds per game and 3.5 assists per game.
Fellow senior
Charissa Price comes in with 9.4 points per game including a huge come-from-behind effort against East Central last Thursday. Price is tied for first on the team with six made 3-pointers and adds 4.0 rebounds per game and 2.0 assists per contest.
Andreja Peciuraite has been one of the most improved players in the GAC, matching a career high 13 points against Southwestern as she averages 7.8 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game to lead the team.
Malou Savanna matches Price's six 3-pointers this season and adds 3.4 rebounds per game.
Kaylee Hurst added six steals off the bench while
Haylee Webber leads the team with seven blocks thus far this season.
Against ECU last Thursday, OBU put together a ferocious rally in the final five minutes of play, getting it down to three points with under two play. However, it would not be enough as the Bison fell to the Tigers 57-50 on Thursday evening inside the Noble Complex. Price led the way with 15 points on a pair of 3-pointers including nine in the final three minutes. She also had four assists and four rebounds in the game. Peciuraite added 10 points and nine boards to go with a block and a steal while
Jenni Beebe scored seven off the bench to go with six boards and two blocks.
On Saturday, OBU trailed by five points at No. 21 Southwestern Oklahoma State, but a huge second half including a 27-10 fourth quarter gave SWOSU a 91-58 victory inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center. Stapleton with 13 points including five assists and three boards while Price added 13 points, six boards, two assists, and two blocks. Peciuriate matched a career-high with 13 points to go with six boards and two blocks while
Melissa Southard scored six and pulled down nine boards.
Northwestern checks in with a 3-3 record including 1-3 in the GAC, dropping their last three contests in GAC play after defeating OBU on January 9th. Bailey Brown continues her stellar career and leads the Rangers with 15.3 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game while Mya Johnson adds 13.7 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game. Brown finished with 19 points and 12 boards in the win in Alva while Johnson added 17 and 11.
Meanwhile, defending GAC Champion Southeastern comes in with a 3-2 record both overall and in conference and have won their last two games. Kamryn Cantwell has returned to the lineup and averages 18.0 points per game and 6.0 rebounds while Briley Moon also returns with 15.0 points per game and 4.0 rebound. The Savage Storm opened their season with a 61-56 win in Shawnee behind 13 points and five assists from Jordan Benson.
After their season was delayed due to COVID-19, Southern Nazarene has gotten their season rolling, coming in with a 0-2 record overall and in conference. Though still not full strength, they are led by Cassandra Awatt with 19.0 points per game and 9.5 rebounds while Emily Monaghan adds 17.0 points per game.
Tip-off on Thursday and Monday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. from the Noble Complex while tip on Saturday is set to start at 2:00 p.m.
