SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist hosts the East Central Tigers on Saturday in the team's final home game of the calendar year.
Currently in a five-way tie with the second-best record in league play, the Bison (6-3, 2-1 GAC) will look to extend their winning streak to three games over ECU (4-3, 1-2 GAC) at 5 p.m. at Noble Complex.
Saturday's tipoff time was changed to 5 p.m. to accommodate OBU's winter commencement ceremony earlier in the afternoon.
GAME NOTES
A Good Balance
The Bison's turnaround from the spring season to now has been profound. And it's due to a vastly improved offense. In the spring, OBU ranked 11th out of 12th in field goal percentage (37.9). This winter, the team is the GAC leader in that category (44.0) and also ranks 39th in Division II. Additionally, OBU's defense has played a big role. It ranks fourth in the GAC in scoring defense (63.2) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (38.4). Currently, there's only one other conference school that ranks in the top five in those offensive and defensive categories: East Central.
Three-Point Threats
OBU's three-point shooting nine games into the season has been nothing short of outstanding. The squad ranks third in the country with a 41.33 percentage. In eight of nine contests, the Bison have hit at least 33.3 percent. The green and gold's season-best came at Cameron on November 27 when it connected on a 57.1 clip. Additionally, the team tied an OBU D2 single-game record with 15 threes during the 85-58 road win against Oklahoma Christian on December 7.
Cleaning Up The Glass
One of the big early-season keys that has helped OBU is its ability to rebound opponent's missed field goals. To date, the Bison are collecting 72.8 percent of missed shots. That ranks third in the conference and is just behind GAC leader Northwestern Oklahoma State's 73.9 mark. Additionally, the green and gold have out-rebounded opponents in five of nine games with
Kalifa Ford leading the team with an 8.4 per-game average.
Lockhart Long-Range Update
Junior guard
Mallory Lockhart continues to remain among the best three-point shooters in all of America. After her 16-point performance last weekend against Southeastern, in which she hit 4-of-8 from deep, she moved into a tie for second nationally with 33 three-point makes. That mark is currently one off the lead which is held by University of Mary's Megan Voit (34). Lockhart is also tied for tenth in the country with a 50.0 three-point percentage and fourth in three-pointers made per game (3.67).
Three's A Crowd
One of the main reasons the Bison's offense has improved so much has been their ability to score in different spots. In addition to Lockhart's three-point ability and 13.8 points per-game average,
Kalifa Ford and
Andreja Peciuraite have helped lift OBU. Ford is scoring a team-high 14.8 points per game while reaching double-figures in seven of nine contests. She is also hitting 46.9 percent from the field. In the front court is Peciuraite. After missing the first two games of the season, she has come back to average 10.1 whilst shooting 54.7 percent.
Last Time Out
Ford posted game-highs with 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Oklahoma Baptist women's hoops team earned a convincing 66-51 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State on December 11 at Noble Complex.
The decision improved the Bison's record to 6-3 and 2-1 in the GAC. Additionally, the win over the Savage Storm was OBU's first since Feb. 7, 2019, a span of six games.
Ford's 24 points were one off her career high while her rebounding total was just two off.
Complimenting Ford was Lockhart who continued her impressive shooting. The junior hit five of her 10 shots, was 4-of-8 from downtown and scored 16. Additionally,
Jaylin Stapleton contributed seven points and a game-high seven assists.
Collectively, the Bison hit 49 percent from the field, owned a plus-11 rebounding advantage (37-26) and were 11-of-12 (91.7) at the foul line.
Scouting East Central
East Central is coming off a 76-50 loss to first place Southwestern Oklahoma State on December 11. The Tigers fell behind by double-digits by the end of the first quarter and by game's end, fell to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the GAC. In the contest, ECU had a tough night shooting, connecting on a season-low 26.9 percent and 4-of-21 (19.0) mark from downtown.
The Tigers stack up well in numerous categories in the league, especially defensively. ECU is second in scoring defense (61.4) and field goal percentage defense (37.1). In five of seven games this winter, they have held opponents under 39-percent shooting.
ECU is also an outstanding free throw shooting squad. Its 82.3 percent mark is first in the GAC and nearly 3.5 percent better than the next school (Southeastern; 79.0). Three players, Izzy Cummins, Kennedy Allison and Madison Rehl lead that charge. Each have hit double-digit free throws and are connecting on at least 83.3 percent with Allison leading the way with a GAC-best 93.8 mark.
The Tigers are the only team in the GAC with three players in the top-15 in field goal percentage. Alexis Lyons is fourth (57.8); Kate Ogle in ninth (50.0); and Madison Rehl checking in at No. 13 (49.0).
Like OBU with
Mallory Lockhart, East Central has a three-point threat of its own. Until an 0-of-5 performance against SWOSU on Dec. 11, Kate Ogle had hit 15 of her last 20 long shots. Despite her performance versus SWOSU, Ogle leads the GAC with a 52.9 three-point percentage and is third in made threes per game (2.6).
For complete information on Bison women's basketball, follow the team's official Twitter account (
OBU_WBBall) and download the new OBU mobile app on your
iOS or
Android device.
