Bison Battle East Central, Southwestern in Weekend's Games

SHAWNEE - The Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball team will take on East Central at home on Thursday before returning to action on Saturday afternoon against Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford.

Thursday'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 worldwide on the iHeartRadio app. On Saturday, the OBU's contest will be on the Bison Radio Network with Miller and Wanish.

After earning wins over Oklahoma Christian and Northwestern Oklahoma State on the road, the Bison have dropped two straight to Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene. OBU will look to get back on the winning side of things with their third match up against East Central and Southwestern Oklahoma State.

The Bison continue to be one of the top teams in the conference in rebounds and steals as they are second in the GAC with 485 rebounds and second in the conference with 122 steals. The Bison also do a good job of not fouling their opponents as they are 12th in the country and first in the GAC in personal fouls with only 14 per contest.

Offensively, OBU still has its struggles despite being fourth in the GAC in assists with 161. The Bison are still 25th in the nation in free throw percentage at 77.3, but saw that number drop after combining to go 24 of 38 in their last two contests. In their two wins, OBU combined to go 34 of 37.

Kalifa Ford continues to lead the offense with 12.7 points per game as she is now six games into her return. She adds 5.5 boards and over a steal per game as she has helped shore up the frontcourt of the Bison.

Andreja Peciuraite continues her impressive improvements, coming in with 11.1 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per contest, while Jaylin Stapleton adds 10.8 points per game, over four assists per game, and over a steal per contest.

Charissa Price adds 8.1 points per game and 17 steals while Kayla Highfill sits at 5.3 points per game. Jenni Beebe has been strong off the bench as of late, upping her point total to 4.2 per game to go with 4.0 rebounds per game.

Kaylee Hurst, Melissa Southard, and Malou Savanna will be key pieces this weekend. Savanna has began to heat up from behind the arc, going 4 of 7 in her last three contests.

ECU sits at 8-4 overall and in conference as the Tigers have won both meetings over the Bison, taking 57-50 win in Shawnee on January 14th before rolling at home on January 30th, 79-57. ECU has been led by 3-point shooting in both contests as they have combined for 20 made threes against the Bison including 11 in Ada.

Kendall Schulte leads the Tigers with 13.9 points per game while Madison Rehl adds 11.9 points per contest. Mackenzie Crusoe adds 10.7 points per game and 5.3 boards.

Meanwhile, SWOSU continues to show why they are one of the top teams in the GAC and in the nation as they sit at 11-1 overall and in the GAC. They won 91-58 on Jan. 16 in Weatherford and a 88-64 win on Jan. 28 in Shawnee.

The Bulldogs are led by Makrya Tramble with 21.1 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game, and four steals per game, while Karly Gore adds 15.4 points per contest. Lauren Ramey averages 10.8 points per game.

The Bison and Tigers tip-off time on Thursday has been moved to 4 p.m. due to inclement winter weather in the state of Oklahoma. OBU's Saturday contest with SWOSU is still scheduled for 2 p.m.