Women's Hoops Closes Regular Season with ECU and SWOSU

SHAWNEE - The Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball team will close the regular season this week with a road match up against East Central before returning home for Senior Day on Saturday afternoon against Southwestern Oklahoma State.

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

The Bison know they will be the No. 6 seed in the West in the upcoming GAC Tournament and will be traveling somewhere in Oklahoma on Monday night for a 5:30 tip. That opponent will be decided based on the results of this week's games as OBU looks to build momentum after an 0-2 weekend.

It was a frustrating week for the Bison as they were not able to hold a 14 point halftime lead in a 74-72 loss to Northwestern Oklahoma State at home before an abysmal offensive outing in a 56-45 loss to Southern Nazarene on Monday night.

After incredible previous offensive showings coming into last week's games including the first half of the Northwestern game, the Bison have struggled mightily in the last six quarters of play, combining to go 25 of 74 (33%) including the season low 26 percent shooting against SNU.

The Bison have also relied on strong free throw shooting throughout the season, but have struggled in the last two contests, going a combined 34 of 53 (64%) from the line. Despite the struggles as of late, OBU remains 36th in the country in free throw percentage at 76.0 percent.

OBU continues to rebound the ball well sitting second in the conference with 643, and also has done well in the steals department with 150, also good for second in the conference. 

Kalifa Ford sits at 14.9 points per game to go with 5.8 rebounds per contest and a steal per game. Ford was a bright spot last week, finishing with a career-high 25 points against Northwestern before following that with 17 against SNU. In her last four games, Ford is averaging 18.3 points per game and is shooting an impressive 29 of 48 (60%) from the field.

Andreja Peciuriate has cooled off some as of late, finishing with 10 points or less in four of her last five games. Despite slowing down scoring wise, she still averages 11.3 points per game to go with 7.1 rebounds per game and 12 blocks.

Jaylin Stapleton pours in 10.6 points per game to go with a team-leading 4.3 assists per game, good for fifth in the GAC. Charissa Price 8.1 points per game and continues to shoot it well from beyond the arc as of late.

Jenni Beebe and Kaylee Hurst continue to get primary roles off the bench while Jacie Engler, Melissa Southard, and River Romine continues to add valuable minutes.

East Central has been reeling as of late, dropping six straight and dropping from second in the GAC, just one game back of SWOSU, to fourth in the GAC. The Tigers sit at 8-7 on the year both overall and in conference.

ECU took the first two meetings including a 57-50 win early in January in Shawnee and a dominant 79-57 win in Ada in early February. However, OBU added to ECU's losing streak two weeks ago with an impressive offensive showcase, burying East Central 80-70 behind 22 points and 10 rebounds from Peciuraite and 18 points and nine boards from Ford.

Kendall Schulte leads the Tigers with 13.7 points per game on 55 percent from the field while Madison Rehl adds 12.3 points per game. Mackenzie Crusoe adds 11.1 points per game.

Southwestern Oklahoma State leads the GAC with a 14-2 record overall and in conference. They have already won the Western Division and will host the quarterfinals and semifinals. The Bulldogs have taken all three meetings over the Bison by double digits.

Makyra Tramble leads the way with 21.1 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game along with 55 steals while Karly Gore adds 14.9 points per game. Lauren Ramey averages 11.1 points per game while Bethany Franks sits at 9.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.

Saturday will be Senior Day as OBU will honor Jaylin Stapleton, Charissa Price, and Jacie Engler.

Tip-off on Thursday is set fo 5:30 p.m. from the Kerr Activities Center while Saturday's contest is set to start at 2:00 p.m. with Senior Day festivities beginning beforehand from the Noble Complex.