SHAWNEE – The start of 2022 has Oklahoma Baptist welcoming Harding and Arkansas Tech to Noble Complex this week. OBU will face the Lady Bisons on January 6 at 5:30 p.m. before hosting the Golden Suns on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The green and gold will be looking to snap Harding's five-game winning streak in the series while also halting ATU's three-game stretch over the Bison.
Shooting Slump
The Bison's current two-game skid has brought an uncharacteristically sluggish shooting mark. In the loss to East Central, the green and gold shot 36.5 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from downtown. In the latest game at Henderson State on December 30, OBU shot 38.6 percent and 26.7 percent from three. Those totals over that two-game stretch are the lowest of the season. In turn, the Bison have moved into eighth place out of 12 teams in the GAC in scoring offense (69.0). Earlier this season, the team was slotted in fifth.
Leading the Pack
Despite the last two games, the Bison remain the top-shooting three-point team in the GAC and rank 10th in the country. OBU is hitting 38.2 percent from deep. If the season ended today, that percentage would be a D2 single-season school record. Furthermore, the Bison are knocking down 6.5 threes per game. The team's season-best came Dec. 7 when they made 15-of-27 threes at Oklahoma Christian, tying the school's D2 single-game record.
Clearing the Boards
If one has followed the Bison women's team this season, they know that the team's defense has helped them stay in every game. Among all the defensive statistical categories, there's one that jumps out: OBU's ability to rebound opponent misses. Heading into Thursday's game against Harding, the Bison rank second in the GAC in defensive rebounding percentage. Their mark of 73.4 is not that far off the lead, with Northwestern Oklahoma State at 74.9.
Lockhart Long-Range Update
This note will remain constant throughout the season due to guard
Mallory Lockhart's ranking in the GAC and in Division II from behind the three-point line. She is second in the league and tied for tenth in nation with 35 three-pointers. Her percentage of 46.7 is good for 14th in the country and third in the GAC. Additionally, that mark is currently the second-best single-season mark in school history and is just behind Mandi Farris' program-best 47.7 percent clip during the 2004 season. While Lockhart has been slowed down the last two games going 2-for-9, she has hit multiple threes in eight other contests.
Coming Into Her Own
6-foot-3 freshman post player
Jill Leslie has been steadily improving, especially over the last five games. The Wichita Falls, Texas native has averaged 7.6 points per game and 53.3 percent shooting in that span. She has also hauled in 6.6 rebounds per contest. At Oklahoma Christian on December 7, she made 6-of-8 from the field for 12 points while also pulling in eight rebounds. Then against Henderson State, she scored nine while grabbing 16 rebounds. The 16 rebounds were the most recorded by a Bison player this season.
Last Time Out
A valiant comeback by Oklahoma Baptist was for naught as Henderson State used overtime to defeat the green and gold 94-80 on December 30 in Great American Conference play at the Duke Wells Center.
OBU overcame an 18-point third-quarter deficit and tied the game at 77 when
Jaylin Stapleton scored a layup with six seconds left which forced overtime.
In the extra session, though, the Bison were outscored 17-3 as the host Reddies hit five-of-six shots while OBU made just one of its 10 attempts.
Stapleton was outstanding on the night, tying her career high with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Kalifa Ford notched her 10th career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Leslie and
Kendall Parker each tallied nine points.
Scouting Harding
The Lady Bisons have two of the most talented players in the GAC. 6-foot-4 forward Sage Hawley and guard Hannah Collins each rank in the top-nine in scoring. Hawley is fourth with an 18.5 average while leading the GAC in rebounding (9.5). For Collins, she averages 15.5 points per game.
Harding has struggled as a team at the foul line. They have gone to the charity stripe a league-high 283 times and have made 187 of those attempts. That mark of 66.1 percent is dead last (12th) in the conference.
Another area, that could play into the hands of OBU, is Harding's ability defending the three-point line. To date, HU is 11th out of 12th in the GAC in three-point field goal percentage defense (32.3). HU has allowed at least 33.3 percent shooting from range in six of 11 games this season.
Harding is coming off an 84-75 loss to Southeastern, a team OBU beat earlier this season. In that contest, the Lady Bisons struggled defensively, allowing the Savage Storm to hit 30-of-54 (55.6%) from the field.
Scouting Arkansas Tech
Sophomore guard Kaley Shipman is putting together a season to remember. She is third in the GAC in scoring (19.2), seventh in field goal percentage (51.2) and eleventh in three-point percentage (40.4). Shipman has scored in double-figures in seven of nine games which included a 28-point outburst against Southeastern on December 30.
The Golden Suns also have three other players averaging double-digit scoring totals: Ashlei Lopez (14.8); Jayana Sanders (14.7) and Sydnee Wynn (11.8).
Collectively, ATU has one of the best offenses in the GAC. Its field goal percentage of 43.2 is third-best. The Golden Suns' efficiency has been impressive, shooting at least 41.3 percent in seven of nine games this season.
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.
