SHAWNEE – The final game of 2022 comes this Saturday at 5:30 p.m. when Oklahoma Baptist travels down to East Central for another Great American Conference women's hoops contest.
OBU is riding a six-game winning streak and boasts a 7-2 overall record and perfect (3-0) GAC mark. They are one of four teams in the league to be undefeated through three conference affairs.
A win would bolster the team's record to 8-2, which would be the best start through 10 games since jumping to NCAA Division II in 2015-16.
The games will be carried by the Bison Sports Network with Todd Miller and Scott Wanish on the call.
At The Top
With the Bison's 69-62 win against Southeastern Oklahoma State last Saturday, the team moved its record to 7-2 and 3-0 in the Great American Conference. At this point, there are only three other conference schools with 3-0 GAC marks: Harding, Henderson State and Southern Nazarene. OBU's early-season ascension is undoubtedly promising and shows the growth from a year ago when the team climbed to as high as third place in the standings.
Make It Six Straight
The green and gold chalked up another win on Dec. 10 against the Savage Storm, moving the team's unbeaten streak to six games. The last time that happened was during the 2014-15 season, a year in which that Bison squad had 9- and 10-game winning streaks during a 27-6 campaign under coach Casi Bays.
A Blistering Start
A deeper dive into the statistics shows how dominant the Bison have been in a trio of conference games. OBU has a plus-19 scoring margin, has tallied 73.7 points per game and held SWOSU, Northwestern and Southeastern to an average of 54.7 points. Defensively, OBU has been sensational, holding those three teams to averages of 31-percent field-goal shooting, 27 percent from three-point range and holding a 46 to 31.3 rebounding margin advantage. Furthermore, OBU has averaged nearly five blocks per game.
Rising To The Occasion
As has been the case in every win this season, a different player than before has stepped up. This last game against Southeastern, it was sophomore
Jill Leslie's turn. The 6-foot-3 forward dialed up career-highs in points (18), field goals (7) and blocks (4). Her block total was one off OBU's single-game D2 record as well.
Count on Chambers
There's something to be said about reliability. Helping exemplify that this season is senior guard
Madison Chambers. The Muldrow, Okla., native has started every game (9) and tallied 13.2 points per game, a mark that's 17th in the GAC. She has also dished out multiple assists in six starts and is hitting a very efficient 55.6 percent of her field-goal attempts. That percentage is good for 35th in Division II with only five guards ahead of her. Additionally, Chambers has made a little above 82 percent from the charity stripe.
The Ankney Difference
Make no mistake about it: when guard
Erika Ankney is on the floor, OBU is a different team. Take a look: in the three games Ankney has been out due to sickness (Southeastern, Pittsburg State and Washburn), OBU has averaged 59.3 points per game. The other six contests with Ankney helping run the offense: 70.8 points. The Bison also have higher marks in field goal and three-point percentage as well as free throw percentage with the 5-foot-7 guard on the floor.
Free Throw Update
Coach
Bo Overton's team is making teams pay at the foul line this year. Heading into week-six action, the Bison are tops in the GAC and third in the country with an 81.82 percentage. OBU has hit above 80 percent in six of nine games highlighted by an 11-for-12 (91.7%) performance against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Dec. 3. Additionally, the team has hit as many as 30 during the comeback win at Midwestern State on Nov. 22.
Trouble at Ada
OBU has had a tough time winning at Ada. Since 2016, OBU has played there eight times and lost seven. In the seven defeats inside the expansive Kerr Activities Center, the green and gold have averaged less than 60 points per game, 58.3 to be exact. One main reason has been the team's inability to convert three-point shots. During last year's regular-season ender in Ada, OBU made just four of 17 deep shots (23.5%) during the 71-63 defeat.
Scouting East Central
The Tigers' 86-71 loss at SWOSU on Dec. 10 pushed the team's record to 3-4 and 0-3 in the GAC. It is only the second 0-3 conference start for ninth-year coach Matt Cole. The last time ECU was winless through its first trio of GAC contests was 2016-17.
Three-point defense and rebounding have been East Central's biggest challenges so far. On the rebounding front, ECU's 31.6 per-game total is dead last, 12th, in the GAC. As for defending the three, the Tigers are giving up 35.3 percent to opponents. That mark is also 12th.
One collective positive for the Tigers is their ability at the free throw line. They are third in the GAC with a 75.6 percentage.
Mackenzie Crusoe has had the hot hand for ECU through seven games. She is ninth in the league in scoring (15.6) and ranks 11th in field-goal percentage (52.4). The native of Choctaw has scored as many as 19 points twice. Additionally, Crusoe is eighth in assists (3.3) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8).
ECU possesses three of the top eight 3-point field-goal shooters. Emily Wilson is 6th (50%), Crusoe is slotted 7th (47.1) and Jayden Weiberg follows right after (46.2).
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