SHAWNEE – The final game of 2023 comes on Saturday Dec. 16 as Oklahoma Baptist (4-5, 1-2 GAC) hosts East Central (4-3, 0-3 GAC) at 5:30 p.m. inside the Noble Complex.
OBU is coming off a come-from-behind victory at Southeastern Oklahoma State on Dec. 9 while ECU defeated Dallas Christian College on Dec. 12. A season ago, OBU swept the series with the Tigers by 74-71 and 70-51 tallies.
The Bison Sports Network's Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will be on the call beginning around 5:05 p.m. on Saturday.
Saved by the Stevenson
The scoreboard read 34-24 Southeastern Oklahoma State with 7:56 remaining in the third on Dec. 9. That's when freshman
Parker Stevenson started to take over. For the remainder of the third, Stevenson scored 15 points and got OBU tied with the Savage Storm at 40 heading to the fourth. The newcomer from Shawnee then scored the game-winning layup with 55 ticks left. Her 26-point effort helped her win GAC Co-Player of the Week. That point total was the second-highest mark by a Bison player off the bench in the D2 era. Previously, Shaylan Coleman registered 28 against Southwestern Oklahoma State on March 1, 2018.
Climbing the Ranks
Stevenson's performance against Southeastern which included 9-of-17 shooting, four 3-pointers and a pair of blocks and steals, helped her move into numerous GAC statistical rankings. She ranks seventh in three-point field goal percentage (44.8), 22nd in overall field-goal percentage (43.6) and 16th in steals (1.8). The 5-foot-7 guard also checks in at No. 25 in scoring (10.7). Furthermore, Stevenson has yet to miss a free throw, making all 15 attempts.
More on the Victory
Oklahoma Baptist's 56-54 result over Southeastern not only helped the team earn its first Great American Conference win of the season, but it also marked the third straight victory in the series against the team from Durant. That's the program's first three-game winning streak over the Savage Storm in the D2 era.
Take Them for Free
A season after being one of top free throw shooting squads in the nation, this year's Bison unit is doing another fine job from the charity stripe. After last weekend's performance against Southeastern, a 6-for-8 clip, the green and gold boosted its season percentage to 76.0. That's good for fourth in the GAC and 50th in the nation. There are six different players shooting at least 75 percent from the line. Stevenson and
Aubrey Marjason are a combined 19-for-19 while
Jaedyn Getman is hitting at an 84.2 percent rate. Freshman
Payten Conde has made eight of 10 while
Sydney Duncan and
Faith Wright are each shooting 75 percent.
Dishing the Rock
Fifth-year senior
Madison Chambers is on her way to having her best season statistically in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. So far, she's got 32 assists and 28 turnovers. Her 1.1 ratio is fourth-best in the GAC as well as her 3.6 assists-per-game average. Over her last three games, Chambers has dished out 15 assists. If she keeps at her current pace, it will mark the first time in her OBU career that she registered more assists than turnovers in a season. Coming into Saturday's game, she's got 198 career assists and just a few more turnovers (204).
Getman Against ECU
In the Bison's two-game sweep of East Central last season, then-freshman
Jaedyn Getman combined to score 32 points on 9-of-17 shooting, grab 16 rebounds and hit all 13 of her free throw attempts. In one of those games, the regular-season finale on Feb. 25, 2023, Getman registered her first career double-double with 22 points and 11 boards. After last week's game at Southeastern, in which Getman was held to under 10 points for the first time all season, thanks to double teams throughout the game, keep an eye on OBU's sophomore forward as the Bison try to even their record at 5-5 and 2-2 in the GAC.
The Bison Versus the Tigers
As mentioned above, OBU swept the two-game series last year against East Central. That was due to a few factors. The first: OBU outscored ECU 54-38 in the paint. The second: OBU went to the foul line 39 times and made 33, a percentage of 84.6. Finally: the Bison had a plus 13.0 rebounding margin. Getman and
Jill Leslie had a big role in that final stat as they averaged 8.0 and 7.0 rebounds per game, respectively.
On The Horizon
How big is this matchup with ECU? A win would even OBU's GAC record at 2-2. That could loom large down the road given the opponents the Bison face to start 2024. After Christmas break, the Bison face Ouachita and Henderson State on Jan. 4 and 6. OBU has lost each of the last six games on the road to both of those teams in Arkadelphia.
Meet the Tigers
East Central is 4-3 after a 97-30 win over National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) school Dallas Christian College on Dec. 12. The team's 97 points marked the first time it reached 90 points since a Nov. 25, 2014 game versus Cameron.
ECU's three losses this season have all come against Great American Conference schools. Northwestern Oklahoma State defeated the Tigers 74-58 on Nov. 30 before No. 11 Southern Nazarene won 59-48 on Dec. 2. SWOSU then dealt the Tigers a 65-35 loss on Dec. 9.
Last season, Heather Hurt served as the team's interim head coach beginning in December of 2022. She then had the interim title removed by ECU Athletic Director and former coach Matt Cole heading into the 2023-24 campaign.
Mackenzie Crusoe is the leader for ECU. Her 16.7 scoring average is seventh-best in the GAC while her 7.8 rebounds per game is slotted fifth. Crusoe also has the 11th-best free throw percentage (80.6) in the league and leads with 3.2 steals per game. A season ago, she averaged 11.5 points per game during the two matchups with the Bison.
Jayden Weiberg is another legitimate threat for the Tigers. She has made 47.8 percent of her field-goal attempts this year. That mark is 13th-best in the GAC. Weiberg is also eighth in three-point field goal percentage (44.7).
As a team, ECU is currently allowing 53 points per game. Not only is that second-best in the league, it ranks 10th in the country. The Tigers are also doing a good job defending the three-point line. They allow 25.4 percent shooting from deep, a mark that's No. 45 in Division II and third in the GAC. Furthermore, ECU checks in at No. 20 in the country in field-goal percentage defense (34.5).
Offensively, the Tigers are a bit inconsistent. They rank ninth out of 12 GAC schools in scoring (64.4) and tenth in free throw percentage (69.3). ECU does have a few bright spots on offense though: they rank third in the conference with a 35.7 percent three-point shooting clip and commit the fourth-fewest turnovers per game (15.3). Plus, the team's 8.7 makes from three per game is eighth-best in the nation.
The last time East Central came to Shawnee, they were dominated in the first half which led to a 70-51 Bison win. The 19-point margin of defeat was the biggest for ECU since a 91-59 (32 points) OBU win on Feb. 13, 2016.
Historically, the Tigers have fared well on Bison Hill. ECU is 6-3 against the green and gold in the D2 era.
Coming into the 2023-24 season, ECU was picked to finish in tenth in the GAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last season, the Tigers posted an 11-16 record and 8-14 conference mark, and they fell to Harding in the GAC Tournament quarterfinal by a 63-54 count.
