SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (8-8, 5-5 GAC) welcomes fourth-ranked Southern Nazarene (16-0, 10-0 GAC) to the Noble Complex on Jan. 25 before a quick drive to Weatherford to face Southwestern Oklahoma State (9-7, 6-4 GAC) on Jan. 27.
Fans that plan on attending the matchup against SNU are encouraged to wear white and if you're unable to attend, the Bison Sports Networks's Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will be on site to provide coverage.
Winning in Arkansas
Oklahoma Baptist's back-to-back wins over Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas in the Natural State were key results for the green and gold. And those victories made a little history as well. The 69-60 win over UAM followed by the 63-58 triumph against SAU marked just the third time in the program's D2 history that a Bison squad won two straight contests on the road in that state. Previously, the Bison won at Southern Arkansas and Monticello on Jan. 25 and 27, 2018 and prior to that, there were wins at Ouachita and Henderson State on Jan. 28 and 30, 2016.
Leslie Delivers
Junior forward
Jill Leslie was instrumental for the Bison last week. She scored 18 points against the Cotton Blossoms before posting 16 versus the Muleriders. It marked the first time in her career that she scored at least 16 points in two straight games. Leslie, a native of Wichita Falls, Texas made 15-of-20 (75%) from the field, averaged 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game as the Bison evened their record at 8-8 overall and 5-5 in the GAC.
Getting in Gear
OBU's offense was at its season-best in last week's contests in Arkansas. The Bison made 54.2 percent against Monticello before posting a 45.5 percent clip against Southern Arkansas. It marked the first time all season that OBU shot at least 45 percent in back-to-back games. Plus, the green and gold were 24-of-30 from the foul line, an 80 percent total.
Continuing to Progress
Three newcomers,
Parker Stevenson,
Payten Conde and
Catyn Graham, have played in at least 14 games for the Bison this year. Each have had their ups and downs but there has been progression. Take a look at Stevenson. In the last five games, four of which she has started, the freshman from Shawnee has averaged 13.2 points per game and pulled down 4.8 rebounds per contest. Plus, she has made about 39 percent from the field and gone 15-of-16 (93.8%) from the free throw line. She is also the only player on OBU with double-digit assist (10) and steal (11) totals over the last five games.
GAC Standings Update
Those were two big wins for Oklahoma Baptist last week. It helped the Bison even their record at 8-8 as well as boost their GAC record to 5-5. With the wins at UAM and SAU, the Bison moved into the top-eight of the conference standings. Heading into week-11 action, coach
Bo Overton's squad is tied with Arkansas Tech and Ouachita who also possess the same conference mark as the Bison with 12 conference games remaining.
What Can't She Do
We are more than halfway through hoops season and sophomore
Jaedyn Getman continues to prove to be one of the top players in the Great American Conference. Heading into this week's games, the Stratford, Okla., native is the only league player to rank in the top-five of these categories: scoring (18.3), free throw percentage (88.1) and three-point field goal percentage (43.5). She also is doing a good job defensively ranking 17th in blocks (0.6). Through 16 contests, she has scored at least 20 points eight times including a career-high 27 versus Washburn on Nov. 11. Plus, in the last game at Southern Arkansas, Getman secured a career-high 12 boards. She currently is eighth in that category in the GAC averaging 6.6 per game.
A Premiere Squad
The last unbeaten team in the country is coming to the Noble Complex on Thursday. Southern Nazarene, a team with a 16-0 record and No. 4 national ranking, will look to continue its winning against a Bison squad that's won three of four. OBU's lone loss in the last two weeks was in overtime to then 13th-ranked Harding 65-61. For SNU, coached by Trent May, it has, remarkably, won nine of the last 10 times it has come to Shawnee. OBU's lone victory over the Crimson Storm in that span came on Feb. 13, 2017 by an 83-79 tally. If you plan on coming to Thursday night's game, be sure to wear white.
Meet the Crimson Storm
Southern Nazarene, as mentioned before, is 16-0 and 10-0 in the GAC. Of those 16 wins, only four have come by single digits. They are the only unbeaten team in Division II.
SNU's biggest advantage is its defense, ranking tenth in the country in opponent scoring at 54.5 points per game. The Storm are also 18th in field goal percentage defense (34.8). Also of note, SNU does a great job of not fouling. It ranks 15th in D2 in fouls per game (14.1)
Southern Nazarene has a host of talented players including Lauryn Reither. She boasts several top-100 statistical marks in the NCAA including ranking 27th in field goal percentage (55.4) and 34th in points per game (18.2).
The Crimson Storm also have dominant frontcourt player Hannah Giddey, sister of Oklahoma City Thunder player Josh Giddey. The 6-foot-2 senior from Melbourne, Australia is the national leader with 3.94 blocks per game. She also ranks 19th in the country in rebounds per game (10.3).
One of the cooler aspects of coach Trent May's team is the cultural makeup of the squad. Six players are from Australia, one is from Italy and another from Japan.
Meet the Lady Bulldogs
Southwestern Oklahoma State is coming off a 55-48 win at Arkansas Tech on Jan. 20. Prior to that, they lost a close one to Harding, 79-72.
The Lady Bulldogs' matchup with the Bison will be the second occurrence this season. Back on Nov. 30, SWOSU dealt OBU a 59-53 defeat. In that game, Hailey Grant and Mason Jones each scored in double figures and Southwestern's defense held OBU to 3-of-19 shooting from downtown (15.8%).
Averi Zinn is the top scorer for SWOSU. She averages 13.8 points per game and her 4.7 assists per game ranks second-best in the GAC and 38th in the nation. Zinn, who is the daughter of the head coach Jeff, has also attempted 247 field goals. The next closest SWOSU player is Hailey Grant at 157.
As a team, Southwestern loves to shoot the three-point shot. Its 25.3 attempts each game is 14th in Division II. During the November contest in Shawnee, they fired 23 from long range. Mason Jones leads the team making 43 percent from range. That's good for sixth in the GAC.
So far through 16 games, Southwestern's offense has been a bit spotty. They rank 12th in the GAC in field goal percentage (35.5) and its 61.1 points per contest is slotted 10th in the league. SWOSU is also last, 12th, in rebounds per contest (32.2).
