SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist welcomes Henderson State and Ouachita to the Noble Complex this week. On Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m., the Bison play the Reddies before a 1 p.m. contest on Feb. 3 against the Tigers.
These home games start a regular-season-ending stretch of 10 contests for the Bison. Six of them will be in Shawnee.
Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will be on the call of both games for the Bison Sports Network.
Not Again!
It appeared after wins at Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas that the Bison had figured out keys to getting off to a good start. Well, that did not transpire last week against No. 4 Southern Nazarene and Southwestern Oklahoma State. In fact, after the first quarters of those contests, the Bison found themselves down by a combined 45-18. OBU shot 7-of-27 (25.9%) and committed nine turnovers in those opening periods against the Crimson Storm and Lady Bulldogs.
She is the Real Deal
Sophomore slumps have been well-documented. That has not been the case though for
Jaedyn Getman. The second-year forward is having a season for the ages. Her 18.6 scoring mark is second-best in the GAC. She also boasts top-five marks in free throw percentage (88.6) and three-point shooting (43.5). Plus, she ranks 9th in rebounding (6.6) and tenth in field goal percentage (45.2). Getman is the only player in the GAC to have accomplished these top-10 marks in those categories so far. Furthermore, she has nine, 20-point efforts to her credit including a career-high 27 against Washburn on Nov. 11. Plus, she is 272 points away from becoming just the 30th Bison all-time to reach 1,000 points.
Providing a Lift
Junior
Kennedy Large has quietly found a nice groove offensively the last five games. She has averaged 30.6 minutes of playing time, tallied 6.6 points and grabbed 5.6 boards. The Byng, Okla., native has been highly efficient shooting, too. Large has made 12-of-18 shots for a team-high 66.7 percent. She has also made eight of her 10 attempts from the free throw line. Defensively, Large has collected a team-high seven steals as well. This season, Large is one of three OBU players to have started all 18 games, she is shooting a career-best 45.1 percent and her 4.3 rebounds per game is another career-best.
Quite the Difference
A season ago, OBU was making nearly 35 percent from three-point range (34.9). Six different players were hitting at least 33 percent led by former guard
Erika Ankney (47.1). Fast forward to now. The Bison are making 28.6 percent from deep, 11th in the GAC. And only one player,
Jaedyn Getman, is connecting at a rate better than 33 percent. With 10 games left in the regular season, keep an eye on this front as the green and gold try to improve its long-range ability.
GAC Standings Update
As mentioned previously, there are 10 conference games remaining for the Bison. Six of those 10 contests come inside the Noble Complex too. Heading into this week, coach
Bo Overton's squad is holding on to the eighth and final GAC Tournament spot. They are a game above Southern Arkansas who the Bison hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over after a 63-58 victory against SAU on Jan. 20.
Keys to Success
The two previous matchups with Henderson State and Ouachita in early January brought losses by 74-54 and 76-39 counts, respectively. Among areas the Bison can improve upon: three-point shooting. The team made 6-of-30 (20%) in those contests. They also turned the ball over 40 combined times. Defensively, OBU will need to pick it up as the Reddies and Tigers combined to shoot 47.2 percent from the field and 47 percent from deep.
Meet the Reddies
Henderson State has won four in a row and six of its last seven games after an 81-60 triumph against Southern Arkansas on Jan. 27. Over the course of this four-game winning streak, HSU has averaged 78.3 points per game, made 82.7 percent from the foul line and watched as Ashley Farrar and Jadah Pickens scored an average of at least 13 points per game.
Speaking of Farrar, she ranks third in the GAC in scoring (17.7), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (42.4) and 14th in overall field goal percentage (43.9).
As a team, Henderson State possesses the second-best scoring offense in the league at 74.3 points per contest while holding the top spot in three-point shooting (35.3). The Reddies are also the second-best free throw shooting team in the league (77.4).
In the previous matchup with the Bison on Jan. 6, HSU made 14 deep shots and connected at a 41-percent clip.
Defensively, the Reddies have had their struggles. They give up 71.8 points per game, a mark that's 12th in the conference. HSU is also allowing 32.7 percent from three-point range. That is 11th in the GAC.
Among the other top contributors for Henderson, Natalie Cardenas is slotted 17th in scoring (11.9) and seventh in assists (2.6) while Bobbi Bazzle checks in at No. 15 in rebounding (5.7).
Meet the Tigers
Ouachita has lost three in a row after a 64-52 loss at Harding on Jan. 27. The main issue has been turnovers. The Tigers have committed about 19 a game in that span.
Leading the way this year for Ouachita is Laney Mears. She's got a 12.8 scoring average, 14th-best in the GAC, and is the conference leader in free throw percentage (92.3).
Sophomore Madeleine Tipton, who scored 17 points against the Bison on Jan. 4, is another leader for Ouachita. She is 23rd in scoring (10.6) and field goal percentage (41.2).
Also of note, Grayson Fairless ranks 13th in the GAC in field goal percentage (44.0) and 12th in rebounding (5.9). As of the last three games, she has averaged 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
As a team, nothing jumps out about the Tigers. They are ranked in the middle of the pack in about every major statistical category: Seventh in scoring (65.9) and field goal percentage (39.4); sixth in free throw percentage (74.5) and eighth in rebounding (35.9).
In the last game against the Bison, the Tigers held the green and gold to 39 points. That marked just the second time in Oklahoma Baptist's D2 history that it scored less than 40 points.
