SHAWNEE – Three weeks remain in the regular season and Oklahoma Baptist has Great American Conference contests at No. 10 Southern Nazarene and at home versus Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
On Feb. 15 at 5:30, the Bison visit SNU before another 5:30 p.m. contest on Feb. 17 against the Lady Rangers. Both the Crimson Storm and Northwestern defeated OBU earlier this season.
The Bison Sports Network's Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will be on the call of both games.
Tough Sledding
Last week's road games against Harding and Arkansas Tech were a struggle offensively for the Bison. OBU made no more than 18 field goals in each game and shot 31.1 percent over the two contests. In fact, the Bison were held to no greater than 31.4 percent against HU and the Golden Suns. It marked the first time in two years that the team didn't hit above 31 percent in back-to-back games. The last time this happened: Feb. 10 and 12, 2022 also against Harding and Arkansas Tech.
Down the Stretch
It is crunch time with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season. Oklahoma Baptist (9-13, 6-10 GAC) and Southern Arkansas (11-11, 6-10) are currently tied for the eighth and final GAC Tournament spot. The current tiebreaker favors the Bison who beat SAU 63-58 in Magnolia on Jan. 20. OBU is also just a game back of sixth place Arkansas Tech and Ouachita who possess 7-9 conference records. Coach
Bo Overton's team will face Southern Arkansas one more time on Feb. 22 at home beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Best Individual Season Ever (Maybe)
Forty-five (45) percent shooting. Forty-two (42) percent from three. Eight-five (85) percent from the foul line. Those are sophomore
Jaedyn Getman's current figures in those categories. To date, only two other Bison in the D2 era have ever posted numbers like those. A season ago,
Erika Ankney notched 46 percent from the field, 47 from downtown and 85.7 from the charity stripe. Then in 2017-18, McKenzie Cooper registered 47 percent overall, 45 from three-point range and 90.5 at the free throw line. It should be noted, too, Getman has an 18.1 scoring average, the best of the three. Last year, Ankney scored 15.7 per contest while Cooper tallied 17.1 several seasons ago.
The Bison Bench
Last Saturday in Russellville, OBU's bench scored 33 of the team's 54 points. That was the second-highest total produced by the Bison's bench players in a single game this season. Previously, OBU got 36 versus Southeastern Oklahoma State on Dec. 9, 2023. Against the Golden Suns,
Aubrey Marjason and
Faith Wright each scored eight while
Payten Conde added seven. Plus,
Sierra Copeland contributed four while
Catyn Graham and
Lauren Lamb each tallied three.
Close Calls
Oklahoma Baptist and No. 10 (WBCA) Southern Nazarene have played some extremely close games inside the Sawyer Center recently. Last year, SNU won 57-55 after making free throws inside of one second. That came after the Bison fouled a three-point shooter with the lead. During a Jan. 13, 2022 contest, OBU rallied from a 17-point deficit and watched as former player Jaylin Stapleton hit a pair of free throws with 3.6 seconds left to lift OBU to a 67-66 victory.
Keep Adding 'Em
Fifth-year player
Madison Chambers has registered 62 assists in 22 contests this year. She has tallied as many as six assists twice as well. Her career total in the process has moved to 228, fourth-most by a Bison player in the D2 era. Autumn Avina, who played three seasons from 2016-2019, produced 430 while Jaylin Stapleton (2019-21) registered 261. Finally, Cameera Graves (2015-17) notched 252.
Meet the Crimson Storm
Southern Nazarene was finally beaten last week, snapping a 21-game winning streak to start the year. Harding handled SNU, winning 77-57. It marked the first time in 55 contests that a Trent May-coached team got beat by 20.
The Crimson Storm prides itself on defense. Their 54.0 points allowed per game is tops in the GAC and eighth in the country. SNU is also fifth in the nation allowing opponents to shoot 34.1 percent from the field. Also of note, the Storm are slotted 13th in blocks per game (4.7).
Senior forward Hannah Giddey is one of the top contributors for the Storm. She is the national leader in blocks (82) and blocks per game (3.73). The sister of Oklahoma City Thunder player Josh Giddey also ranks 22nd with 224 rebounds. Plus, she has 10 double-doubles which rank 16th in Division II.
Teammate Lauryn Reither is another force for SNU. She shoots 53.1 percent from the field, a mark this is 36th in the nation. Reither is also 33rd with 58 steals and her 94 assists are a top-50 mark in the country. Her 17.3 scoring average is also good for third in the Great American Conference.
Rounding out Southern Nazarene's top contributors is Emily Monaghan. She is 12th in the conference in scoring (13.0), 16th in field goal percentage (43.7) and 13th in three-point shooting percentage (34.2).
Meet the Lady Rangers
Faith Simpson is the key leader for Northwestern Oklahoma State. A few weeks ago against Southwestern Oklahoma State, she scored 44 points. That's the highest individual total in all of Division II play this season. Simpson is also 13th in the country in field goal percentage (57.7) and second in points per game (22.3).
Northwestern is coming off a surprising loss at Ouachita, 87-80. That snapped a five-game winning streak for the Lady Rangers.
This season, NWOSU ninth in the country in field goal percentage (46.3) and rank 12th averaging 76.9 points per game. They also boast the 30th-best scoring defense in the country, allowing 57.6 points per game. Plus, Northwestern's 19.3 scoring margin is seventh.
Junior Carly Craig is another threat for coach Tasha Diesselhorst. The Blanchard, Okla., native ranks 35th in the country with 103 assists. She also boasts top-50 marks in steals (560 and three-point percentage (38.2). Furthermore, her 60 made three-pointers slot Craig 21st in D2.
Forward Camille Thomas rounds out Northwestern's top contributors. She scores 10.7 points per game, a mark that's 21st in the GAC. Thomas is also slotted ninth in rebounding (6.4) and third in field goal percentage (50.6). The junior also dishes out 1.7 assists per game. That's good for 21st in the conference.
