SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist's (10-14, 7-11 GAC) next three contests come at home starting this week against Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello. On Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m., the Bison play the Muleriders before a Feb. 24 home date with the Blossoms at 1 p.m.
A month ago, the Bison won both games on the road. At SAU, the green and gold earned a 63-58 result and at UAM, coach
Bo Overton's team won 69-60.
The Bison Sports Network's Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will be on the call for both games.
Top-Notch Defensive Showing
Oklahoma Baptist's effort on defense last Saturday against Northwestern Oklahoma State was a season-best. Yes, the Lady Rangers were missing one of their frontline starters in Camille Thomas, but OBU's performance was as good as fans have seen this season. The green and gold held the visitors from Alva to 28.3 percent shooting, its lowest this year. Plus, OBU's frontcourt defense held Faith Simpson, a player that scored 44 in a game in January, to 5-of-25 (20%) shooting. Furthermore, Northwestern's 52 points scored were its fewest in 2023-24.
Stevenson's Steady Day
This was freshman
Parker Stevenson's line against Northwestern: 15 minutes played, 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, three steals, two rebounds and most notably, no turnovers. It marked the first time since the Nov. 11 home game against Washburn that the Shawnee native didn't commit a turnover. It was an efficient performance for Stevenson who knocked down a big three-ball late in the fourth as the Bison secured, arguably, their biggest win of the season.
Free Throw Dominance
It has been mentioned quite a bit the last couple seasons: OBU can finish at the foul line. Last Saturday's contest versus the Lady Rangers proved this once more. The Bison dialed up a 16-for-18 showing at the charity stripe. That registered out to an 88.3 percent clip, the second-best mark this season. Individually,
Jaedyn Getman and
Madison Chambers each went 4-for-4 while Stevenson and
Sydney Duncan went 2-for-2. Currently, OBU is 48th in the country with a 75.27 overall mark.
Don't Come Her Way
Last week,
Jill Leslie came up with nine total blocks, including six versus No. 10 Southern Nazarene. That was a personal-best mark for the junior and it bumped her season total to 39. That block total currently is slotted 37th in the nation. With four games remaining, Leslie needs just four more blocks to pass her OBU D2-record total set a season ago. As a sophomore, the Wichita Falls, Texas native accumulated 42 last year.
GAC Standings Update
Four games remain for the Bison: two this week versus Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello and next week against Southeastern and East Central. The Bison are 7-11 in the GAC along with Ouachita and SAU. That's three teams vying for the final two conference tournament spots. Here's the tiebreaker formula: when three or more teams are tied, the team with the most games won against other tied teams collectively will be awarded the highest seeded position. As it stands, OBU and Ouachita have 2-1 records while SAU is 0-2. After that, rules look at the team's best win based on common opponents in descending order. If those above formulas are not conclusive, a coin flip will determine the highest seeded teams.
Last Time Against SAU & UAM
A month ago, OBU went on the road and won games against the Muleriders and Cotton Blossoms. Defense was the key in these games for the Bison. Over that two-game stretch, OBU gave up 59 points per contest, 33.9 percent shooting and 26 percent from downtown. Offensively, Getman averaged 20.5 points per game while
Jill Leslie (17.0) and
Parker Stevenson (11.5) also averaged double-digit scoring efforts. One area for improvement: turnovers. OBU committed a combined 43 in the two contests.
Checking In On Jaedyn
With two weeks remaining in the regular season, sophomore
Jaedyn Getman continues to be one of the most complete players in the Great American Conference. She is second in scoring average (17.7), fourth in free throw percentage (86.6), eighth in rebounding (6.4) and tenth in field goal percentage (45.2). She is the only player in the league to rank in the top-ten in those four categories too. The Stratford native is also a reliable three-point shooter for OBU. She has made 41.5 percent from deep, a total that would rank third in the GAC if Getman averaged enough attempts.
Meet the Muleriders
Southern Arkansas had a three-game winning streak snapped when it fell to No. 6 Harding by an 80-67 count on Feb. 17 in Magnolia. Of note, SAU has lost its last four games on the road. The last time it won away from W.T. Watson Athletic Center was Jan. 13 at East Central (78-62).
Diamond Morris is one of the key leaders for SAU. She averages a team-best 12.7 points per game, makes 43 percent from the field and is tied for the team-lead with 4.5 rebounds per game. In the previous matchup with Oklahoma Baptist, she scored 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting and made three 3-pointers.
As a team, the Muleriders average 71 points per game, a mark that's fourth in the GAC. They also are fifth in field goal percentage (40.4). Arguably SAU's biggest flaw is free throw shooting. They make 62.5 percent which is dead-last in the league.
Helping guide the Muleriders' attack is junior Tequaza Chambers. She has 53 assists this year and averages 2.2 per game. That slots her 13th in the GAC. Chambers also has a team-high 46 steals.
Senior Addy Tremie has been on a tear recently. She has scored at least 20 points in two of the last three games and made nearly 41 percent from deep in that span. Tremie is coming off an 8-of-16 showing with 20 points against nationally-ranked Harding.
Meet the Cotton Blossoms
Arkansas-Monticello has split its last four games and is coming off a 69-57 upset win over Henderson State. That improved UAM's record to 8-16 and 4-14 in the GAC.
Monticello has struggled in true road games this year. They are 1-8 away from Steelman Fieldhouse. In those contests, UAM has averaged 58.2 points per game, made 38 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from deep. The Blossoms have given up 72.2 points per contest to opponents as well.
Bailey Harris is Monticello's leader. Her 14.7 scoring average is eighth in the GAC as is her blocked shots average (1.0). Plus, Harris ranks 16th in both rebounding (5.8) and field goal percentage (43.6). In the last game against OBU, she scored nine points on 2-of-9 shooting. At the time, that was her lowest scoring total of the season.
Coach David Midlick's other top performer is Alindsey Long. She is second on the team averaging 10.7 points per game. Long makes 39.3 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from deep. That latter mark ranks her 14th in the conference.
The Blossoms have a few advantages statistically over the Bison. They are eighth in scoring offense (61.7) while OBU is 11th (59.4). UAM also defends the three-point line better, sitting in second place (28.4) while OBU is 12th (35.3).
