SHAWNEE – The final two regular-season games of the 2023-24 season come this week for Oklahoma Baptist. On Feb. 29 at 5:30 p.m., the Bison will host Southeastern Oklahoma State before traveling to East Central on March 2 at 1 p.m.
Back in December, OBU won 56-54 over Southeastern in Durant before a 69-60 victory at home against the Tigers.
As usual, the Bison Sports Network's Todd Miller and Scott Wanish will be on the call for both games.
That's The Madi We Know
Fifth-year guard
Madison Chambers was instrumental in the Bison's win over Arkansas-Monticello on Feb. 24. Her 17 points were her most since scoring 19 against Pittsburg State on Nov. 10. Chambers dialed up three 3-pointers in the process, tying her career-high set previously against Henderson State on Jan. 29, 2022. Plus, Chambers grabbed a season-high seven rebounds and dished out three assists to go along with three steals.
Second Chances
One of the biggest reasons OBU defeated the Cotton Blossoms was second-chance opportunities. The Bison collected a season-high 20 offensive rebounds and turned those into 27 points. It marked the first time all season that the green and gold scored at least 20 second-chance points. Previously, the last time a
Bo Overton-coached team reached that many second-chance points was Jan. 21, 2023 at Northwestern Oklahoma State, a 68-66 Bison victory. In that game, OBU reached 25.
Best-Case Scenario
Fans are probably wondering what the Bison's postseason chances are. Well, after last weekend's win over UAM, the green and gold are in good shape. This coming week, OBU can clinch a berth into the eight-team Great American Conference Tournament with a victory over Southeastern paired with a Southern Arkansas win against Ouachita on Feb. 29. Plus, if those desired results come about, OBU will have a chance at the No. 6 seed. Stay tuned as a clearer picture will come the night of the 29th.
Record Alert
Junior
Jill Leslie is on the cusp of breaking her previous OBU D2 single-season record in blocks. After recording three last week against Southern Arkansas and UAM, the 6-foot-3 forward needs just one more to surpass her total of 42 set during the 2022-23 season. She'll have two chances versus Southeastern on Thursday and East Central on March 2 in Ada.
Last Time Versus Southeastern & ECU
Oklahoma Baptist played at Southeastern on Dec. 9 before a Dec. 16 home game against East Central. Those contests were highlighted by outstanding third quarters from the green and gold. Against SE, the Bison, who were trailing by nine at half, outscored the Savage Storm 19-10. Then a week later versus the Tigers, OBU held a 20-16 advantage in the third. Those efforts helped spur on OBU to a pair of victories. Furthermore,
Parker Stevenson and
Jaedyn Getman led the team with 16.5 and 13.5 scoring averages, respectively.
Remember This?
Speaking of Stevenson, 81 days ago she had an incredible performance at Southeastern. The freshman from Shawnee came off the bench, made nine field goals, four of which were from downtown, and scored a season-high 26 points. That total was the second-highest by a Bison off the bench since Shaylan Coleman contributed 28 against Southwestern Oklahoma State on March 1, 2018. Be certain Southeastern will have an eye on Stevenson when the two teams meet again on Feb. 29 at the Noble Complex.
One More Noteworthy Nugget
In the Bison's 69-60 win over East Central on Dec. 16, the team went to free throw line an incredible 42 times. OBU ended up making 32 of those, a 76-percent clip. That marked the most free throw makes since the program made 35 versus Ouachita on Jan. 27, 2022. Getman went 12-for-12 while
Madison Chambers posted a 7-for-10 showing. Also, Stevenson made five freebies while
Kennedy Large went 3-for-4.
Playing at Noble
Fans will get to see the Bison women's team one more time in Shawnee this week. And the squad has a multitude of reasons to give the home faithful a reason to smile after Thursday's game against Southeastern. A victory can almost assure the team a GAC Tournament berth. Plus, OBU would boost its home record to 8-7 this season. That would mark the third straight year of a winning home mark. That's only happened one other time in the D2 era: from the 2015-16 campaign through 2017-18.
Meet The Savage Storm
Southeastern has played well as of late, winning three of its last four contests. That included a 75-68 win over Ouachita. In their last game, though, SE was defeated 75-66 at home versus Henderson State.
The Storm are sitting in tenth place, two games behind OBU and Southern Arkansas. After Thursday's game with the Bison, they'll host Northwestern Oklahoma State on March 2.
Caitlin Kobiske is the leader for SE. She ranks seventh in the GAC in scoring (14.6), 12th in rebounding (6.1) and 13th in field-goal percentage (43.9). In the previous matchup with OBU, Kobiske scored a team-high 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting while also pulling down five rebounds.
One of the Storm's best team attributes is free throw shooting. They rank second in the GAC and 18th nationally with a 77.3 percent mark. Kobiske (86.3) and Ashton Hackler (84.2) both rank top-46 in the country to lead Southeastern.
Offensively, SE has been inconsistent. They rank 10th in the GAC in scoring (60.3) and field goal percentage (37.0). Plus, their turnover margin of -2.0 is worst in the league.
Of note, the Storm have three players ranked in the top-25 of the GAC in rebounding: Holli Lindley (7.3), Kobiske (6.1) and Kenzli Warden (5.2).
Meet The Tigers
East Central pulled off a 61-48 upset win over Ouachita on Feb. 24. That broke a three-game losing streak for the Tigers and improved their record to 8-16 overall and 4-16 in the conference.
Two games remain for first-year coach Heather Hurt: Feb. 29 at Southwestern Oklahoma State and March 2 at home against Oklahoma Baptist.
Mackenzie Crusoe has had a standout season for ECU. She has scored as many as 32 points and reached double-figure scoring 22 times. The Choctaw, Okla., native has scored at least 10 in 15 straight contests too. Crusoe ranks fourth in the GAC in scoring (15.7) and during the previous matchup with OBU on Dec. 16, she tallied 20 points and secured 12 rebounds.
The Tigers have the fourth-best scoring defense in the GAC (60.6) but also are 12th in scoring offense (56.6). They do though make 32.7 percent from deep, a mark that's slotted fifth in the league.
ECU's Kennedy Cummings directs the Tigers' attack. She has a team-high 50 assists, and her 2.1 per-game average is 15th-best in the GAC. Cummings also ranks 13th in free throw percentage (79.2).
Jayden Weiberg highlights the other top contributor for East Central. She averages 8.0 points per game and makes 41 percent from the field and from three-point range.
