SHAWNEE – No. 8 seed Oklahoma Baptist and last year's Great American Conference Tournament champion (1) Southern Nazarene, will meet on March 7 at 8 p.m. inside FireLake Arena for a quarterfinal matchup.
This will be the third meeting this season between the two schools as well as the third overall game in the conference tourney. During the regular season, SNU won both games against the green and gold.
The Bison Sports Network will be in attendance with Todd Miller and Scott Wanish on the call.
Postseason Time!
For the third time in the last four seasons, Oklahoma Baptist will compete in the Great American Conference Tournament. Last year, OBU, the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 4 seed Arkansas Tech 73-67. It was the program's first GAC Tournament win. In postseason history, the Bison are 1-3 overall. The three defeats: March 1, 2018 to Southwestern Oklahoma State (80-72); March 1, 2021 to Southern Nazarene (69-64) and last March 4, a 60-45 defeat to SNU.
A Massive Challenge
Not only has SNU won the last two Great American Conference regular-season titles, but it has also won 54 of its last 60 games. Thirty-nine (39) of those victories have been by at least 10 points. Great defense has been a major key for SNU. Currently, the Storm possess the 5th-best scoring defense (53.3 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (34.2%) in America. In the two previous matchups with the Bison, SNU held the green and gold to 32.7 percent shooting and 27.3 percent from downtown. OBU also scored, on average, 49.5 points per game during the two regular-season contests.
So You're Saying There's a Chance
Can the eighth-seed Bison upset the top-seed Crimson Storm? Obviously, the odds aren't in OBU's favor. However, there has been one occurrence of this rare feat happening in the GAC Tournament. During a March 2, 2012 quarterfinal matchup in Bartlesville, Southeastern Oklahoma State pulled off the stunner over nationally-ranked Arkansas Tech. The Savage Storm won that game 84-72.
A Year to Remember
The sophomore season of
Jaedyn Getman will be one that's remembered a while. Her 499 points are the most by an OBU player in the D2 era. It surpassed McKenzie Cooper's mark of 496 set during 2017-18. Plus, if she scores against SNU, Getman will become just the 26th OBU player in the program's 46-year history to register 500 points in a season. Also of note, Getman's 86.6 free throw percentage ranks third-best in single-season history and her 11, 20-point scoring efforts are the most by a Bison player in D2 play. Furthermore, Getman has averaged 17.8 points per game, the highest-ever in OBU's D2 history.
Last Game Out
The Bison had a sensational first half last Saturday at East Central. Getman scored 18 points and the team tallied 41 in the first half. It marked only the second time this year that OBU reached at least 40 points in the opening half. OBU made 51.7 percent from the field and 45.4 from three. Plus, the team committed just three turnovers. At the break, the Bison led 41-30. However, the second half was a much different story. In the third and fourth periods, OBU combined to score 16 and made five of its 26 shots, a 19.2 percent mark. That allowed the host Tigers to rally and win 64-57.
Late Season Ascension
Fifth-year senior
Madison Chambers has provided a steady lift for the Bison offense over the last three games. She has scored at least 11 in the previous contests, including 17 twice against Arkansas-Monticello and Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Muldrow, Okla., native has made 18-of-36 from the field and grabbed 4.3 rebounds per game. Plus, she has secured five steals. Her efforts will need to continue if the Bison want to hang with SNU. During the regular season, OBU's guard scored four points in each of those games.
Historical Look
The Bison have played in four GAC Tournament games. Here are a few of the best individual and team performance marks:
Points - Shaylan Coleman (28) vs. SWOSU (3/1/2018)
Rebounds - Andreja Peciuraite (13) vs. SNU (3/1/21)
Assists - Coleman (5) vs. SWOSU (3/1) &
Madison Chambers (5) vs. ATU (3/3/23)
Blocks - Lexi Williams (4) vs. SWOSU (3/1/18)
Team Points - 73 vs. Arkansas Tech (3/3/23)
Field Goal Percentage - 39.7% vs. Southern Nazarene (3/1/21)
Fewest Points Allowed - 60 vs. SNU (3/4/23)
Rebounds - 52 vs. SWOSU (3/1/18)
Assists - 16 vs. Arkansas Tech (3/3/23)
Meet the Crimson Storm
Southern Nazarene has won six in a row and will look to defend its GAC Tournament Championship.
During the 2023 GAC Tournament, Southern Nazarene got through Southern Arkansas (84-73), Oklahoma Baptist (60-45) and Harding (57-46) to claim the GAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Storm earned the 8-seed in the Central Region bracket where they fell to top seed Minnesota-Duluth 66-50.
SNU's 27 wins this season are the most under Head Coach Trent May who started his tenure in Bethany during the 2017-18 campaign. He has led SNU to a 7-3 GAC Tournament record and a pair of championships.
The Crimson Storm have a host of talented players. Hannah Giddey ranks 11th in the GAC in scoring (13.5), second in rebounding (10.0) and first in blocks (3.7). Giddey, sister of Oklahoma City Thunder player Josh Giddey, nearly had a triple-double against the Bison during the Jan. 25 game in Shawnee. The 6-foot-2 forward from Melbourne, Australia went for a game-high 16 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
As mentioned earlier, Southern Nazarene's defense is a major reason the team is 27-1. They are tied for 15th in the country in blocks per game (4.6), tied for 32nd in defensive rebounds per contest (28.4) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (34.2%).
During conference play, SNU gave up just 53.4 points per game to GAC opponents. That included an average of 49.5 points allowed to Oklahoma Baptist.
SNU is highly efficient on offense, too. Their team field goal percentage of 44.8 is ranked No. 23 in NCAA Division II. Plus, the team's 34.9 percent mark from downtown is 20th-best in the NCAA.
Another standout player is Lauryn Reither. She is fourth in the conference in scoring (15.8) and second in field goal percentage (51.5). That latter total is also ranked 43rd in the country. During the two previous contests with the Bison, Reither averaged 11 points per game, 8.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds.
Also of note, Abbie Jiles is one of the key long-range shooters for Coach May. She is ninth in the GAC with a 36.3 percentage. During SNU's 75-53 win over OBU on Feb. 15, Jiles scored a game-high 25 points and made 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line.
Emily Monaghan, another student-athlete from Australia, is SNU's other top contributor. Over the last four games, the 5-foot-9 guard has averaged 19.3 points, made 50 percent from the field (23-of-46) and made 25-of-33 (75.8%) from the free throw line.
Worth mentioning, last year's GAC Tournament Semifinal game with OBU was Southern Nazarene's toughest. The Bison held the top seed to 39.2 percent shooting, 31.6 percent from deep and watched as the Storm made 14-of-24 at the foul line, a 58.3 percent mark.
