Bulldogs Welcome NSU to Dawg House

January 26, 2007

WEATHERFORD – Southwestern Oklahoma State University has a chance to make up ground in the Lone Star Conference North Division basketball race as both the men and women host rival Northeastern State University Saturday in Weatherford. Tipoff for the women is at 2 p.m. and the men follow at 4 p.m.

SWOSU coach Shelly Pond put her women’s team back in the North hunt with a 73-67 victory over Central Oklahoma Wednesday in Edmond. The Bulldogs are 7-10 and in fifth place in the LSC North with a 1-2 mark. The top four teams qualify for the LSC Postseason Tournament.

NSU is 12-5 and tied for first with Southeastern Oklahoma State University at 3-0.

It was just last year when Pond’s squad broke NSU’s three-year hold on the North title finishing with a division-best 9-3 mark to claim the school’s first-ever outright LSC North Crown.

SWOSU veterans Grace Anne Jones and Andrea Oldham have elevated their game recently and have given the Bulldogs a considerable boost on the offensive end. Jones set career highs in both points (22) and rebounds (11) in the victory against UCO while Oldham has scored in double figures seven consecutive games.

For the men, SWOSU will try to breathe life into its fast-break offense that has sputtered in its last two outings. The Bulldogs were held to 74 points in a 15-point loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State and 77 points in a six-point loss at UCO. The Bulldogs, the LSC’s top scoring team, are averaging more than 89 points a game and are 14-0 when scoring more than 80 points.

SWOSU is 13-4 and tied for fourth with NSU in the LSC North with a 1-2 mark. The Redmen are 6-11 overall. Both teams are chasing nationally-ranked Southeastern who is a perfect 3-0 in the division

The men’s game will be a homecoming of sort for former SWOSU head coach Scott Reed who guided the Bulldogs for three seasons before returning back to NSU last year. Reed was 47-38 at SWOSU and beat NSU five of the seven times he faced them on the court with the Bulldogs.