SWOSU Basketball competed in the GAC tournament in Shawnee last weekend, and the squads found mixed results. Both teams took on rivals Northwestern Oklahoma State University in the first round, and both were the sixth seed, taking on the third seed.
The men’s team tipped things off first on Friday and trailed throughout much of the game. Midway through the second half, the lead was cut down to two, but that’s as close as the Bulldogs got, as they ended up falling 74-82.
The women took the court several hours later. Having already lost to NWOSU twice this season, the women looked to avenge these losses. The game quickly became a back-and-forth battle, with nine lead changes throughout. Ultimately it was three clutch 4th quarter three-pointers and solid free-throw shooting that helped the Lady Bulldogs pull out a 65-61 win.
The Lady bulldogs were back on the court for the semi-finals on Saturday, taking on the 2-seeded Harding Lady Bison. Having upset Harding earlier in the season, the Dawgs looked to replicate this performance, and replicate it they did. In a game very similar to the upset win, the Lady Bulldogs led for much of the game before fending off a late Harding comeback. The Lady Bulldogs won by a score of 79-72, in large part to a 27-point Mason Jones performance.
On Sunday, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves in the GAC Championship taking on fourth-seeded Henderson State. The Dawgs lost the lead a minute into the contest and never regained it. Although keeping pace throughout the second quarter, a slow start through the first and third quarters proved to be too detrimental for SWOSU to overcome. The Lady Bulldogs fell 55-71.
