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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Still maintaining its grasp on the number two spot in the Great American Conference standings despite a loss on Thursday, Henderson State heads to Weatherford, Oklahoma, to take on the GAC-leading No. 22 Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs Saturday, Jan. 8 at 1 p.m. in one of the biggest games of the year for either squad.
 
REDDIES REPORT
Henderson comes into the Pioneer Cellular Event Center off a loss against Northwestern Oklahoma St. in Alva in what was only HSU's second conference loss of the season. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Reddies. Leading scorer Ashley Farrar led the team with 23 points while Jadah Pickens had a season-high 17 points.
 
Thursday's outcome marked only the second time in five games the Henderson offense has been held under 80 points and only the fifth time all season. In the 12 games the Reddies have played, they are averaging 84.5 points per game, which is the second most in the league behind Southern Arkansas (90.1).
 
Through six conference games, the key has seemed to be not as much on the offensive end for HSU, but on the defensive end. In its four GAC wins, Henderson held each opponent to 80 or fewer points. In the two losses, both opponents scored more than 80 points. For the season as a whole, the Reddies are 6-1 when they score at least 80 points.
 
In head coach Jill Thomas' nine years at HSU, she has only beaten SWOSU three times with the last victory coming back in 2016 as the Bulldogs currently boast an 8-game winning streak over the Reddies. Henderson has never beaten Southwestern in Weatherford, including one of the highest scoring games in GAC history when HSU fell to SWOSU in 2015, 116-108.     
 
SCOUTING NO. 22 SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA ST.
After making it to the NCAA South Central Region Championship game last season, Southwestern is out on a similar trajectory to start the 2021-22 season with a 13-2 overall record and an undefeated 7-0 record in conference. Over the last four years, SWOSU has only lost eight GAC contests, including going 22-0 in 2018-19.
 
As dominant as SWOSU has been in the GAC over the past several years, it has been even more so when playing at home. Since 2016-17, the Bulldogs have only lost four home games, including being undefeated at home this season. Southwestern's last home conference loss in the regular season was Jan. 23, 2021.
 
Head coach Kelsi Musick's squad goes wherever star sophomore Makyra Tramble leads them. As one of the premier players in the GAC, Tramble is averaging 21.4 points per game and 4.9 assists per game, both of which lead the team. The Shawnee, Oklahoma, native has secured 10 20-point outings so far this season and has only scored fewer than 14 points once.  
 
What To Watch For…
-With 13 rebounds this past Thursday, Karrington Whaley now has 704 career boards, which is fifth-most in program history. The career blocks leader in HSU history also has 151 career rejections. Whaley only needs three more blocks to pass Arkansas Tech's Cheyenne North (153) for the sixth most blocks in GAC history.