The Southwestern Oklahoma State Lady Bulldogs basketball team has made the postseason three of the past five seasons and has had five straight seasons of 20 or more wins.
In these five seasons, the Lady Bulldogs also have played in a national championship game and claimed a Great American Conference Championship, both during the 2018-19 season. The Lady Bulldogs also have had three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.
For the 2021 season, cut short by COVID-19, SWOSU returns seniors Taber Beer, Bethany Franks and Maddie Sperle along with sophomore Makarya Tramble.
New to this team are Karly and Macy Gore, who played basketball at Seiling and were part of four consecutive state championships.
Because of COVID-19, the schedule is different this year. SWOSU will not play the Arkansas schools in the regular season and will play each Oklahoma school four times.
The Lady Bulldogs open their season, 5:30 p.m. Thursday at East Central University.
The Lady Bulldogs’ first home game is 2 p.m. Saturday against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
SWOSU and Southeastern Oklahoma State were selected as pre-season favorites to win the western division.
The Great American Conference will not allow any fans for the first 2 weeks of games. They will look to reconsider following the games played Saturday, January 16.
If fans are allowed at some point, the conference would look to allow up to 25 percent of venue capacity to attend games. Venues will utilize a 12-foot buffer zone to separate fans from studentathletes and game personnel. Teams must have seven healthy players to compete.
Teams must have seven healthy players to compete. Teams with six or fewer players due to positive tests or contact tracing will not be able to participate, resulting in a no-contest. Teams must play 50 percent 10 games of their scheduled contests to gain eligibility for the Great American Conference Championships.
2021 roster
Ashlyn Basler — sophomore
Taber Beer — senior
Maddy North — sophomore
Regan Crawford — sophomore
Bethany Franks — senior
Avery Walker-Henry — freshman
Lauren Ramey — junior
Maddie Sperle — senior
Karly Gore — sophomore
Macy Gore — sophomore
Makyra Tramble — sophomore