Game Notes

Date: December 2, 2021
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City, Mo. - Southwest Baptist hits the road for the first time since their opening weekend over two weeks ago. They will take on the Hawks of Rockhurst located in Kansas City, MO.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
In their first year as full-time members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, the SBU Women's Basketball team finished 15-13 (9-11 GLVC) on the year. The GLVC allows just 8 teams to make the conference tournament. Finishing 10th out of 16 teams in the GLVC, the Bearcats narrowly missed the conference tournament for the second straight year.

The 2020-21 season was a shortened, conference opponent only season due to COVID-19. In that shortened season, SBU finished with a 5-14 record. Their strongest portion of the season came in January, as the team won 4 contests, 3 of those in a row. Arguably their best win came on the road against Maryville, defeating the Saints 100-97 in double overtime. Returning for an extra year of eligibility is All-GLVC selection, Kyleigh Vaught. She started 18 games last year, leading the team with 564 minutes played, scoring 261 points which averages to 14.5 per game (20th in GLVC). From the free throw line, Vaught shot 66-75 (88.0%) which led the conference. Vaught also led the team in three's made (27), assists (41), and steals (26). Eight other Bearcats return from the 2020-21 roster, including Brylee Graddy, Rachel Tippens, Nyah Pettus, Mary Rose Foster, Gabriella Capasso, Natalie Basham, Bella Irlenborn, and Alyssa Williams.

The Bearcats are 3-3 (1-0 GLVC) this season, picking up a dominating 30-point victory in their conference opener against William Jewell on Monday. Defense was the highlight, holding the Cardinals to just 35 points in 40 minutes. They are looking to break their trend of alternating wins and losses, as they have gone back and forth in all six games this year. Kyleigh Vaught continues to lead the team in scoring with 71 points so far. She also has a team-leading 16 assists and 7 steals. Mary Rose Foster has been very impactful down low, contributing 50 points, 35 rebounds, 10 assists, and 4 blocks. Another starter that has put up solid numbers is Nyah Pettus. She has scored 38 points on 56.7% shooting, grabbed 34 boards, snagged 7 steals, and made 5 blocks. Emma Perry joins Vaught as the team's major threats from beyond the arc. Perry has made 11 three's and Vaught has made 10 this year.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
The Rockhurst Hawks enter Thursday's competition with a brief 2-1 (0-0 GLVC) record this year. Starting the year slightly later than most schools, Rockhurst defeated Upper Iowa 78-64 to open the fresh season. A week after that, the Hawks suffered their first loss to Northwest Missouri State 63-73. The next day, Rockhurst bounced back with a strong 71-69 victory over Washburn. The Hawks have had the same 5 starters in all three competitions this year. Returning for another season is guard Daly Sullivan. She has 62 points (20.7 ppg), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Keegan Sullivan and Molly Hummel have 45 and 43 points respectively, each with 22 rebounds.

THE COACHES
SBU head coach Kelsey Keizer begins her eighth season on the SBU bench after compiling a 86-104 (49-88 conf.) record while at SBU. Coach Keizer led the Bearcats to back-to-back-to-back winning seasons (2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18) for the first time since the 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2002-03 seasons. Since joining the GLVC in 2019, Keizer has had three AllGLVC selections.

Larry Park returns as the head coach of the Hawks for his 13th season. Over the past 7 seasons, Park has led the Hawks to 82 wins, including an 18-10 record and second place in the West Division in 2016- 17. In that same season, he helped the team advance to the second round of the GLVC tournament for the second straight year.

ALL-TIME SERIES
SBU leads the all-time series 14-8, splitting the 2020-21 series with Rockhurst. The first competition was taken by the Hawks 73-49, but the Bearcats took the second match 77-67 on the road. Kyleigh Vaught had a strong performance in that game, scoring 22 points and tacking on 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks as well.