Women's Basketball 1/28/2012 10:46:00 PM

OCU sneaks past Northwestern Oklahoma State 70-69

Desiree Jeffries' game-winning jumper lifts the Stars over the Lady Rangers

Dietra Caldwell posted a game-high 16 points against Nortwestern Oklahoma State Saturday.

ALVA, Okla. – No. 2 Oklahoma City University escaped with a thrilling 70-69 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State Saturday at Percefull Fieldhouse.
Junior Desiree Jeffries hit a pull-up jumper from the left wing to give the Stars a 70-69 advantage with 4.6 seconds on the clock.
After a timeout, Northwestern inbounded the ball in the backcourt and made a full-court pass that was deflected out of bounds by Jeffries with 0.5 seconds to go. The Lady Rangers got a look at the basket, but Renee Golliday's jumper came up short as time expired.
The win moves the Stars to 19-1 on the season and 13-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
Senior Taylor Booze hit a jumper at the 19:02 mark to spark the stars on a 9-0 run. Center Nicollette Smith capped the run with a 3-point jumper to give the Stars a 9-2 lead with 15:33 remaining in the fist half.
Ronita Coleman hit a jumper at the 6:00 mark to cut OCU's lead to 27-25, but the Stars responded with a 9-1 run to push their lead to 10 points. Booze fueled the run with five points to give the Stars a 36-26 lead with 2:53 to go in the half.
Sophomore Kayla MacKenzie buried a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left on the clock and gave OCU a 40-31 lead at halftime.
The Stars shot 42 percent from the floor and 46 percent from 3-point distance in the first half.
Dietra Caldwell and Lauren Gober got OCU started in the second half, scoring five quick points and making the score 45-31 with 18:04 to play.
Later in the half Caldwell scored six straight points to send OCU on an 8-0 run and give the Stars a 14 point lead with under 10 minutes to play.
At the 4:42 mark Northwestern embarked on a 12-2 run. Talytha Williams capped the run with a layup to give Northwestern a 69-68 lead with 33 seconds remaining in the game.
Jeffries gave OCU the lead for good when she hit a pull-up jumper from the left wing to make the score 70-69. Northwestern got a shot off before time expired but it fell short and the Stars escaped with a 70-69 win.
Caldwell led the way with a game-high 16 points and Jeffries added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Smith posted 11 points and seven rebounds and Gober chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Stars will return to action against Oklahoma Baptist at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Noble Complex in Shawnee, Okla.

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