LUBBOCK, Texas ? Oklahoma City University survived with a Sooner Athletic Conference road win over Lubbock Christian (Texas) 68-56 on Saturday at the Rip Griffin Center.
Alexandra Kotta, a 5-foot-11 junior from Germantown, Md., topped OCU with 18 points, five steals and two blocked shots. Mariam Sy had 16 points, 12 rebounds and two steals.
The Stars, ranked third in NAIA Division I, improved to 18-2, 9-0 in the SAC. OCU, which has a 13-game winning streak, now has first place in the conference to itself.
OCU rallied from a 37-34 halftime deficit to come away with the win. The Stars outrebounded Lubbock Christian 26-14 in the second half to key the turnaround.
"We were outrebounded in the first half, but in the second half we outrebounded in the second by almost the same margin," OCU coach Rob Edmisson said. "We did a better job defensively holding them in the second half."
OCU has trailed at halftime only four times this season. Lubbock Christian led the Stars at the half of the Jan. 5 matchup between these teams. That was the last time OCU had a halftime deficit before Saturday. The Stars won 83-68 on Jan. 5 and are 3-1 when facing a halftime deficit.
Kotta bested her season high in points. Beonka Weems and Mikelle Brown provided a boost off the bench. Weems had eight points and five rebounds, while Brown had six points. Weems and Brown each sank 3-of-3 from the field.
"Alex really carried us the first half. She got some steals and hit some big 3-pointers," Edmisson said. "Beonka and Mikelle really helped us today. Those two really gave us some toughness."
The Stars face Oklahoma Christian at 6 p.m. Thursday in Abe Lemons Arena.