OKLAHOMA CITY ? No. 80 for Oklahoma City University did not come easy Thursday.
OCU won its 80th consecutive game at home, 66-65 over Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena. Mariam Sy hit a layup off the high-post feed from Fabiana Araujo with 13.8 seconds remaining to give the Stars the win.
The Stars won the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season championship with the victory. OCU, third-ranked in NAIA Division I, is now 26-2, 17-0 in the SAC. No. 22 OBU fell to 21-8, 9-8. The Stars won their 21st consecutive game.
OCU's women have not lost at home since a 72-65 loss to Southern Nazarene on Feb. 12, 2000.
Sy, a 6-foot-4 senior from Mali, West Africa, led OCU with 26 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. Rachel Heins paced OBU with 26 points.
?Mariam?s one of those special players you get to coach once or twice in a lifetime,? OCU coach Rob Edmisson said. ?They?re battlers. With an 80-game homecourt winning streak, they don?t panic. I was probably more in a panic mode than our kids. They kept their composure.?
OCU led 45-33 with 13:27 left in the game, but OBU rallied to lead 63-59 with 3:33 remaining. Heins had 11 points in the final 5:58 of the game.
Alexandra Kotta hit a free throw with 3:04 left, then Paty Silva added another free throw to cut OCU?s deficit to 63-61 with 1:43 left. Then Kotta canned a 3-pointer from the wing with 1:09 left to make OBU?s lead 65-64 and set up Sy?s game-winning bucket.
Oklahoma Baptist?s Tabetha Eaton penetrated the lane from the wing and missed a layup with four seconds remaining.
?At this time of year, you don?t worry about the aesthetic aspect of a win,? Edmisson said. ?We?re excited, but we?re tired. We get everyone?s best shot, and we fend it off.?
The Stars play Oklahoma Christian at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Eagles Nest in the regular-season finale for both teams.