Oklahoma City University
vs. Southern Nazarene
in SAC Tournament

7:30 p.m. Monday, March 5
Eagles Nest at Oklahoma Christian

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University faces Southern Nazarene for the Sooner Athletic Conference women?s basketball tournament championship. The Stars look to repeat as SAC tournament champion.
OCU has won five SAC Tournament titles. OCU and SNU have combined for 22 regular-season conference crowns, 12 tournament titles and 12 national championships. Either OCU or SNU have won the tournament each year except for 1998 when Wayland Baptist (Texas) took the title.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU knocked off top-seeded Lubbock Christian (Texas) 67-54 Saturday in the tournament semifinals at the Eagles Nest. The Stars (26-6) advanced to the title game of the SAC Tournament for the eighth consecutive time.
Alexandra Kotta, a 5-foot-11 senior from Germantown, Md., recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Romana Vynuchalova, a 6-4 junior from Bratislava, Slovakia, had 16 points. Viola Beybeyah, a 5-10 junior from Oklahoma City, chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Kotta leads the Stars with 13.4 points and 2.87 steals per game. Kotta ranks 15th in the NAIA and tops in the SAC in steals.
The Stars are ranked 19th in NAIA Division I. OCU is third in the nation in points allowed at 55 points per game.
SNU has a 34-23 advantage in the overall series against OCU. Southern Nazarene won 80-65 on Feb. 8 in Bethany, Okla. Mikelle Brown led the Stars with 19 points.

ABOUT THE CRIMSON STORM: Southern Nazarene advanced to the championship with an 83-75 win over Oklahoma Christian on Saturday. SNU (26-5) has been in 11 of 13 SAC Tournament title games.
Fatou Ndiaye, a 6-1 senior, led the Storm with 28 points and nine rebounds. Tejana Elmore, a 6-3 junior, added 14 points.
Khady Ngom, a 5-10 senior, averages team highs in scoring (16 points per game), rebounding (7.3) and steals (1.57). No. 16 Southern Nazarene is second in the NAIA in defensive rebounding (29.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.20 assists per turnover).

ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has a 358-128 record in his 16th season as a head coach. Edmisson took the Stars to the NAIA quarterfinals and a 32-3 record his first season at OCU. Edmisson coached the only player drafted into the WNBA at OCU, Mariam Sy. He won 192 games at Hutchinson (Kan.) and 110 as a high-school coach in Kansas.
Lori Carter has a 133-90 record in seven seasons as a head coach at SNU and St. Gregory?s. Carter, a former OCU assistant, was named 2007 SAC coach of the year.

QUOTABLE: ?It?s a testament to our character and effort to come back from the fourth seed and make the finals. We knew we were one of the best teams in the conference. I'm proud of the kids because they handled the adversity well." ? Edmisson after Saturday's game

GIVE THE HOTLINE A CALL: Fans can follow the Stars via the OCU Athletic Hotline at (405) 208-5400. Get the score and highlights after the game on the hotline. Get Sooner Athletic Conference scores on the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.

ON THE AIR: You can hear OCU basketball via live audio on the athletics web site, okcu.edu/athletics. Click on the Listen to the Game Live button. Play-by-play will be Jim Reagan, while the commentator will be Greg Merick. The broadcast starts approximately 7:20 p.m.