6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12
Gaulke Activity Center in Oklahoma City
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University takes on Sooner Athletic Conference foe Mid-America Christian on the road.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU picked up its first conference win of the season 69-48 against St. Gregory's on Saturday, Dec. 5 at Abe Lemons Arena. St. Gregory's shot 37.3 percent, 34.6 percent in the second half from the field against the Stars (5-2, 1-1 SAC).
Lauren Gober, a 6-foot-1 freshman from Newcastle, Okla., scored a team-high 16 points to go with six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. Gober is averaging 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game.
Starr Fairbanks, a 6-2 junior from Cincinnati, added 13 points, three rebounds and two steals. Fairbanks adds 10.9 points and 3.4 rebounds a game. Chontaye Walter, a 5-8 senior from Oklahoma City, chipped in nine points, a team-high seven rebounds and six assists. Walter records 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists a contest.
Donica Cosby, a 5-8 junior from Coldwater, Miss., paces OCU with 15.8 points, 4.7 assists and 1.67 steals a game.
The Stars is ranked eighth in the latest NAIA Division I rankings. OCU has been picked to finish second in the conference. The Stars entered this season tied for the most wins of any women's basketball program in the nation over the past nine years.
OCU have won all four all-time meetings against Mid-America Christian. The Stars prevailed 69-54 on Feb. 16 at Abe Lemons Arena as Holly Hardin had 21 points and eight rebounds.
ABOUT THE LADY EVANGELS: Mid-America Christian dropped an 80-58 verdict to fifth-ranked Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday in Shawnee, Okla. Mid-America (8-2, 1-1 SAC) gave away 22 turnovers and were beaten 43-21 in rebounds.
Brittany Johnson, a 5-11 junior, scored a season-high 21 points, knocking in 9 of 12 shots from the field. Johnson tops Mid-America with 10.6 points a game. Karina Trindade, a 5-11 senior, chipped in 10 points. Trindade records 10.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.30 steals a game.
Mid-America Christian was expected to finish ninth among the 12-team SAC in the preseason by league coaches.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 123-24 record in his fifth season at OCU and a 425-143 record overall in his 20th season as a head coach. Edmisson has led the Stars to SAC regular-season championships twice and the SAC Tournament title three times. Edmisson coached the only player drafted into the WNBA from OCU, Mariam Sy. He won 192 games at Hutchinson (Kan.) and 110 as a high-school coach in Kansas.
Markus Crandall has led Mid-America Christian to an 18-23 record in his second season as head coach. Crandall, whose team went 17-21 last season, scored more than 1,000 points while playing for Mid-America from 1993-97.
QUOTABLE: "I have a pretty good vision of what it takes to get from where we are at playing wise to where we need to be in March when we go to Jackson, Tenn. Our team, although talented, is underachieving. There is nothing more frustrating than to look at talented kids underachieve. We have got to find a way as a staff to get our kids to play up to their potential, and we're not doing that. I don't coach the scoreboard, I coach how we play every possession offensively and defensively, and we have just got to get better." – Edmisson on the Stars' performance this season
FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest on OCU athletics through several ways.
Become a fan of the Oklahoma City University Stars on Facebook by going to www.facebook.com/ocustars.
Become a follower of the OCU Stars on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ocustars.
Check out video of the Stars in action at www.youtube.com/oklahomacityuniver.
Listen to past game broadcasts and interviews on the OCU pod center by clicking here.
Know when the game is happening and get scores and highlights following by calling the OCU athletics hotline at (405) 208-5400. Get conference scores and highlights by calling the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.
BUY SEASON TICKETS: To purchase OCU season tickets, click here.
ON THE AIR: OCU games will be broadcast regularly via the OCU athletics web site. Greg Merick will handle the play-by-play, and Andrew Himes will provide commentary. Click here to listen to the broadcast.
