OKLAHOMA CITY – Donica Cosby scored 32 points to lead Oklahoma City University past No. 18 Wayland Baptist (Texas) 71-58 in a battle of top 20-ranked teams on Monday inside Abe Lemons Arena.

Cosby, a junior from Coldwater, Miss., hit 4 of 7 3-point attempts in the game to go with two assists and two steals. She is the first OCU player to top 30 points since Mariam Sy notched 36 points on March 17, 2006 against Azusa Pacific (Calif.).

The Stars, ranked seventh in NAIA women's basketball, limited Wayland to just 17 field goals and 33.3 percent shooting to improve to 9-3, 4-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

“It wasn't the sparkling effort we had 48 hours ago, but I thought our kids worked hard today,” OCU coach Rob Edmisson said. “Wayland is a tough team to guard. They have some athletic kids that are tough off the dribble. The only thing I will be disappointed in is that we put them on the free-throw line 29 times.”

Holly Hardin, a senior from Chickasha, Okla., scored 10 points and grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds for the Stars.

The Stars took control of the game early in the second half with a 13-2 run. Hardin started the run with a free throw and a layup to make the score 41-34 with 17:21 to play. Cosby followed with two 3-pointers, and Chontaye Walter hit a pair of free throws to give OCU a 50-36 lead.

Hardin scored on a putback with 9:48 left to give OCU its biggest lead of the game at 56-39.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle for the opening eight minutes as neither team led by more two points. With the scored tied at 11-11, OCU went on a 9-0 run to take the lead with 10:05 to play before the half. Cosby hit a jumper to make the score 15-11 and finished off the run with a driving layup for the nine-point lead. She finished the first half with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Wayland scored the final five points of the half to cut the lead to 33-31 at the break.

The Stars will travel to Rogers State at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Claremore Expo Center.
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