6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23
Abe Lemons Arena
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University hopes to continue its season unbeaten as the Stars open up Sooner Athletic Conference play against Mid-America Christian on Tuesday night.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 students and free to OCU students, faculty and staff with their ID.
ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City University (5-0) added a pair of wins in the Benedictine Classic, outplaying Avila (Mo.) 103-42 and nabbing a win 77-66 from the host Benedictine (Kan.) over the weekend.
Lauren Gober, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from Newcastle, Okla., had a game-high 21 points against Avila. Gober hit 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range in the contest to lead all scorers. Gober is shooting 46.7 percent from beyond the arc after five contests.
Donica Cosby, a 5-8 senior from Coldwater, Miss., led the Stars with 16 points, three rebounds and three steals against Benedictine. Cosby is leading the Sooner Athletic Conference in steals, averaging 2.80 per game. Desiree Jeffries, a 6-0 sophomore from Oklahoma City, recorded 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for OCU against Benedictine. Jeffries is averaging a team-high 13.0 points per game, hitting 68.4 percent of her attempts from the field.
Taylor Booze, a 5-6 junior from Duncanville, Texas, posted two double-digit scoring performances over the weekend, pouring in 13 points against Avila and adding 14 points against Benedictine. Booze is leading the Stars with 4.0 assists a game on the season.
Statistically, OCU ranks second in the NAIA with a field goal percentage of 55.7 percent. The Stars also occupy the second spot for total scoring offense as well as scoring defense in the NAIA. OCU is averaging 92.0 points per game, while holding opponents to an average of 47.8 points per game. To see OCU's Dak Stats page, click here.
The Stars were ranked third in the preseason NAIA Division I rankings. SAC coaches placed OCU as the heavy favorite to win the league title. OCU has won or shared the SAC regular-season crown 11 times. Five-time national champion OCU entered the season tied for the most wins in NAIA women's basketball since 2000-01.
OCU leads the all-time series with Mid-America Christian 6-0. In their last meeting, the Stars ran to an 86-44 win over the Lady Evangels on Feb. 1, 2010.
ABOUT THE LADY EVANGELS: The 2-2 Mid-America Christian women's basketball team is fresh off an overtime win in an exhibition outing with NCAA Division II opponent Texas A&M-Commerce. The Lady Evangels edged out the Lions 97-94 and shot 56.5 percent from the field in the second half to secure the victory.
Mid-America Christian had six women in double-digits, with Tranecia Smith, a 5-7 junior, pouring in 21 points and nabbing three steals. Smith was 13-of-15 from the free throw line and hit all five of her free throw attempts in the overtime period to secure the win.
Brittany Woodard, a 5-8 junior, added 18 points and six rebounds for the Lady Evangels, while Magen Roth chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Roth, a 5-10 junior, was 4-of-5 from the field in the game. Melissa Aguilar, a 5-3 senior, had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals, including the game-tying bucket with 18 seconds to play in regulation.
Mid-America Christian was slated to finish 10th in the in the Sooner Athletic Conference in the preseason.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 155-26 record in his sixth season at OCU and a 457-145 record overall in his 21st season as a head coach. Edmisson, a two-time SAC coach of the year, has led the Stars to SAC regular-season championships three times and three SAC Tournament titles. 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.
Roman Owen is in his first season at directing the Mid-America Christian program. Owen assumes head coaching responsibilities after assisting the OCU men's program in the previous two seasons. Owen assisted the Stars to a 36-26 record and an appearance in the 2010 NAIA Division I Tournament. Owen played his collegiate basketball at Southwestern Christian, where he still owns the school's career record with 2,802 points. In 2008, Owen received the Pete Maravich Award, presented to the National Christian College Athletic Association player of the year. He was a three-time NCCAA all-American selection.
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.
Be sure to catch the OCU Athletics Update video program weekly on ocusports.com, the OCU YouTube Channel or on OCU Athletics' Facebook page. Click here to see the latest edition or see our video channel in the upper right-hand corner of our home page.
Listen to past game broadcasts and pregame and postgame 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.
ON THE AIR: The game will be broadcast via the OCU athletics web site. Andrew Himes will call the game. Click here to listen to the broadcast, here for the live stats and here for the video.
To order the video on ocusports.com/showcase, click on "Women's Basketball vs. Mid-America Christian". Then either enter a user name and password or select "Sign up for a new all-access subscription."
