OKLAHOMA CITY – Mid-America Christian came in as Oklahoma City University's first conference foe of the season and left as its first victim after a 91-46 beating on Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena.
OCU, ranked third in NAIA Division I women's basketball, improved to 6-0. Three Stars came away with double-digit point totals in the win.
Lauren Gober, a sophomore from Newcastle, Okla., finished the night with 22 points and seven rebounds. Gober was 6-of-11 from the field, 4-of-7 from 3-point range and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
“I thought Lauren Gober had an exceptional game,” OCU coach Rob Edmisson said. “Shooting, free throws, rebounding; I thought it was all-around one of her best games.”
Breezy Martin, a senior from Oklahoma City, added 13 points and five rebounds for the Stars. OCU's Tiffany Goldwire, a junior from Oklahoma City, chipped in 10 points and six boards. Desiree Jeffries, a sophomore from Oklahoma City, led the game with six assists on the night. Chasity Workman, a senior from Carrolton, Texas, and Gober both contributed seven rebounds apiece to lead the game.
All 11 OCU players scored at least three points and everyone nabbed at least one rebound in the contest. Each woman played at least 13 minutes in the game, showing the overall depth of the Stars bench. The total team effort was also shown with 22 total assists on 30 made baskets for the Stars.
“I thought our kids really came out with an intensity to start the game and we wanted to come send a message right off the bat in our first conference game,” Edmisson said. “I thought our kids did a great job in getting ready to play, I thought their intensity level was there and obviously the first half put the game into what I call 'no doubt.' ”
OCU's drive for a solid start to Sooner Athletic Conference play was evident from the first tip. The Stars allowed Mid-America Christian to put just 18 points on the board on 22.6 percent shooting from the field in the first period. OCU raced to a 15-0 start, and the Lady Evangels did not score a bucket until over five minutes into the game.
With 12:18 remaining in the first half the score was 22-4 and Mid-America Christian was shooting 20 percent from the floor, hitting only 2 of its 10 shot attempts. The lead stretched to 34-7 with 7:50 left on the clock and at that point Mid-America was hitting just 16.6 percent of their shots from the field.
The halftime mark was 47-18 in favor of OCU and the Stars maintained their wide scoring margin throughout the remainder of the game. The Stars' lead ballooned to 46 points with under two minutes to go in the contest before the eventual final score of 91-46 was etched in the books.
OCU led every statistical category across the board. The Stars grabbed the 50-36 rebounding edge and managed 26 second-chance points in the game. The Stars outscored the Lady Evangels 40-20 in the paint and poured in 34 points off of Mid-America Christian's 25 turnovers.
“We've got the two Texas teams coming in next week, and we've got to get going,” Edmisson said. “It's going to be a tough conference battle and it's a long haul, but I like how we started. I think this sends a message to people that you're not going to come in here and win games.”
After a Thanksgiving break, the Stars welcome Wayland Baptist (Texas) to Abe Lemons Arena on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.
Boxscore
