6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4
Murray Sells Gymnasium in Siloam Springs, Ark.
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University travels to face Sooner Athletic Conference foe John Brown (Ark.).
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU pulled away in the second half for an 86-44 victory over Mid-America Christian on Monday evening inside Abe Lemons Arena. OCU won its 10th straight game to improve to 16-3, 11-1 in the SAC.
The Stars owned a 40-28 rebounding advantage and held Mid-America to just 34 percent shooting for the game.
Starr Fairbanks, a 6-foot-2 junior from Cincinnati, scored 17 points to lead the Stars. Fairbanks averages 13.0 points per game. Laura Duncan, a 5-8 senior from Edmond, Okla., put in 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Duncan scored 15 of her 16 points in the first half. Donica Cosby, a 5-8 junior from Coldwater, Miss., leads the team with 13.8 points per game. Cosby also averages 3.9 assists and 1.72 steals per contest.
The Stars have now beaten three SAC opponents by 40-plus points on the season. OCU also defeated Lubbock Christian (Texas) 94-40 on Jan. 2, and John Brown (Ark.) 94-45 on Jan. 9.
As a team, OCU ranks fifth in field-goal percentage (.470) and assists (18.1) and sixth in margin of victory (19.8) in NAIA Division I.
OCU is ranked seventh in NAIA Division I. OCU was picked to finish second in the conference in the preseason. 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 is 28-4 against John Brown over the years. The Stars won 94-45 on Jan. 9 at Abe Lemons Arena. Fairbanks had a game-high 22 points to lead OCU.
ABOUT THE LADY EAGLES: John Brown came up short against Lubbock Christian (Texas) 75-61 on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. JBU fell to 7-15, 3-11 in the SAC with the loss.
Jessica Berlin scored a team-high 18 points and had three steals. Berlin, a 5-9 freshman, averages 11.0 points. Katie Mangels, a 5-9 junior, added 16 points and seven rebounds for JBU. Ashley Taylor, a 5-10 junior, leads John Brown with 13.0 points per game.
John Brown was picked to finish eighth by the conference coaches in the SAC preseason poll.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 132-25 record in his fifth season at OCU and a 434-144 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.
Jeff Soderquist is in his 13th season as John Brown head coach. Soderquist is the winningest women's coach in school history with 176 victories. He has also guided JBU to two NAIA national tournament appearances.
QUOTABLE: “I thought she played with a lot of energy. She played well with her back to the basket. I think there are a lot of good things left for Emily down the road as she continues to get more experience.” – Edmisson on Emily Davis
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 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 results and highlights by calling the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.
ON THE AIR: OCU games will be broadcast regularly via the OCU athletics web site. Andrew Himes will provide the play-by-play. Click here to listen to the broadcast, here for live stats and here for live video.
