6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 3
Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark.
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University travels to John Brown (Ark.) to put its undefeated season on the line. This matchup is a battle of two ranked teams and Sooner Athletic Conference unbeatens for the top spot in the league.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU notched the 87-72 win over Rogers State in a New Year's Day tilt. The difference maker for the Stars was their ability to get to the free-throw line and capitalize on their opportunities. OCU was 31-for-36 from the stripe while allowing Rogers State just eight free-throw opportunities. OCU, ranked No. 2 in NAIA Division I, moved to 10-0, 5-0 in the SAC play.
The stellar play of Starr Fairbanks, a 6-foot-2 senior from Cincinnati, was the highlight performance for OCU. Fairbanks, a 2010 all-American, recorded a season-high 25 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Stars. Fairbanks more than doubled her season averages of 9.9 points and 2.8 rebounds a game.
Lauren Gober, a 6-2 sophomore from Newcastle, Okla., added 19 points and five rebound. Gober, the 2010 SAC freshman of the year, leads OCU with 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.10 blocks per game.
Taylor Booze, a 5-6 junior from Duncanville, Texas, chipped in 14 points for the Stars. Booze is averaging 9.4 points, 3.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds.Breezy Martin, a 5-11 senior from Oklahoma City, poured in 12 points to round out the double-digit scoring including sinking eight of her 10 free-throw tries. Donica Cosby, a 5-8 senior from Coldwater, Miss., had a team-high 10 assists. Cosby, a 2010 first-team all-American, leads the team with her 4.2 assists per game average.
OCU leads NAIA Division I with a 50.5 percent team shooting percentage, 20.7 assists a game, 1.18 assists per turnover and an average victory margin of 36.5 points a game. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
The Stars were second in the latest 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 owns a 29-4 all-time record against John Brown. The Stars have never lost to John Brown in OCU coach Rob Edmisson's tenure.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: John Brown posted a 66-54 win over Mid-America Christian on New Year's Day to improve to 11-2 overall and 5-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The win set a new Golden Eagle record for consecutive wins in school history at nine. John Brown is ranked 22nd in NAIA Division I.
Emily Ortiz, a 5-5 senior, led John Brown with 13 points and three rebounds. Ortiz is averaging 7.4 points and 2.7 rebounds a game. Katie Mangels, a 5-9 senior, added 12 points and five boards for the Golden Eagles in the win. Mangels averages 11.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Sierra Shipley, a 5-9 freshman, rounded out the double-digit scoring effort for John Brown with 11 points and six rebounds. Shipley puts up 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game on average.
The John Brown offense is anchored by Ashley Taylor, a 5-10 senior. Taylor leads the team with 14.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, but she has not played the previous two contests for the Golden Eagles.
John Brown was slated to finish eighth in the Sooner Athletic Conference in the coaches' preseason poll, but currently sits tied atop the league with OCU.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 160-26 record in his sixth season at OCU and a 461-145 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.
Jeff Soderquist is in his 14th season as John Brown head coach. Soderquist is the winningest women's coach in school history with 190 victories. He has also guided JBU to two NAIA national tournament appearances.
QUOTABLE: “She had a good week of practice, and we rewarded her for it. If there were an individual I were pleased with out of this game, it was Starr.” – Edmisson on Fairbanks' performance
FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest on OCU athletics through several ways.
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. Greg Merick and Andrew Himes will call the game. Click here to listen to the broadcast.
John Brown offers live video and audio of select home basketball games. Click here to watch or listen to live. For live stats, click here.
