6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27
Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University meets Lubbock Christian (Texas) in a battle of top 25-ranked teams in NAIA women's basketball.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU overwhelmed St. Gregory's 95-35 on Saturday at W.P. Wood Fieldhouse. The Stars (17-0, 12-0 SAC) surpassed 90 points for the eighth time this season.
Lauren Gober, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Newcastle, Okla., spearheaded OCU with 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Gober, the 2010 SAC freshman of the year, leads OCU with 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 0.82 blocked shots a game.
Starr Fairbanks, a 6-2 senior from Cincinnati, scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Fairbanks compiles 12.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. Her 64.6 percent field-goal percentage ranks third in NAIA Division I. Desiree Jeffries, a 6-foot sophomore from Oklahoma City, had 10 points. She sank 6 of her 8 free-throw attempts. Jeffries averages 9.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game.
OCU leads NAIA Division I with a 49.8 percent team shooting percentage and an average victory margin of 35.3 points a game. The Stars rank third with 87.4 points scored and 52.1 points allowed per 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 has a 35-6 record against Lubbock Christian. The Stars knocked off Lubbock Christian 73-61 on Dec. 4, 2010 at Abe Lemons Arena for one of OCU's four wins against ranked opponents this season. Taylor Booze and Donica Cosby each scored a team-high 17 points.
ABOUT THE LADY CHAPS: Lubbock Christian pounded Oklahoma Christian 90-60 on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. Lubbock Christian (12-6, 9-3 SAC) notched its most lopsided win over Oklahoma Christian ever and improved to 8-0 at home this season.
Emily Atkins, a 5-9 freshman, recorded 22 points, four rebounds and two assists. Atkins averages 15.1 points and 4.3 rebounds a game. Courtney Wilson, a 6-foot junior, chipped in 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. Wilson has put together 7.8 points and 4.1 rebounds a game.
Lubbock Christian, ranked 25th in the NAIA, had been predicted to finish third in the league in the preseason.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 167-26 record in his sixth season at OCU and a 469-145 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 four 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.
Steve Gomez has won more often than any other Lubbock Christian women's basketball coach. Gomez has a 163-83 record in his eighth season guiding Lubbock Christian.
QUOTABLE: “We've got people guarding us in mostly zone 80 percent of the game. With her out there it's going to stretch the zone in some areas, and it's allowing us to play inside out a little bit more. It's just great to have a kid like that who can shoot it.” – Edmisson on Gober
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.
Check out OCU's 2010-11 women's basketball media guide 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.
OCU HOSTS THE SAC TOURNAMENT: The nation's premier NAIA basketball conference stages its postseason tournament at Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University on March 3-5. You'll want to be part of the action as NAIA Division I Tournament berths will be at stake in the Sooner Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments. For information, visit the tournament page.
ON THE AIR: Lubbock Christian will provide live audio, scoring and video from the game. Click here to listen to, follow or view the game broadcast.
