Women's Basketball 11/30/2011 4:44:00 PM

OCU at USAO women's basketball preview

Tiffany Goldwire notched her first double-double as a Star against Peru State (Neb.) on Thursday.

6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1
USAO Fieldhouse in Chickasha, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University puts its unbeaten record on the line in a Sooner Athletic Conference road clash with USAO.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU rallied for a 69-57 triumph over third-ranked Union (Tenn.) on Saturday in Shawnee, Okla. The Stars (4-0) erased a seven-point deficit in a contest featuring programs who have combined for 10 national championships.
Taylor Booze, a 5-foot-6 senior from Duncanville, Texas, tallied all 15 of her points in the second half. She hit 8 of 10 free throws and grabbed seven rebounds. Booze records 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.75 steals per game. Her 2.20 assists per turnover rank second nationally.
Dietra Caldwell, a 5-8 senior from Missouri City, Texas, boosted OCU with 15 second-half points. Caldwell shot 5-for-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Caldwell provides OCU with 14.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.50 steals a game.
Tiffany Goldwire, a 5-9 senior from Oklahoma City, posted 12 points, six rebounds and three steals. Goldwire knocked in 12 of 14 free-throw attempts. She averages 15.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.00 steals.
OCU lead NAIA Division I with a 47-point victory margin and a plus-18.5 turnover margin. The Stars score 96.3 points a game to rank second nationally and allow 49.3 points per game to rate fourth. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
The Stars were third in the preseason NAIA Division I rankings. Five-time national champion OCU ranks among the leaders in wins in NAIA women's basketball over the past decade. OCU captured its 12th SAC regular-season title and reeled off its 13th consecutive 25-win season in 2010-11. The Stars have been favored to win the SAC championship in the preseason by league coaches.
OCU leads USAO 42-3 in the all-time series. The Stars routed USAO 89-54 on Feb. 24 at Abe Lemons Arena in the last meeting. Desiree Jeffries contributed 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

ABOUT THE LADY DROVERS: Central Oklahoma overwhelmed USAO 94-61 on Tuesday in Edmond, Okla. USAO (2-4) hit 36.9 percent from the field.
Liberty Payne, a 5-11 senior, had 11 points, five rebounds and three steals. Payne averages 10.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.33 steals a game. Paige Pulliam, a 5-7 sophomore, and Alaria Waddle each added 10 points.
USAO is expected to finish 10th in the 12-team SAC according to the preseason coaches' poll.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 181-30 record in his seventh season at OCU and a 483-149 record overall in his 22nd season as a head coach. Edmisson, a two-time SAC coach of the year, has led the Stars to four SAC regular-season championships and four SAC Tournament titles. Edmisson coached the only player drafted into the WNBA from OCU, Mariam Sy, as well as six other Stars who have turned professional. He won 192 games at Hutchinson (Kan.) and 110 as a high-school coach in Kansas.
Laci Tompkins has a 15-47 record in her third season as USAO coach. Tompkins played basketball at USAO from 1991-95, then spent four seasons as an assistant coach there. She spent nine seasons on the junior-college level as Redlands (Okla.) head coach.

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/ocustars.
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.
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: OCU athletics has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live and on-demand audio, stats and video of the Stars' games. Greg Merick and Eric Rodgers will call the game. To access the live audio for the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.

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