10:45 a.m. Friday, March 19
Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn.
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University takes on Xavier (La.) in the second round of the NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament.
The Stars have a storied history, winning national championships in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. OCU advanced to the finals in 2003, 2004 and 2005. OCU has qualified for 17 NAIA Tournaments, 14 in a row. For ticket information, click here.
ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City University (26-3) dominated first-round opponent Montana Tech in an 87-45 affair on Wednesday. The Stars posted the most lopsided first-round win in the opening day of competition with the 42-point win. OCU's defense forced the Orediggers into 25 turnovers in the game.
The fourth-ranked Stars were led by Donica Cosby, a 5-8 senior from Coldwater, Miss. Cosby, a two-time all-American, poured in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go with five rebounds and four assists. Cosby contributes 13.0 points and a team-high 4.0 assists for OCU. She also adds 2.4 rebounds and 2.04 steals a night for the Stars.
Starr Fairbanks, a 6-2 senior from Cincinnati, added 16 points and four rebounds in the victory. Fairbanks posts averages of 11.0 points and 3.8 rebounds a game.
Desiree Jeffries, a 6-0 sophomore from Oklahoma City, added 12 points five rebounds and three steals in the OCU win. Jeffries contributes 10.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists a night for the Stars.
Lauren Gober, a 6-1 sophomore from Newcastle, Okla., chipped in 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds for the Stars. Gober leads the team with 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a night. She sits in 13th in the NAIA swishing 42.8 percent of her attempts from 3-point range.
OCU is in the top three in six team categories in the NAIA. The Stars lead all teams with a 47.9 percent team shooting percentage and a scoring margin of 31.8 points a game. OCU sits in second with 18.3 assists and 86.0 points per game. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
The Stars were fourth in the latest NAIA Division I rankings. OCU has won or tied for the SAC conference title 11 times. Five-time national champion OCU entered the season tied for the most wins in NAIA women's basketball since 2000-01.
This will be the third meeting between OCU and Xavier, all in the national tournament setting. The Stars took down the Gold Rush 91-53 in the second round of the 2003 tournament. OCU ousted Xavier in the opening game of the 1999 tournament 83-53.
ABOUT THE GOLD RUSH: Xavier (La.) (27-6) popped first-round tournament opponent Lee (Tenn.) 63-53 on Wednesday. Xavier, ranked 20th in the NAIA polls, hit 44.4 percent of its shots while holding Lee to just 29.2 percent from the floor.
Christina Warren, a 5-9 senior, put in 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and brought down five rebounds in the contest. Warren, Gulf Coast Atlantic Conference player of the year, averages a team-leading 11.8 points and 3.7 rebounds for the Gold Rush.
Marchelle Jones, a 5-4 junior, added 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the victory. Jones doubled her regular season production of 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds a game for the Gold Rush. Jones leads the team with 102 steals this season.
Brandi Young, a 5-6 junior chipped in 13 points and six steals for the Gold Rush. Young posts 6.8 points and 1.5 rebounds a night for Xavier.
The Gold Rush leads the NAIA in scoring defense per game, allowing a mere 49.5 points. Their opponents manage 22.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc, also tops in the NAIA.
This marks the 15th appearance in the national tournament for Xavier after winning the GCAC with an 18-0 record in conference play.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 176-29 record in his sixth season at OCU and a 478-147 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 four 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.
Bo Browder is in this 12th season at the helm of Xavier. Browder has coached the Gold Rush to a 324-107 record over his career. He has coached Xavier to 10 20-win seasons and was tapped as GCAC coach of the year in 2011.
QUOTABLE: “Everything is mental now for us. Film, watching it, walking through it, we shoot a little bit. It's all about mental, it's all about knowing assignments and game plan and keeping your kids fresh … Friday's game will be a drastic change in style of play compared to what we just played, that'll be an interesting matchup.” –Edmisson
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.
See the 2010-11 OCU 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 NAIA TOURNAMENT BROADCASTS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: All About Car Care with Scotty Dee, Benchmark Financial Group, Inc., Black Diamond Retrievers, Brandi Levings, Redbud Realty & Associates, Campbell Metal Works, Central Oklahoma Frontier Country, Dr. Gary A. Rouse, OMS Technologies, Rite Tech Cell Phone & Computer Repair, Win Shelton State Farm Agency and XL Specialized Trailers.
ON THE AIR: The game will be broadcast via the OCU athletics web site. Greg Merick and Andrew Himes will call the action. Click here to listen to the broadcast. The NAIA will provide live stats and a live video stream.
