Women's Basketball 1/7/2012 7:49:00 PM

Stars nip John Brown 64-61

OCU hold on to unbeaten record

Lauren Gober scored 11 points and knocked in three 3-pointers Saturday.

OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 1-ranked Oklahoma City University scraped out a 64-61 victory over John Brown (Ark.) on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
The Stars erased a four-point deficit with 8:48 left in the game. OCU, top-ranked in NAIA Division I women's basketball, improved to 14-0, 8-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Kayla MacKenzie gave OCU the lead for good on a transition layup for a 60-58 edge at the 3:25 mark. Nicollette Smith added a lay-in for a 62-59 OCU advantage with 2:20 remaining.
Jessica Berlin cut the Stars' lead to 62-61 with a pair of free throws with 1:35 showing. Dietra Caldwell pocketed a steal, then drove into the lane for a bucket for the final margin with 23 seconds left. John Brown's Sierra Shipley misfired on a 3-point attempt with five seconds left.
Caldwell, a senior from Missouri City, Texas, spearheaded the Stars with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Lauren Gober, a junior from Newcastle, Okla., contributed 11 points, four rebounds and two assists for OCU.
Cara Pugh's fastbreak layup gave OCU its largest lead of the game at 26-12 with 9:06 left in the first period.
John Brown seized the lead in the second half with a 15-0 run. Berlin tied the game 47-47 by scoring in transition, then Chelsea Garrison had a lay-in to put John Brown ahead 49-47 with 10:35 remaining.
Down 53-49, OCU responded using Tiffany Goldwire's layup, then Caldwell canned a 3 for a 54-53 OCU edge with 6:40 left.
Brittany Hopper answered with a basket to give John Brown a 55-54 lead. Goldwire tied the game 55-55 with a free throw, then Gober's trey provided OCU a 58-55 advantage at the 5:04 mark. Shipley tied the game once more 58-58 on a 3-pointer with 4:42 to go.
The Stars take on Lubbock Christian (Texas) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Boxscore

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