Women's Basketball 11/16/2012 1:40:00 PM

OCU at Park women's basketball preview

Kayla MacKenzie leads OCU with 2.00 steals per outing.

Noon Saturday, Nov. 17
Breckon Sports Center in Parkville, Mo.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University continues its non-conference schedule with a trip to Parkville, Mo. to take on Park (Mo.).

ABOUT THE STARS: The tenth-ranked Stars downed No. 14 Langston 68-49 Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU, now 2-2 on the season, claimed a slight edge in rebounding 43-41 and outscored the Lady Lions 21-8 in points off turnovers.
The Stars were led by forward Lauren Gober. The senior from Newcastle, Okla., notched 25 points on 7-for-11 shooting from behind the 3-point line. Gober also grabbed eight rebounds in the 19-point victory. Gober leads the Stars with 16.2 points per game and is ranked 15th in NAIA Division I in made 3-point field goals with 12.
Fellow senior Desiree Jeffries tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes of action. The 6-foot forward from Oklahoma City leads the Stars in assists per game with 4.0. Jeffries is third on the team in point per game (10.0) and rebounds per game (4.7).
Junior Kayla MacKenzie provided 12 points off the bench. The guard from Peoria, Ariz., shot 45 percent from the floor in 22 minutes of action. MacKenzie helped the Stars' bench outscore the Lady Lions' bench 27-9 on the night.
The Stars are ranked seventh in NAIA Division I in turnover margin (10.2) and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.19). To see how the OCU stacks up against the rest of NAIA Division I, click here.
The Stars, ranked No. 10 in the NAIA preseason top-25 poll, have appeared in 154 consecutive NAIA Division I polls. OCU was picked to finish third in the Sooner Athletic Conference by league coaches.

ABOUT THE PIRATES: Park enters Saturday with a record of 2-4. In their last time out, the Pirates narrowly fell to Missouri Valley 61-58.
Park is led by guard Brianna Beridon. The 5-foot-7 guard scored a game-high 22 points against Missouri Valley and leads the Pirates with 18.0 points per game. Beridon is ranked ninth in NAIA Division I in total scoring (108).
Jessica Madsen added seven points and six rebounds off the bench. The junior forward is Park's leading rebounder, averaging 5.6 boards per contest.
Guard Tiarra Dewberry added six points and two rebounds. Dewberry leads the Pirates with 2.67 steals per game and is ranked 12th in NAIA Division I in total steals with 16.
Park is ranked seventh in NAIA Division I in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (0.18) and ninth in total steals (67).

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell is in the midst of her first season as head coach of the Stars. Trammell returns to OCU after serving as Western State (Colo.) head coach the past five seasons. At Western State, Trammell had 13 all-RMAC selections, including the RMAC West Division freshman of the year and RMAC player of the year. Trammell was assistant coach at OCU from 2005-07. As an assistant at OCU, Trammell mentored the Stars' first WNBA draftee, Mariam Sy of the Washington Mystics, 10 all-conference choices, the SAC player of the year, SAC newcomer of the year and four all-Americans. Trammell also spent time as head coach at Midwest City High School and Bill Ryan High School (Texas).
Kenneth Cooper enters his third season at the helm for the Pirates. Cooper has accumulated a record of 37-19 and a winning percentage of .660 in his first two seasons. Cooper spent time as an assistant at Mercer and Seminole State and played collegiately at Montevallo (Ala.).

QUOTABLE: “Anytime we are being pressed or we have foul trouble it is a great asset to have multiple players that can handle the ball and handle pressure.” – Latricia Trammell on OCU's versatility

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 by calling the OCU athletics hotline at (405) 208-5400.

ON THE AIR: Park will provide live audio, stats and video of the game Saturday. For audio, click here. For live stats, click here. To watch live video, click here.

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