Women's Basketball 12/27/2012 2:16:00 PM

OCU in GSAC Challenge women's basketball preview

Stars headed to clash of top 10-ranked teams

Ravven Brown ranks eighth in NAIA Division I with 2.90 assists per turnover.

7:30 p.m. CST Friday, Dec. 28
at Westmont (Calif.)
3 p.m. CST Saturday, Dec. 29
vs. San Diego Christian
Murchison Gymnasium in Santa Barbara, Calif.

THE MATCHUP: A pair of tests loom for Oklahoma City University in the Golden State Athletic Conference Challenge.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU posted an 87-74 victory over College of the Ozarks (Mo.) on Dec. 21 at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (6-2) led wire-to-wire, building an early 27-8 lead and a 20-2 advantage in points in transition against the fourth-ranked team in NAIA Division II.
Desiree Jeffries, a 6-foot senior from Oklahoma City, produced 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Stars. Jeffries sank 9 of 13 shots from the field. Jeffries averages 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.88 steals per contest.
Katie Hall, a 6-foot senior from Hazelton, Idaho, provided the Stars with 16 points and 10 rebounds, her second double-double of the season, on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Hall records 11.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and a team-best 64.3 percent field-goal percentage. She has accumulated 1,038 points in her career, including three seasons at Western State (Colo.). Ravven Brown, a senior from Duluth, Ga., and Cara Pugh, a junior from Oklahoma City, contributed 10 points each.
OCU leads NAIA Division I in scoring margin (35.0 per game) and turnover margin (plus-15.4). The Stars are ranked in the top five in eight statistical categories. To see how OCU stacks up against the rest of the NAIA, click here.
The Stars, ranked eighth in the latest NAIA top-25 coaches' poll, have appeared in 156 consecutive NAIA Division I polls. OCU captured its sixth national championship last season, owning NAIA crowns in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2012. OCU was picked to finish third in the Sooner Athletic Conference by league coaches. OCU has won or shared the SAC regular-season championship 13 times in 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
OCU defeated Westmont 81-38 on March 14, 2001 in Jackson, Tenn., in the NAIA Tournament in the only previous meeting between the two teams in women's basketball. OCU owns a 2-0 record in the all-time series against San Diego Christian. OCU pounded San Diego Christian 93-42 in the last meeting during 1998-99.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Westmont knocked off William Jessup (Calif.) 71-60 on Dec. 15 in Santa Barbara, Calif. Westmont (8-1) racked up 32 points in the paint.
Tugce Canitez, a 6-2 senior, established a new Westmont single-game record with 43 points while adding 13 rebounds and two steals. Canitez picks up 22.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists a game, ranking second in the NAIA in scoring average. Celina Gougis, a 5-7 sophomore, and Lauren Sende, a 6-2 freshman, each chipped in nine points. Westmont's 46.7 percent team field-goal percentage ranks second nationally.
Westmont was picked to finish second in the GSAC in the preseason. Westmont is rated fourth in the latest national poll.

ABOUT THE LADY HAWKS: San Diego Christian suffered an 89-82 setback to Roosevelt (Ill.) on Saturday in El Cajon, Calif. San Diego Christian (7-6) cut its deficit to 60-57 before falling.
Heather Serven, a 5-9 junior, spearheaded San Diego Christian with 21 points and two steals. Serven amasses 15.2 points and 3.1 rebounds a game. Brittany Daniel, a 5-11 senior, had 17 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Daniel adds 14.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.00 blocks and 2.67 steals per game.
San Diego Christian is expected to finish fifth in the GSAC. San Diego Christian received votes in the latest top-25 rankings.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell is in the midst of her first season as head coach of the Stars. Trammell returned to OCU after serving as Western State (Colo.) head coach the past five seasons. Trammell was assistant coach at OCU from 2005-07. 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 also spent time as head coach at Midwest City High School and Bill Ryan High School (Texas). As a head coach, Trammell has led her teams to a 170-121 record entering 2012-13. 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.
Kirsten Moore owns a 151-75 ledger through her seventh season as Westmont coach. Moore took Westmont to a 31-4 record and a trip to the NAIA quarterfinals in 2011-12.
Kelsey Dillon is in her sixth season directing San Diego Christian. Dillon guided San Diego Christian to a 20-11 showing last season, the program's first 20-win performance and second appearance in the GSAC Tournament ever.

QUOTABLE: “College of the Ozarks did a great job against us. This really helps. At least we got a win under our belt heading into the tournament.” – Trammell

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 or see our video channel in the upper right-hand corner of our home page.
Know when the game is happening by calling the OCU athletics hotline at (405) 208-5400.

ON THE AIR: Westmont will provide live stats and video of each game. To watch the games, click here. To follow the game against Westmont on live stats, go here. For live stats of the San Diego Christian game, go here.

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