Women's Basketball 2/17/2012 2:08:00 PM

OCU at John Brown women's basketball preview

Cara Pugh collects 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds a game for the Stars.

3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18
Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University seeks to notch its 14th consecutive 25-win season on the road against John Brown (Ark.).

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU clipped Rogers State 61-50 on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (24-1, 18-1 Sooner Athletic Conference) led by as many as 18 points, but held off Rogers State.
Desiree Jeffries, a 6-foot junior from Oklahoma City, totaled 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals Thursday. Jeffries averages 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.00 steals per game.
Taylor Booze, Lauren Gober and Tiffany Goldwire each added nine points against Rogers State. Dietra Caldwell, a 5-8 senior from Missouri City, Texas, leads OCU in scoring (12.6 points a game) and assists average (4.0).
OCU leads NAIA Division I with a 33.6-point average victory margin and a 1.15 assist-to-turnover radio. The Stars rate in the top five statistically in 11 categories. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
The Stars holds the No. 1 ranking in the latest NAIA Division I poll, appearing in the top 25 for the 149th time in a row. Five-time national champion OCU has been in every national ranking since 1999-2000. OCU owns 12 SAC regular-season titles. The Stars have been favored to win the SAC championship in the preseason by league coaches.
OCU has gone 32-4 against John Brown over the years. The Stars edged John Brown 64-61 on Jan. 7 at Abe Lemons Arena. Caldwell led OCU with 17 points.

ABOUT THE LADY EAGLES: John Brown ripped Mid-America Christian 60-41 on Thursday in Oklahoma City. John Brown (14-13, 8-11 SAC) shot 43.8 percent from the field, including 56.5 percent in the second half.
Chelsea Garrison, a 6-2 senior, topped John Brown with 16 points and eight rebounds. Garrison compiles 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds a game. Anna Parish, a 5-9 junior, had nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Parish averages 6.8 points and 4.1 rebounds.
John Brown was tied for fifth in the preseason SAC poll.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 201-31 record in his seventh season at OCU and a 503-150 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.
Jeff Soderquist has become John Brown's winningest women's basketball coach with 213 career wins in 14 seasons. He has taken John Brown to three NAIA Tournament appearances.

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. 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 will provide the play-by-play, while Eric Rodgers will give analysis. To listen to the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.
JBU will provide live stats and video of the game. To watch the game, click here, or to follow the game via live stats, click here.

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