Women's Basketball 2/21/2012 1:27:00 PM

OCU at St. Gregory's women's basketball preview

Kayla MacKenzie scored a team-high 12 points against John Brown (Ark.) on Saturday.

6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22
W.P. Wood Field House in Shawnee, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University visits St. Gregory's in a special Wednesday engagement in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU notched a 56-41 win over John Brown (Ark.) on Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark. The Stars (25-1, 19-1 SAC) built an 18-point lead in the final minute. OCU recorded its 14th consecutive 25-win season.
Kayla MacKenzie, a 5-foot-6 sophomore from Peoria, Ariz., sparked OCU with 12 points and three rebounds in 12 minutes of play. MacKenzie averages 8.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.19 steals per game.
Lauren Gober, a 6-2 junior from Newcastle, Okla., contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals Saturday. Gober registers 12.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.50 steals per game. Nicollette Smith, a 6-2 senior from Tulsa, Okla., had 11 points and four rebounds while knocking in 7-for-8 from the free-throw line against John Brown. She adds 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.00 steals a contest.
OCU leads NAIA Division I with a 32.9-point average victory margin and a 1.15 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Stars rate in the top five statistically in nine categories. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
The Stars held the No. 1 ranking for the seventh time this season in the latest NAIA Division I poll, appearing in the top spot for the 42nd time since 1999-2000. 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 leads the all-time series against St. Gregory's 31-1. The Stars defeated St. Gregory's 63-52 on Feb. 4 at Abe Lemons Arena as Rob Edmisson took his 500th career win on all levels.

ABOUT THE LADY CAVALIERS: St. Gregory's knocked off Wayland Baptist (Texas) 66-59 on Saturday in Shawnee, Okla. St. Gregory's (17-10, 10-10 SAC) ended a seven-game losing streak to Wayland Baptist.
Jalisa Howard, a 5-7 senior, topped St. Gregory's with 19 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Howard accumulates 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.96 steals a game. Leticia Silva, a 5-10 junior, had 16 points and four rebounds. She averages 16.2 points and 5.9 rebounds.
SAC coaches predicted St. Gregory's to finish last in the league in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 202-31 record in his seventh season at OCU and a 504-150 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.
Kelly Archer has gone 35-80 in his fourth season as St. Gregory's head coach. Archer led Hillsdale Baptist to five National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association national titles prior to his arrival at St. Gregory's.

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 call the play-by-play, and Andrew Himes will provide analysis. To listen to the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.

Print Friendly Version