Women's Basketball 2/29/2012 12:29:00 PM

OCU at John Brown women's basketball preview

Top-ranked Stars start postsesason in Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals

Emily Davis shared the Sooner Athletic Conference sportsmanship award with Autumn Klugh of Northwestern. Davis adds 3.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.14 steals a game.

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals
2:15 p.m. Thursday, March 1
Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark.

THE MATCHUP: Top-ranked Oklahoma City University faces host John Brown (Ark.) in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
OCU has won SAC Tournament crowns in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.

ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars walloped Oklahoma Baptist 95-46 on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena to clinch a share of the SAC regular-season championship. OCU (27-1, 21-1 SAC) has won or shared SAC titles 13 times in 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Dietra Caldwell, a 5-foot-8 senior from Missouri City, Texas, spearheaded OCU with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals. She canned three 3-pointers. Caldwell, the SAC player of the year, produces 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.21 steals a game.
Philicia Kelly, a 5-9 senior from Nassau, Bahamas, chipped in 12 points and three rebounds while shooting 4-for-6 from the field and hitting all four of her free throws. Kelly averages 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Taylor Booze, Cara Pugh and Nicollette Smith each added 11 points.
OCU leads NAIA Division I with a 33.9-point average victory margin and a 1.15 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Stars rate in the top five statistically in 10 categories. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
The Stars held the No. 1 ranking for the eighth time this season in the latest NAIA Division I poll, appearing in the top spot for the 43rd time since 1999-2000. Five-time national champion OCU has been in every national ranking since 1999-2000.
OCU owns a 33-4 advantage in the all-time series against John Brown. The Stars scrapped its way to a 56-41 win Feb. 18 in Siloam Springs, Ark., to bring OCU its 14th consecutive 25-win season.

ABOUT THE LADY EAGLES: John Brown ended the regular season with a 62-51 loss to Southern Nazarene on Saturday in Bethany, Okla. John Brown (15-15, 9-13 SAC) managed 31.5 percent shooting from the floor and faced a 22-point deficit in the second half.
Chelsea Garrison, a 6-2 senior, became John Brown's only scorer in double digits with 14 points and four rebounds. Garrison provides John Brown with 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds a game. Brittany Hopper and Sierra Shipley each had nine points. Shipley, a 5-9 sophomore, leads John Brown with 11.3 points a game.
John Brown ranks eighth nationally with a 33.7 percent 3-point shooting percentage and 219 treys made.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Rob Edmisson has posted a stellar 203-31 record in his seventh season at OCU and a 505-150 record overall in his 22nd season as a head coach. Edmisson, a three-time SAC coach of the year, has led the Stars to five 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 214 career wins in 14 seasons. He has taken John Brown to three NAIA Tournament appearances.

QUOTABLE: “I know I don't have to rely on that one player to do everything. I can have one girl score 25 one night, and the next night she can get five, and we can still win. Somebody else is going to step up. That's the way it's been for us the whole season.” – Edmisson on the Stars' balance

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.

LISTEN UP: Tune in to 1340 AM The Game at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, when Edmisson will be a guest on David Garrett's show to preview the SAC Tournament.

ABOUT THE SAC TOURNAMENT: The nation's premier NAIA basketball conference stages its postseason tournament at Bill George Arena on March 1-3. NAIA Division I Tournament berths will be at stake in the Sooner Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments presented by Meisner Aircraft. For information, visit the tournament page.

ON THE AIR: JBU will provide live stats and video of each tournament game. JBU offers video at $7.95 per game and $24.95 for a tournament pass.
To watch the game, click here. To follow the game via live stats, click here. Keep up with all the tournament games via live stats by clicking here.

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