Women's Basketball 2/8/2012 3:21:00 PM

OCU at Wayland Baptist women's basketball preview

Nicollette Smith is one of four Stars to average over 10 points per game.

6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9
Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas

THE MATCHUP: No. 1 Oklahoma City University hits the road for a Sooner Athletic Conference battle against Wayland Baptist (Texas).

ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars handled St. Gregory's 63-52 Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena to move to 21-1 overall and 15-1 in SAC play. The win gave OCU coach Rob Edmisson his 500th career win at the college level.
Junior Desiree Jeffries led the way with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists against St. Gregory's. The forward from Oklahoma City averages 9.5 points per game and leads OCU in total rebounds with 139 and defensive rebounds with 97.
Point guard Taylor Booze added 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. The 5-foot-6 senior leads the Stars in assists, 4.0, and steals, 2.82, per game.
Leading-scorer Dietra Caldwell chipped in with 11 points on the game. The senior from Missouri City, Texas, puts up 13.2 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent from 3-point distance. Caldwell is first in NAIA Division I in assist/turnover ratio, passing out 3.3 assists to every one turnover.
The Stars are first in the nation in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by 35.4 points per game, and rank in the top-5 in 13 statistical categories. To see how OCU stacks up with the rest of the NAIA, click here.
OCU held the top spot in the latest NAIA Division I poll for the second week in a row and for the fifth time this season. The Stars currently sit in second place in the SAC standings and were picked to win the conference in the preseason.
The Stars hold a 30-18 all-time record against the Flying Queens. In their last meeting junior Lauren Gober posted 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead OCU to a 70-54 win at Abe Lemons Arena on Jan. 14.

ABOUT THE FLYING QUEENS: Wayland Baptist suffered a 77-63 setback Saturday against Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Flying Queens are 8-13 overall and 6-9 in SAC play.
Center Alex Williams notched a team and season-high 22 points against Northwestern. Williams averages 11.6 points per contest and leads the team in blocks, rebounds and steals.
Guard Jessen Tucker added 15 points on 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the 3-point line. Tucker averages 9.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in her last four outings.
Leading scorer Erika Raymond posted eight points in 29 minutes of work. Raymond is first on the team in scoring and assists and is 11th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 40 percent from outside.
The Flying Queens are ranked 15th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 33 percent, and 19th in blocks per game at 3.76. Wayland Baptist currently sits eighth in the SAC standings and was picked to finish sixth in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COAHCES: Edmisson has posted a stellar 198-31 record in his seventh season at OCU and a 500-150 record overall in his 22nd season as a head coach. Edmisson, a two-time SAC coach of the year, has led the Stars to SAC regular-season championships four times and four SAC Tournament titles. Edmisson coached the only player drafted into the WNBA from OCU, Mariam Sy, as well as six others who turned professional. He won 192 games at Hutchinson (Kan.) and 110 as a high-school coach in Kansas.
Tory Bryant is in his fifth season at the helm of the Flying Queens program, posting a 78-69 record in his tenure. He led Lubbock Christian to the NAIA national tournament in 2009. Bryant led Lubbock Trinity Christian High School (Texas) to a 96-19 record and two state championships.

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. Get conference scores and highlights by calling the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.

ON THE AIR: Wayland Baptist will provide live stats and video of the game. To watch the game or follow the game via live stats, click here.

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