Women's Basketball 1/18/2013 3:05:00 PM

OCU vs. Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball preview

Stars aim to stay unbeaten in Sooner Athletic Conference play

Cara Pugh pitches in 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds a game.

3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18
Abe Lemons Arena

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University puts its 12-game winning streak on the line against Sooner Athletic Conference foe Oklahoma Baptist.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students, while OCU students, faculty and staff are allowed into all regular-season OCU athletics events for free with their ID.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU crushed 13th-ranked Rogers State 87-39 on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (13-2, 5-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) increased its record to 5-0 against ranked NAIA opponents.
Kayla MacKenzie, a 5-foot-6 junior from Peoria, Ariz., ramrodded the Stars with 18 points, six steals and three 3-pointers. MacKenzie has piled up 12.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.33 steals a game.
Lauren Gober, a 6-2 senior from Newcastle, Okla., totaled 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She hit 7 of her 13 shots from the field. Gober posts 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.13 steals a game. A two-time all-American, Gober has produced 1,463 points, 603 rebounds 141 assists, 200 steals, 80 blocks and an OCU-record 266 3-pointers as a Star. Katie Hall, a 6-foot senior from Hazleton, Idaho, provided OCU with 15 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. She grabbed seven offensive rebounds. Hall averages 11.9 points and 8.9 rebounds a game. Hall has compiled 1,123 career points – 944 while playing three seasons for Western State (Colo.).
OCU leads NAIA Division I in scoring margin (34.6 points a game) and turnover margin (plus-13.1). The Stars rank in the top five nationally in nine team statistical categories. Individually, Jessica Lankston's 91.3 percent free-throw percentage and Gober's 3.27 3-pointers per game ranks second in the NAIA. To see how the Stars rank among national statistics, click here.
The Stars moved to fourth in the latest NAIA Division I rankings. Defending national champion OCU has been listed in all 158 polls since 1999-2000. The Stars own national championships from 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2012. SAC coaches predicted OCU would finish third place in the Sooner Athletic Conference. OCU has won or shared the SAC regular-season crown 13 times – in 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
OCU has a 43-22 record against Oklahoma Baptist over the years. The Stars clinched a share of the SAC championship with a 95-46 rout of OBU on Feb. 25, 2012 at Abe Lemons Arena.

ABOUT THE LADY BISON: Oklahoma Baptist held off John Brown (Ark.) 56-46 on Thursday in Shawnee, Okla. Oklahoma Baptist (9-7, 2-3 SAC) responded after John Brown cut its deficit to 46-44 with 3:06 left in the game.
Zbeyda Aremi, a 6-4 junior, compiled 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Aremi has recorded 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.06 blocks a game this season. Charity Fowler, a 5-8 sophomore, had 11 points and eight rebounds. Fowler averages 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.50 steals a game.
Oklahoma Baptist had been picked to finish fourth in the SAC by conference coaches in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell is in the midst of her first season as head coach of the Stars. Trammell returns to OCU after serving as Western State (Colo.) head coach the past five seasons. 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 was assistant coach at OCU from 2005-07. 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. Trammell also spent time as head coach at Midwest City High School and Denton Bill Ryan High School (Texas).
Casi Bays became Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball coach in August. Bays (nee' Cox) had been assistant under the previous head coach, John McCullough, as well as head girls coach at Bridge Creek and Newcastle. Bays had become a two-time all-American, piling up 1,879 points during her playing career at Oklahoma Baptist.

QUOTABLE: “Jessica Lankston, if you haven't had an opportunity to watch her play, you got to. My dad calls her a waterbug. She is all over the floor. She does those things most players don't want to do. She will dive on the floor. One of our best on-ball defenders on the team. One of our top scorers on the team. She is one of our best free-throw shooters.” – 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.
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. Andrew Himes provides the play-by-play. To access the live audio, stats or video for the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.
The live audio and stats will be provided free of charge, while the cost to see the video will be $7.95. A women's basketball season pass that allows you to see all the Stars' 2012-13 home games costs $29.95, while a 2012-13 all-sports pass costs $79.95.

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