Women's Basketball 12/18/2013 3:05:00 PM

OCU vs. Benedictine women's basketball preview

Stars compete in matchup of top 15-ranked teams

Cara Pugh is averaging 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Stars.

3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20
Abe Lemons Arena

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University returns home for a non-conference clash with Benedictine (Kan.) in a battle of top-15 teams.
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, ranked No. 2 in NAIA Division I women's basketball, smacked Southwestern Christian 98-58 at Pickens-Springer Gymnasium in its Sooner Athletic Conference opener Tuesday. The Stars are now 4-0 on the season.
Guard Yvonte Neal led the OCU charge with 23 points, on 44 percent shooting from behind the 3-point line, and three steals. The 5-foot-7 junior from Spring Valley, Calif., leads OCU with 18.0 points per contest. On the season, Neal is shooting 42 percent from the floor.
Senior Autumn Lau followed with 19 points and 13 rebounds off the bench to notch her second straight double-double. The 5-foot-10 forward from Mount Wolf, Pa., averages 15.5 points per game and leads the Stars with 12.5 rebounds per outing. Lau is ranked second in the NAIA with 5.5 offensive rebounds per game and third with 12.5 total rebounds per contest.
Ouleymatou Coulibaly, a junior from Bamako, Mali, West Africa, chipped in with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes of action. The 6-foot-2 center is averaging 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Coulibaly leads OCU and the NAIA with a field goal percentage of 66 percent.
OCU is ranked first in NAIA Division I in offensive rebounds per game (21.7) and scoring offense per game (93.0). The Stars are ranked in the top 10 in 10 statistical categories. To see how OCU stacks up with the rest of the NAIA, click here.
The Stars retained the No. 2 spot in the newest national rankings, picking up one of a possible seven first-place votes. OCU has made the top 25 in all 167 polls since 1999-2000. OCU owns national championships from 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2012. SAC coaches predicted the Stars would win the league title. OCU has won or shared the SAC regular-season crown 14 times, including last season when the Stars became the 10th SAC team to go unbeaten in league play.
The Stars own a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series with Benedictine. In the previous meeting between the two, OCU topped the Ravens 92-63 at Abe Lemons Arena on Dec. 17, 2011.

ABOUT THE RAVENS: Benedictine, ranked No. 15 in the nation, nudged past 19th-ranked Central Methodist (Mo.) 80-71 on Dec. 14 in Fayette, Mo. The win moved the Ravens to 9-3 on the season.
Forward Chayla Rutledge led the Ravens with 22 points and four rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Rutledge leads Benedictine with 16.7 points per game.
Guard Rosie Youngstrom added 14 points and six assists in 31 minutes of action. Youngstrom averages 6.5 points per game and leads the squad with 3.9 assists per contest.
Guard Justice Payne notched 12 points and three rebounds against Central Methodist. Payne averages 15.6 points and is ranked fifth in the NAIA with 36 total made 3-point jumpers.
Benedictine is ranked seventh in NAIA Division I with 88 total made 3-point field goals and 13th with 182 total assists. The Ravens were slated to finished second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell owns a 97-80 record in six seasons as a college head coach. She reeled off a 28-4 record and became conference coach of the year in her first season as OCU head coach in 2012-13. Trammell returned to OCU last season after serving as Western State (Colo.) head coach from 2007-12. As a head coach, Trammell has coached three all-Americans and 17 all-conference selections, including the co-SAC player of the year, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference player of the year and RMAC West Division freshman of the year. Trammell was assistant coach at OCU from 2005-07. As an assistant at OCU from 2005-07, 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).
Chad Folsom is in his 13th year at Benedictine and has compiled a 260-130 record for the Ravens. Folsom sits as the winningest coach in Benedictine women's basketball history. Folsom has guided the Ravens to 21-plus wins for 12 consecutive seasons.

FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest on OCU athletics through several ways.
Help OCU win an NAIA contest and gain more followers on social media in 2013-14. 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.

ON THE AIR: OCU athletics has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live and on-demand audio, stats and video of the Stars' games. Live audio, stats and video will be provided for the OCU games, while the early games will have live stats and video. Eddy Hrdlicka will call the OCU games. To access the live audio, stats or video for the games, 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' 2013-14 home games costs $29.95, while a 2013-14 all-sports pass costs $79.95.

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