Women's Basketball 3/1/2013 1:39:00 PM

OCU vs. John Brown women's basketball preview

Stars put 24-game win streak on line

Cara Pugh has put together 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds a game for the Stars.

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals
3 p.m. Thursday, March 1
Noble Complex in Shawnee, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University meets John Brown (Ark.) in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.
OCU has won SAC Tournament crowns in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU knocked Mid-America Christian out of the tournament with an 80-47 win Thursday in Shawnee, Okla. The Stars (25-2) reached 25 wins for the 15th consecutive season.
Katie Hall, a 6-foot senior from Hazelton, Idaho, turned in 20 points, five rebounds and two steals. Hall, an all-SAC first teamer, posts 12.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.59 steals a game. She has amassed 1,293 points and 1,092 rebounds in her college career, which includes three years at Western State (Colo.).
Desiree Jeffries, a 6-foot senior from Oklahoma City, registered 12 points, six rebounds and three steals. Jeffries, a first-team all-SAC pick, averages 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.89 steals a game. Lauren Gober, a 6-2 senior from Newcastle, Okla., and Autumn Huffman, a junior from Midwest City, Okla., each added nine points. Gober has racked up 1,636 points, 680 rebounds, 157 assists, 230 steals and 90 blocks as a Star. She holds OCU's career record with 293 3-pointers. Gober became a four-time all-SAC selection and shared the SAC player of the year award with Nicole Hampton of Lubbock Christian (Texas).
OCU leads NAIA Division I in turnover margin (plus-13.74 per game). The Stars rank in the top five nationally in nine team statistical categories. Jessica Lankston ranks third nationally with an 87.8 percent free-throw percentage. To see how the Stars rank among national statistics, click here.
The Stars remained second in the newest national rankings, falling short of No. 1 by one point and garnering five of 11 first-place votes. Defending national champion OCU has been listed in all 163 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 league. OCU has won or shared the SAC regular-season crown 14 times – in 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and now, 2013.
OCU owns a 36-4 advantage over John Brown in the overall series. The Stars pounded John Brown 98-48 on Feb. 9 at Abe Lemons Arena. Gober poured in 27 points.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: John Brown stunned Oklahoma Baptist 52-47 on Thursday in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals at the Noble Complex. John Brown (13-16) rallied from a 19-point deficit with a 23-0 run.
Sierra Shipley, a 5-9 junior, tallied 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Shipley, a third-team all-league performer, piles up 11.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.38 steals a game. Lauren Rogers, a 5-3 sophomore, had 11 points while hitting three 3-pointers. Rogers averages 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
John Brown ranks third nationally with a 76.5 percent free-throw percentage.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell has a 90-78 record in six seasons as a college head coach. Trammell returned 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).
Jeff Soderquist has become John Brown's winningest women's basketball coach with a 227-270 record in his 16th season. He has taken John Brown to three NAIA Tournament appearances.

ABOUT THE SAC TOURNAMENT: The nation's premier NAIA basketball conference stages its postseason tournament at the Noble Complex in Shawnee, Okla., on Feb. 27-March 2. NAIA Division I Tournament berths will be at stake in the Sooner Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments. For information, visit the tournament page.

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: Fans can follow all the SAC Tournament games via live stats and video. To watch the game, click here. To follow the game on live stats, click here.

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