Women's Basketball 3/12/2013 10:03:00 AM

OCU vs. Central Methodist women's basketball preview

Stars have advanced past NAIA Tournament's first round three years in a row

Ravven Brown supplies the Stars with 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.66 steals a game.

NAIA Division I Tournament
11 a.m. CST Wednesday, March 13
Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University opens play in the 33rd annual NAIA Division I Tournament facing Central Methodist (Mo.).
OCU owns national championships from 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2012 and reached the finals in 2003, 2004 and 2005. OCU has made its 19th trip to the NAIA Tournament and 16th in a row.

ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars come off a 77-64 defeat to Lubbock Christian (Texas) on March 2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament championship at Shawnee, Okla. OCU (26-3) advanced to the SAC Tournament final for the 13th time in 14 years.
Desiree Jeffries, a 6-foot senior from Oklahoma City, posted 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal. Jeffries made all-tournament in the SAC Tournament for the second consecutive year. Her career numbers stand at 1,026 points, 528 rebounds, 314 assists and 164 steals. Jeffries, an all-SAC first teamer, averages 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.79 steals a game.
Jessica Lankston, a 5-2 senior from Kansas, Okla., chipped in 10 points and two 3-pointers. She shot 4-for-6 from the field March 2 and became an all-tournament pick. Lankston, who made honorable-mention all-SAC, contributes 8.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.15 steals a game. Lauren Gober, a 6-2 senior from Newcastle, Okla., leads OCU with 15.3 points a game while adding 6.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.35 steals a game in sharing the SAC player of the year award. A two-time all-American, Gober has totaled 1,645 points, 689 rebounds, 162 assists, 236 steals and 93 blocked shots while becoming OCU's all-time leading 3-point shooter with 296 3s.
OCU tops NAIA Division I in turnover margin (plus-13.21). The Stars rank in the top five nationally in eight team statistical categories, including second in points per game (82.6 points a game) and average margin of victory (32.14 points per game). Individually, Katie Hall rates fourth in the NAIA with 5.0 offensive rebounds a game. To see how the Stars rank among national statistics, click here.
The Stars stayed at No. 2 for the fourth consecutive week in the latest NAIA Division I rankings. OCU has been listed in all 164 polls since 1999-2000. OCU captured its 14th SAC regular-season championship this season.
OCU won the only previous meeting between the two teams 105-37 on Nov. 11, 2001.

ABOUT THE EAGLES: Central Methodist fell to ninth-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 77-71 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament title game March 5 in Olathe, Kan. Central Methodist (25-7) made the NAIA Division I Tournament for the first time ever via the 13th available at-large berth after making five appearances in the NAIA Division II Tournament.
Towanda Sutton, a 5-11 senior, led Central Methodist with 15 points against MidAmerica Nazarene. Sutton, a third-team all-conference selection, averages 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds a game. Britney Joseph, a 6-foot junior, had 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Joseph, who was honorable-mention all-HAAC, provides Central Methodist with 9.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.66 steals a game.
Raylyn Nuss, a 5-6 senior, has been Central Methodist's ringleader with a team-high 10.8 points a game. She was a second-team all-HAAC choice. Nuss ranks sixth nationally with 85 treys this season. Central Methodist ranks seventh with 1,411 offensive rebounds in 2012-13.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell has a 91-79 college head-coaching record in 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-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 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 Bill Ryan High School (Texas).
James Arnold has directed Central Methodist to a 42-20 record in his second season as coach. Arnold spent eight years coaching on the junior-college level at Highland (Kan.) and North Central Missouri before coming to Central Methodist.

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.

STAYING IN OKC? Come to the student lounge of the Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center on the OCU campus to watch the game.

ON THE AIR: The first 30 games of the tournament will be video-streamed live on the NAIA web site, costing $9.95 per day or $29.95 for a tournament pass. Click here for details. Every national-tournament game can be followed through live stats.

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