SHAWNEE, Okla. – Oklahoma City University cruised past St. Gregory's 77-56 Saturday at W.P. Wood Field House.
The Stars, ranked No. 3 in NAIA Division I women's basketball, committed 26 turnovers but held St. Gregory's to just 33 percent from the field and outrebounded the Lady Cavaliers 51-29 on the day. The win moves OCU to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
OCU scored the first seven point of the game and rushed out to an 18-9 lead at the 13:10 mark.
After Lexi Huff hit a 3-point jumper to cut the OCU lead to 6, OCU embarked on a 12-4 run and stretched its lead to 34-20 with 3:41 to go in the period.
Ouleymatou Coulibaly capped the half with a bucket in the paint and staked OCU to a 42-29 lead at the half.
The Stars shot 50 percent from the floor in the half, but surrendered 10 turnovers while the Lady Cavaliers shot 42 percent from beyond the 3-point line.
The Stars opened the second half on an 8-2 run and expanded their advantage to 50-31. Yvonte Neal fueled the run with a clutch 3-pointer.
St. Gregory's fought back and got a bucket from Huff to cut the OCU lead to 14 with 10:54 left on the clock.
OCU immediately answered with buckets from Autumn Huffman and Autumn Lau to spark another 8-2 run and build its lead up to 65-45 with 7:33 to go.
The Stars maintained their double-digit advantage and led by as many as 25 points en route to the 77-56 victory.
Coulibaly led OCU with 16 points and nine rebounds. The junior center shot 6-of-9 from the field and was perfect from the charity stripe on the day.
Lau posted 16 points of her own and corralled eight rebounds. Huffman added 12 points and eight boards and Kayla MacKenzie pitched in with nine rebounds, eight points and five assists.
The Stars will return to action against Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) at 6 p.m. Monday in Waxahachie, Texas.