Women's Basketball 1/15/2014 11:10:00 AM

OCU at Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball preview

Top 10-ranked teams collide in Noble Complex on Thursday

Cara Pugh scored six points on two 3-pointers Monday.

6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16
Noble Complex in Shawnee, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University squares off with Oklahoma Baptist in a blockbuster matchup of top 10-ranked teams in the NAIA.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU pulled away from Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) for a 77-65 victory Monday in Waxahachie, Texas. The Stars (9-1, 6-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) used a 9-0 run to push their advantage to 75-63 with 1:48 left after a tie game with 9:57 remaining.
Autumn Lau, a 5-foot-10 senior from Mount Wolf, Pa., propelled OCU with 17 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots against SAGU. Lau tops the SAC and ranks 18th nationally in rebounding. Lau supplies the Stars with 14.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.67 blocks per game.
Yvonte Neal, a 5-7 junior from Spring Valley, Calif., produced 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Neal ranks 10th nationally with an 86.5 percent free-throw percentage. Neal leads OCU in scoring with 16.0 points a game while adding 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.20 steals a contest. Autumn Huffman, a 5-9 senior from Midwest City, Okla., and Kayla MacKenzie, a 5-6 senior from Peoria, Ariz., each had 14 points. Huffman grabbed 13 rebounds, while MacKenzie dished out 12 assists.
OCU ranks third in the NAIA in rebounding margin (plus-15.2) and fourth in offensive rebounding (19.3 per game). To see where OCU rates against the NAIA statistically, click here.
The Stars remained at No. 3 in the latest national rankings. OCU has been rated in the top 10 in every poll since March 11, 2009 and made the top 25 in all 169 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.
OCU has gone 45-22 against Oklahoma Baptist throughout the years. The Stars defeated Oklahoma Baptist 70-38 on Feb. 21, 2013 in Shawnee, Okla., in the last meeting. MacKenzie led OCU with 19 points.

ABOUT THE LADY BISON: Oklahoma Baptist downed Wayland Baptist (Texas) 78-64 on Jan. 9 in Plainview, Texas. Oklahoma Baptist (12-2, 4-0 SAC) held the Flying Queens to 36.9 percent shooting from the floor and forced 20 turnovers.
Jalissa Council, a 6-1 senior, returned from a five-game absence to post 26 points and six rebounds. She became SAC player of the week. Council averages 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. Zbeyda Aremi, a 6-4 senior, had 12 points and three blocks. Aremi contributes 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.07 blocks per game.
Sixth-ranked Oklahoma Baptist ranks seventh nationally in turnover margin at plus-7.21. Oklahoma Baptist was expected to take second in the SAC by conference coaches.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell owns a 102-81 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).
Casi Bays has gone 26-16 since becoming Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball coach last season. 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: "She's one of those unconscious shooters. There's some times that I think when she shoots it, 'She shouldn't have shot that,' but I've never told her that. She's a good shooter. She has the green light." – Trammell on Neal

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. Andrew Himes serves as the play-by-play man. To listen to the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.
Oklahoma Baptist will provide fans the opportunity to follow the game via live video and live stats.

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