Women's Basketball 3/22/2014 12:01:00 PM

OCU vs. Campbellsville women's basketball preview

Stars hold 2-1 record vs. Campbellsville in national-tournament play

Cara Pugh has provided OCU with 8.0 points a game in this year's NAIA Tournament.

NAIA Division I Tournament quarterfinals
3 p.m. CDT Saturday, March 22
Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University looks to run its streak of 25-win seasons to 16 in its Elite Eight matchup against Campbellsville (Ky.).
Session tickets are $10 each for general admission, $5 for senior citizens and free to youth 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased by going here.

ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars clipped 21st-ranked Montana State-Northern 58-55 on Friday in the round of 16. OCU (24-4) reached the NAIA Tournament quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive year and improved to 5-3 against ranked opponents this season.
Autumn Huffman, a 5-foot-9 senior from Midwest City, Okla., served as OCU's ring leader with 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals. She hit 7 of 12 from the field. Huffman pitches in 9.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.89 steals a game. In the tournament, Huffman is averaging 14.0 points and 8.5 rebounds.
Ouleymatou Coulibaly, a 6-2 junior from Bamako, Mali, West Africa, produced 13 points and 11 rebounds. Coulibaly took over the team lead with her eighth double-double of the season. Coulibaly contributes 12.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.32 steals a game. Her tournament numbers are 10.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Yvonte Neal, a 5-7 junior from Spring Valley, Calif., added 13 points, five rebounds and two assists. Neal, the co-Sooner Athletic Conference player of the year, fired in a crucial 3-pointer with 56 seconds left and sank two free throws with 24 seconds to go. Neal turns in 16.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.57 steals per game. In the tournament, she is recording 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a game.
OCU ranks third in rebounding margin (plus-11.79) and seventh in scoring margin (18.14 per game) in the NAIA. To see where OCU rates statistically among NAIA Division I, click here.
The Stars remained at No. 5 in the final national rankings before the national tournament. OCU has been ranked in the top 10 in every poll since March 11, 2009 and made the top 25 in all 177 polls since 1999-2000.
OCU owns national championships won in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2012. OCU has advanced to the national tournament for the 20th time and 17th year in a row. OCU's record in national-tournament play stands at 58-13. OCU is tied with Southern Nazarene for second place all-time in tournament wins.
The Stars has a 7-1 record vs. Campbellsville. OCU prevailed 86-77 in overtime in the NAIA Tournament quarterfinals on March 20, 2010 in Jackson, Tenn., in the most recent meeting. The Stars overcame Campbellsville's Whitney Ballinger going for 48 points. Starr Fairbanks led OCU with 17 points.

ABOUT THE LADY TIGERS: Campbellsville held off Xavier (La.) 59-55 on Friday in the tournament. Campbellsville (32-3) went up by 10 points with 40 seconds left on Mary Jehlik's free throws, but Xavier closed the game out on a 7-1 run.
Katie Allen, a 5-6 senior, notched 15 points and two steals. Allen supplies Campbellsville with 10.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.46 steals. Kristen Jacob, a 6-foot sophomore, and Ellen Sholtes, a 5-8 senior, each had 10 points Friday. Sholtes averages 10.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.94 steals a game.
Campbellsville stood fourth in the last NAIA rankings and advanced to the tournament by winning the Mid-South Conference regular-season championship. The Lady Tigers lead the NAIA with 606 assists.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell owns a 117-84 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).
Ginger Colvin has guided Campbellsville, her alma mater, to a 182-53 record in her seventh season at the helm. Colvin is a two-time Mid-South Conference coach of the year as well as Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year in 1990.

STAYING IN OKC? OCU will be unable to provide a watch party for Saturday's game.

FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest on OCU athletics through several ways.
Sign up to get text alerts from OCU Athletics by visiting the SMS Text Alerts Signup.
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.

ON THE AIR: Fans can follow each NAIA Tournament game via live stats and video. The video is available for $9.95 per day and $24.95 for an all-tournament pass. Watch the games here or keep up with the game via live stats by clicking here.

Print Friendly Version