Women's Basketball 1/30/2015 3:51:00 PM

OCU vs. Texas Wesleyan women’s basketball preview

Stars hold 6-0 conference record

Ouleymatou Coulibaly averages 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds a game for the Stars.

3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University squares off against Texas Wesleyan for the second time this season.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students, while OCU students, faculty and staff are allowed into all regular-season OCU athletics events for free with their ID. If the Stars score 70 points, fans will get a prize from Raising Cane's. For the OCU athletics visitors guide, click here.

ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City avoided an upset by beating John Brown (Ark.) 71-69 as Yvonte Neal's bucket with 23 seconds left proved the difference Thursday at Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark. The Stars (14-1, 9-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) escaped when Laura Brown's 3-point attempt missed the mark at the buzzer.
Rateska Brown, a 5-foot-6 senior from Alvin, S.C., led the OCU charge with 22 points while sinking four 3-pointers. Brown leads the team in scoring with 20.5 points and 3.7 3-pointers a game.
Ouleymatou Coulibaly, a 6-2 senior from Bamako, Mali, West Africa, contributed 17 points and nine rebounds. Coulibaly scores 16.5 points and pulls in 8.9 rebounds a game for OCU. Neal, a senior from Spring Valley, Calif. dropped in 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Neal averages 16.6 points. 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game for the Stars.
The Stars are first in the NAIA in assists per game (18.4) and 3-point field goal percentage (37.7). To see how OCU ranks statistically in NAIA Division I, click here.
Oklahoma City remained at No. 2 in the newest NAIA Division I rankings. OCU has been ranked in the top 10 in every poll since March 11, 2009 and made the top 25 in all 184 polls since 1999-2000. OCU owns national championships from 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014. SAC coaches predicted the Stars would win the league title. OCU has won or shared the SAC regular-season crown 15 times, including the last five in a row.
OCU dominates the all-time record 7-0 against Texas Wesleyan. The Stars faced Texas Wesleyan already this season and won 84-69 in Fort Worth, Texas on Dec. 4, 2014. Brown reeled off 30 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game.

ABOUT THE LADY RAMS: Texas Wesleyan knocked off Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) 72-57 on Thursday in Waxahachie, Texas. The Lady Rams (15-6, 6-3) held Assemblies of God to 27.9 percent (19-of-68) shooting from the floor in the game.
Stacey Darnley, a 5-6 senior, led TWU with 17 points while dishing five assists and pulling down five rebounds. Darnley leads the team in points with 14.5 a game while handing 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds.
Krissy Parker, a 6-3 senior, also scored 17 points and added three rebounds off the bench. Parker has only made 12 appearances for the Lady Rams and averages 5.9 points and 3.3 rebounds a game. Amy Easley, a 5-9 senior, dropped 16 points and reeled in nine rebounds against SAGU. Easley scores 7.9 points and recovers 4.5 rebounds a game.
The Lady Rams were picked to finish sixth in the SAC preseason coaches' poll.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Latricia Trammell was the 2014 NAIA Division I Phyllis Holmes coach of the year. Trammell has a 67-9 record in her third season as OCU head coach. She guided the Stars to a 16-0 record in conference play in 2012-13. She was OCU assistant to Rob Edmisson in 2005-07, then became Western State (Colo.) head coach from 2007-12. Trammell's college head-coaching record is 132-85 in her eighth year. Trammell has coached six all-Americans and 23 all-conference selections, including two SAC players of the year, an SAC newcomer of the year, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference player of the year and RMAC West Division freshman of the year. 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.
Bill Franey enters his third season as head coach of Texas Wesleyan. Franey owns a 70-32 record as the Lady Rams head coach. Last season he guided Texas Wesleyan to a 15-16 record in its first season in the SAC.

QUOTABLE: "We played really well in the last two minutes. We had that sense of urgency. We just have to figure out how to do to that for 40 minutes. We have to more disciplined every possession." – Trammell

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.
Fans can sign up to receive OCU Athletics SMS text message alerts, including the latest score updates and headlines from the Stars, by going here.
Fans can sign up to receive the latest OCU athletic headlines via e-mail by going here.
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: OCU athletics has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live and on-demand audio of the Stars' games. To follow the game via live video, audio or live stats, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Andrew Himes will call the game.
The live audio and stats will be provided free of charge, while the cost to see the video will be $7.95. A men's basketball season pass that allows you to see all the Stars' home games this season costs $29.95, while a 2014-15 all-sports pass costs $79.95.

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Players Mentioned

#21 Ouleymatou Coulibaly: C; 6' 2"; Senior

#22 Yvonte Neal: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#3 Rateska Brown: G; 5' 6"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#21 Ouleymatou Coulibaly
: 6' 2"; Senior
: C

#22 Yvonte Neal
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#3 Rateska Brown
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G

Players Mentioned

#21 Ouleymatou Coulibaly

#22 Yvonte Neal

#3 Rateska Brown

Players Mentioned

#21 Ouleymatou Coulibaly

#22 Yvonte Neal

#3 Rateska Brown