OCU's freshmen this season are from left, Torie Shanbour, JoHanna Beathard, Stefanie Mitchell and NaShyla Hammons.

Women's Basketball 11/17/2016 1:27:00 PM

OCU in Oklahoma City Classic women's basketball preview

Stars host Oklahoma City Classic presented by Courtyard Marriott Northwest

8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18
vs. LSU-Shreveport
3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19
vs. Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University plays host to the Oklahoma City Classic presented by Courtyard Marriott Northwest featuring three top 25-caliber teams.
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.

ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars took a 63-58 setback to Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) on Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark., in the John Brown Classic. OCU (1-1) had a 10-point lead late in the first quarter.
Daniela Galindo, a 5-foot-10 junior from Shattuck, Okla., turned in 17 points and six rebounds. Galindo produced 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.50 steals a game during the John Brown Classic.
Daniela Wallen, a 5-11 senior from Caracas, Venezuela, accumulated 17 points, five rebounds and three steals. Wallen records 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.50 steals a game. Mariana Duran, a 5-7 senior from Yaracuy, Venezuela, had 13 points, four assists and two steals. Duran averages 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest.
OCU rank fourth among the NAIA with a 49.1 percent field-goal percentage. To see where OCU ranks against the NAIA statistically, click here.
The Stars hold the 19th spot in the preseason rankings. OCU extended its streak of top-25 showings to 205 consecutive polls since 1999-2000. OCU owns national championships from 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014 and 2015. SAC coaches installed the Stars as the league's preseason favorite. OCU has won or shared the SAC regular-season crown 16 times.
OCU fell 72-60 to LSU-Shreveport in the first meeting ever between the two teams Nov. 14, 2015 in Shreveport, La. Wallen scored 16 points.
The Stars take a 3-1 all-time record against Our Lady of the Lake into the contest. Our Lady of the Lake prevailed 83-63 on Jan. 2 in San Antonio. Wallen had 24 points and 11 rebounds.

ABOUT THE PILOTS: LSU-Shreveport picked up its first victory of the season 73-61 over Xavier (La.) on Nov. 12 in Shreveport, La. LSU-Shreveport coach Curtis Loyd notched his first win as a head coach as his team moved to 1-2 this season.
Courtney Randle, a 5-5 senior, compiled 23 points, four assists and four treys. Randle collects 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.67 steals a game. Kourtney Pennywell, a 5-10 senior, had 12 points. Pennywell averages 9.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.33 steals a game.
LSU-Shreveport has been picked to finish third place in the 10-team Red River Athletic Conference before the season.

ABOUT THE SAINTS: Our Lady of the Lake absorbed a 73-58 loss to ninth-ranked Lyon (Ark.) on Nov. 12 in Shreveport, La. Lyon shot 46.2 percent from the 3-point line, nailing 13 treys against Our Lady of the Lake (1-2).
Quintianna LeShore, a 5-5 junior, registered 14 points and five rebounds off the bench. LeShore averages 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.00 thefts a game. Kasey Saldana, a 5-3 freshman, had 11 points and three 3-pointers. Saldana supplies her team with 8.3 points, 2.0 assists and 3.00 steals per game.
Third-ranked Our Lady of the Lake has favored to win the Red River Athletic Conference in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Bo Overton returns to OCU for his second season as its head coach. Overton has coaching experience on the professional level in China, Russia and the WNBA, as well as college head-coaching experience with Missouri-Kansas City. Overton has been an assistant on the international level for the Bahamas and China, including the 2012 Olympics with the Chinese team.
Curtis Loyd enters his first season as LSU-Shreveport coach after putting in 19 years as an assistant coach. His previous coaching stops on the NCAA Division I level were at Indiana, Minnesota, Akron, Virginia, Arizona and Colorado State.
Christopher Minner has been with OLLU for eight years but he enters his fifth year as the Saints head coach. In 2015-16, the Saints went 30-3, won their fourth consecutive RRAC regular-season title and their second RRAC Tournament title. Our Lady of the Lake made the second round of the NAIA Tournament.

THE SCHEDULE: Friday – Mid-America Christian vs. Our Lady of the Lake, 6 p.m.; Oklahoma City vs. LSU-Shreveport, 8 p.m.; Saturday – Mid-America Christian vs. LSU-Shreveport, 1 p.m.; Oklahoma City vs. Our Lady of the Lake, 3 p.m.

QUOTABLE: "We are excited about what our new players bring us like the scoring of Daniela Galindo, the size of Brooke Irwin and how our young players are fitting in." – Overton after the John Brown Classic

FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest from OCU athletics through several ways.
Check out OCU athletics on several social media platforms by looking up the handle @ocustars. The Stars are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Receive the latest OCU athletic headlines via e-mail by going here.
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 or see our video channel in the upper right-hand corner of our home page.

ON THE AIR: OCU athletics has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live and on-demand audio, stats and video of the Stars' games. OCU will provide live video and stats of each game in the classic.
Follow OCU's games via live audio, stats and video by visiting OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Cost to watch each game is $7.95 per game, $34.95 to see all 2016-17 home basketball games and $79.95 to watch all of OCU's action in every sport in 2016-17.
Andrew Himes provides the play-by-play. Himes, in his sixth season as the voice of the Stars, has been broadcasting OCU games for nine years starting on color commentary as an OCU student.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#20 Mariana Duran: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#22 Daniela Wallen: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#5 Daniela Galindo: G; 5' 10"; Junior

#40 Brooke Irwin: C; 6' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#20 Mariana Duran
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#22 Daniela Wallen
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#5 Daniela Galindo
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

#40 Brooke Irwin
: 6' 3"; Junior
: C