SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. - Oklahoma City University's women's basketball team opened Sooner Athletic Conference play with a 75-62 win over John Brown (Ark.) at Bill George Arena on Thursday.
Daniela Galindo and Daniela Wallen both recorded double-doubles for the Stars. Wallen, a senior from Caracas, Venezuela, paced Oklahoma City with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals. The Stars, ranked 19th in NAIA Division I, improved to 7-1, 1-0 in the SAC.
Galindo, a junior from Shattuck, Okla., scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while also dishing out three assists and recording two steals.
"John Brown is a scary team because of the way they can make shots," OCU head coach Bo Overton said. "I thought our team settled down and got in a good rhythm on both offense and defense. It was a really solid performance by everybody."
The Stars dominated inside, holding the advantage in rebounds (47-23) as well as points in the paint (52-20).
Kodee Powell led the way for JBU with 20 points while also adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
John Brown jumped out to an 18-8 lead in the first half, but the Stars came roaring back with a 22-5 run to take a 30-23 lead in the second quarter. They never relinquished the lead the rest of the game.
"I told our players when we were down 10 to keep doing what we were doing because we were getting good looks on offense that just weren't falling," Overton said. "I knew we just had to get in a rhythm on defense against them and we were able to run them off the three-point line."
The Stars head back to Oklahoma City to continue conference play 1 p.m. Saturday against No. 22 Wayland Baptist (Texas).