OCU vs. Benedictine women's basketball preview

Stars host a showdown of teams ranked in the NAIA's top 15

2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University takes on Benedictine (Kan.) in a battle of teams ranked in the top 15 nationally.
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.
OCU hosts high school basketball games following the game. Classen hosts Anadarko at Abe Lemons Arena with the girls game 4 p.m. and the boys game 5:45 p.m.

ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City knocked off Haskell (Kan.) 70-56 on Saturday, Dec. 10 in Lawrence, Kan. The Stars (10-1) built a 26-8 lead on Daniela Wallen's trey early in the second quarter.
Wallen, a 5-foot-11 senior from Caracas, Venezuela, powered OCU with 35 points, 12 rebounds and eight steals. She notched her seventh double-double of the season and 21st career double-double in 39 games for the Stars. Wallen has taken the previous two NAIA player of the week awards and four Sooner Athletic Conference player of the week honors. Wallen posts 24.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.27 steals a game, ranking second nationally in scoring.
Brooke Irwin, a 6-3 junior from Mustang, Okla., added 11 points and six rebounds. Irwin reels in 10.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 61.8 percent from the field. Mariana Duran, a 5-7 senior from Yaracuy, Venezuela, had seven points, six assists and three steals. Duran averages 7.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.73 steals a contest.
The Stars pace the NAIA with a 51.9 percent field-goal percentage. To see where OCU ranks against the NAIA statistically, click here.
Oklahoma City moved up to ninth in the latest rankings. OCU extended its streak of top-25 showings to 206 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 holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series against Benedictine. Benedictine sank the Stars 81-74 on Dec. 20, 2013 at Abe Lemons Arena, snapping a 19-game home win streak for OCU.

ABOUT THE RAVENS: Benedictine dropped a 69-56 decision to Baker (Kan.) on Dec. 10 in Baldwin City, Kan. Benedictine went to 7-4 overall, 6-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and 1-2 vs. ranked opponents this season.
Kristen Murphy, a 5-11 junior, supplied Benedictine with 18 points and three assists. Murphy spearheads her team with 15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.91 thefts a contest. Serena Parker, a 6-foot sophomore, had 12 points and five rebounds. Parker averages 13.0 points and 7.3 rebounds with a 59.1 percent field-goal percentage.
Benedictine, ranked 14th, held the fourth spot in the Heart of America Athletic Conference preseason poll.

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.
Chad Folsom has become the winningest coach in Benedictine women's basketball history with a 342-161 record in his 16th year as Ravens coach. Folsom has guided the Ravens to 22-plus wins for 15 consecutive seasons.

QUOTABLE: "Daniela Wallen, if you have not seen this young lady play, is special. Special. She is just getting her due. She's only going to get better and better." – Overton

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. 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.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#20 Mariana Duran

#22 Daniela Wallen

#40 Brooke Irwin

Players Mentioned

#20 Mariana Duran

#22 Daniela Wallen

#40 Brooke Irwin