OCU vs. Wayland Baptist women's basketball preview

Stars enter top-25 encounter with 3-0 record vs. ranked foes in 2016-17

Leah Cheney supplied OCU with two assists Thursday.

Women's Basketball | 12/2/2016 12:58:00 PM

1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University hosts a top-25 showdown against Wayland Baptist (Texas).
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 rallied past John Brown (Ark.) 75-62 on Thursday in Siloam Springs, Ark. OCU (7-1, 1-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) trailed by 10 points late in the first quarter, but erased the deficit to lead by 23 early in the third.
Daniela Wallen, a 5-foot-11 senior from Caracas, Venezuela, collected 24 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. She posted her fifth double-double of the season and 19th career double-double in 36 games for the Stars. Wallen produces 21.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.63 steals a game, ranking fourth nationally in scoring.
Daniela Galindo, a 5-10 junior from Shattuck, Okla., accrued 14 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Galindo reels in 17.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.25 steals per contest. Mariana Duran, a 5-7 senior from Yaracuy, Venezuela, had 12 points, six rebounds and two steals. Duran averages 8.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.50 steals a contest.
The Stars top the NAIA with a 51.7 percent field-goal percentage. To see where OCU ranks against the NAIA statistically, click here.
Oklahoma City holds 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 brings a 36-22 all-time record against Wayland Baptist into Saturday's matchup. Wayland Baptist captured its first SAC Tournament crown since 1998 with a 71-58 verdict against the Stars on March 5 in Waxahachie, Texas. Duran and Wallen each scored 14 points.

ABOUT THE FLYING QUEENS: Wayland Baptist held off Southwestern Christian 72-69 on Thursday in Bethany, Okla. Jade Jones' bucket with 4:20 left put Wayland Baptist (5-1, 1-0 SAC) ahead 66-64. Southwestern Christian led by four points early in the fourth.
Maci Merket, a 5-10 sophomore, turned in 13 points, four assists and three 3s off the bench. Merket picks up 12.7 points and 2.50 steals a game. Shawna Monreal, a 5-8 senior, and Shayla Monreal, a 5-8 senior, each had 11 points.
Wayland Baptist, ranked 22nd, has been picked to finish second place in the SAC before the season.

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.
Alesha Robertson-Ellis has guided Wayland Baptist to a 65-30 record with three appearances in the NAIA Tournament in her fourth season at the helm. She took Lubbock Christian High School (Texas) to the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) Class 3A state championship prior to becoming the Wayland coach. The four-time all-state player helped Plainview High School (Texas) win three consecutive Class 4A state titles from 2001-03, then went on to play four seasons for Texas Tech.

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 commentary. 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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#20 Mariana Duran

#22 Daniela Wallen

#5 Daniela Galindo

Players Mentioned

#20 Mariana Duran

#22 Daniela Wallen

#5 Daniela Galindo