6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11
Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University collides with Wayland Baptist (Texas) in a matchup between the top two teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars dropped a 65-52 decision to Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Saturday in Waxahachie, Texas. OCU (13-6, 10-2 SAC) led by three points through three quarters but were outscored 29-13 in the fourth quarter.
Catherine Kruschke, a 6-foot senior from Dublin, Calif., had a team-high 12 points, while adding six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Kruschke posts 13.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest. Daniela Wallen, a 5-11 junior from Caracas, Venezuela, notched 10 points, six rebounds and seven blocks. Wallen leads OCU with 21.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game with a team-high 51.8 shooting percentage. Allison Frey, a 5-9 sophomore from Mustang, Okla., tallied nine points on 3-of-9 shooting from the 3-point territory. Frey shoots 38.7 percent from the 3-point land and she rates 11th in the NAIA with 2.7 treys a game. The Stars rank 15th in the NAIA in steals per game with 11.1, while Wallen's 3.67 steals a game leads OCU and rates second in the nation. To see how OCU compares with the NAIA Division I statistical leaders this season, click here. Oklahoma City registered 18th in the latest NAIA Division rankings. OCU found itself in the national ratings for the 198th consecutive poll since 1999-2000. Oklahoma City owns national championships from 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014 and 2015. The Stars were expected to finish second in the preseason SAC poll. OCU has won or shared the regular-season league title 16 times, including the last six. OCU owns a 123-9 record in league play since 2009-10. Oklahoma City owns an all-time record of 36-20 against Wayland Baptist. The Flying Queens handed OCU its first home loss since Dec. 20, 2013 with an 82-67 decision on Jan. 28 in Oklahoma City. OCU's home win streak ended at 28.
ABOUT THE FLYING QUEENS: Wayland Baptist cruised past John Brown (Ark.) 79-67 on Saturday in Plainview, Texas to record its 12th straight win. Wayland Baptist (16-4, 11-1 SAC) has outscored opponents by an average margin of 25.9 points during its current 12-game winning streak.
Stephanie Afunugo, a 5-11 senior, scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed four rebounds. Afunugo accrues 13.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.85 steals a game. Laura Castillo, a 5-5 senior, added 21 points and five rebounds, while shooting 3 for 5 from behind the arc.
Wayland Baptist, ranked 14th in the latest poll, registers 17.6 assists per contest, which ranks second nationally. Wayland Baptist had been favored to win the SAC in the preseason.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Bo Overton is in his debut season with OCU. Overton has a wide array of head-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. Overton is well known among Oklahomans for his stint as an assistant to Sherri Coale at Oklahoma from 1998-2004 as well as playing college basketball at Oklahoma. Alesha Robertson-Ellis has guided Wayland Baptist to a 51-28 record with two appearances in the NAIA Tournament in her third 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, Twitter and YouTube, and new for 2015-16, Instagram. 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 or see our video channel in the upper right-hand corner of our home page.
