Daniela Galindo averaged 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in 2016-17.

Women's Basketball 10/31/2017 3:45:00 PM

OCU vs. Langston women’s basketball preview

Stars begin season with road matchup against Langston

5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1
C. Felton Gayles Fieldhouse | Langston, Okla.

LIVE STATS

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City looks to open the season with a road victory against Langston (1-0)
• Head coach Bo Overton is 1-1 in season openers at OCU
• OCU owns a 3-2 record against the Lions in the teams' last five head-to-head matchups

ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City returns to the court as reigning NAIA Division I champions, finishing the 2016-17 season with a 34-2 overall record. OCU ended the season on a 20-game winning streak, becoming the fifth team in program history to win as many as 34 games.
• Daniela Galindo, a 5-10 senior from Shattuck, Okla., returns for her senior season after averaging 18.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Stars. She was a consensus honorable-mention all-American and made the NAIA Division I all-tournament team for OCU in 2016-17.
• Brooke Irwin, a 6-3 senior from Mustang, Okla., also returns after averaging 9.5 points and 4.4 rebounds a game for OCU last year. She shot 61.7 percent from the floor in 2016-17, second best on the team.
• Michaela Kay, a 5-8 junior from Spokane, Wash., joins the Stars after spending one season at Portland State. While at PSU, Kay set a Vikings record with 22 points in her career debut against Cal State Fullerton and garnered all-academic honors from the Big Sky Conference in 2015-16.
• OCU led the NAIA in total assists (669), field goal percentage (51.6) and free-throw percentage (77.7) in 2016-17.
• The Stars have been picked to finish first in the Sooner Athletic Conference according to the preseason coaches' poll. OCU owns 17 SAC regular-season titles and 11 SAC Tournament crowns
• OCU garnered the No. 1 slot in the preseason NAIA Division I women's basketball rankings. Oklahoma City reached the top spot in the ratings for the first time since the April 1, 2015 postseason top 25 and the 50th time overall since 1999-2000.
• The Stars won the most recent outing between the two programs 85-49 on Nov. 22, 2016. OCU jumped to a 27-8 lead after the first quarter and was led by Daniela Wallen's 21 points and nine rebounds.
• OCU leads the all-time series 30-3

ABOUT THE LIONS
• Langston won its first game of the season 77-67 over Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) on Saturday. The Lady Lions trailed 21-13 after the opening quarter but outscored Crowley's Ridge in every quarter after to improve to 1-0.
• Tashara Jones, a 5-11 junior from Atlanta, joined Langston after averaging 13.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game at Lane College last year. She scored a team-high 19 points, grabbed 11 boards and dished eight assists in Saturday's win over Crowley's Ridge.
• The Lady Lions finished last season 12-14 and lost in the first round of the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament 99-40 against Wiley (Texas) on March 2, 2017.
• Langston was picked to finish in fifth place out of ten teams in the RRAC preseason coaches' poll. The Lady Lions have won the RRAC regular season title six times and the tournament title five times.
• Langston will join the Sooner Athletic Conference as a full-time member for the 2018-19 seasons.

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (54-11, third season with OCU)
• Overton has coached three all-Americans while at OCU, including 2017 NAIA Division I player of the year Daniela Wallen.
• He has mentored six all-Sooner Athletic Conference performers with the Stars, including Wallen, the two-time SAC player of the year, 2017 SAC defensive player of the year and 2016 newcomer of the year. Also guided the 2017 league newcomer of the year (Daniela Galindo) and 2017 SAC freshman of the year (NaShyla Hammons).
• Overton served as an assistant coach for the Chinese national team in the 2012 Olympics.
• From 1998-2004, he served as assistant for Oklahoma, which went 143-54 with five NCAA Tournament bids, three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, the 2002 NCAA runner-up finish and Final Four berth, a 1999 WNIT appearance, three Big 12 regular-season titles and two conference tournament crowns.
Elaine Powell (12-14, second season with Langston)
• Powell previously served as an assistant coach for women's basketball programs at Alabama A&M, Ohio University and Grambling State University.
• She spent nearly a decade playing in the WNBA, where she was a three time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock.
• Prior to her professional basketball career, Powell attended Louisiana State University (LSU), where she was an all-American and finished her career as LSU's 11th all-time leading scorer with 1,163 points. She was the first player in LSU history to be drafted into the WNBA.

ON THE AIR
• Follow along Wednesday's game via live stats or updates on Twitter from @OCUwbball

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#25 NaShyla Hammons: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#10 Michaela Kay: G; 5' 7"; Junior

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#25 NaShyla Hammons
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

#10 Michaela Kay
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G