OCU vs. Benedictine women’s basketball preview

Stars enter Tuesday’s contest with three-game winning streak

5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21
Ralph Nolan Gymnasium | Atchison, Kan.

STATS | VIDEO

THE MATCHUP
• Top-ranked Oklahoma City University travels to take on No. 9 Benedictine (Kan.) Tuesday night at Ralph Nolan Gymnasium
• The Stars enter Tuesday's contest on a three-game winning streak, with an average margin of victory of 38.3 points during that span
• OCU is 2-1 vs. the Ravens in the teams' last three head-to-head matchups

ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City (4-1) won both its game in the Oklahoma City Classic over the weekend, knocking off Langston 90-37 on Friday and Loyola (La.) 77-62 on Saturday. The Stars forced a combined 36 turnovers against their opponents and held both to under 34 percent shooting.
• Daniela Galindo, a senior from Shattuck, Okla., scored a season-high 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting against Langston. She leads OCU in scoring with 19.0 points per game, but also averages 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.6 steals. Galindo's 3.6 steals per game is the ninth-highest average in NAIA Division I.
• Brooke Irwin, a senior from Mustang, Okla., turned in a game-high 21 points, five rebounds and a block in Saturday's win over Loyola. She added 13 points and six rebounds against Langston. Irwin averages 15.0 points and 6.2 rebounds on the season.
• Taylor LaCour, a junior from Georgetown, Texas, supplied the Stars with 13 points and nine rebounds – including four offensive – in the win over Loyola. LaCour is averaging 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest.
• While its defense performed well in its last two outings, Oklahoma City's offense has also gotten off to a strong start. The Stars rank 12th in NAIA Division I in overall field goal percentage (46.1), 14th in 3-point field goal percentage (36.5) and 15th in scoring margin (+21.0).
• OCU owns the No. 1 spot in the preseason NAIA Division I rankings. Oklahoma City has made 23 trips to the NAIA Division I Tournament and captured nine national championships in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017
• The Stars have been installed as the favorite to win the Sooner Athletic Conference in the preseason coaches poll. OCU took its 17th SAC regular-season championships and 11th SAC Tournament title in 2016-17
• Oklahoma City won its most recent meeting with Benedictine 60-46 on Dec. 17, 2016. The Ravens were held to just 25.0 percent from the floor and 19.4 percent from behind the arc.

ABOUT THE RAVENS
• Benedictine (7-0), ranked No. 9 in NAIA Division I, comes off a 40-point win over NCCAA Division II Manhattan Christian on Saturday. The Ravens forced 32 turnovers and outrebounded Manhattan Christian by 13.
• Serena Parker, a junior from Shenandoah, Iowa, had 12 points, nine boards and three blocks in Saturday's win. She ranks 10th in NAIA Division I in total blocks this season with 11. Parker averages 12.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this year.
• Kristen Murphy, a senior from Olathe, Kan., leads Benedictine in scoring with 16.1 points per game. Murphy had back-to-back games of 25 or more points earlier this season, but has scored just nine points in each of her last two outings.
• The Ravens rank seventh in NAIA Division I in total blocks (25), ninth in total assists (116) and tenth in total scoring offense (562).
• Benedictine took ninth in the preseason NAIA Division I rankings. Last season, the Ravens 25-9 and took a trip to the NAIA Division I Tournament for the third straight year.
• The Ravens were picked to finish first in the preseason Heart of America Athletic Conference coaches poll. Benedictine earned seven of 14 first place votes and tallied 157 points, three more than defending regular season champion Baker (Kan.), which claimed four first place tallies.

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (58-12, third season with OCU)
• Led Stars to 34-2 season, accruing 2017 NAIA Division I and Sooner Athletic Conference coach of the year awards
• Overton has coached three all-Americans while at OCU, including Wallen, the 2017 NAIA Division I player of the year
• 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.

Chad Folsom (367-166, 17th season with Benedictine)
• Lady Raven women's basketball coach Chad Folsom took over the program heading into the 2001-2002 school year and since then has become the Ravens all-time winningest coach, guiding the program to a 367-166 mark. Under his leadership, the Lady Ravens have averaged 22-plus wins for 16 straight years.
• He has been named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Coach of the Year twice and led the program to the NAIA Div. II National Championship Tournament in both 2005-'06 and 2007-'08.
• During Folsom's tenure, the program has earned 56 All-Heart performers and has produced 12 NAIA All-American selections.

ON THE AIR
• Follow along Tuesday's game via live stats or watch online here.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#5 Daniela Galindo: G; 5' 11"; Senior

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

#14 Taylor LaCour: C; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

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

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

#5 Daniela Galindo
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G

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

#14 Taylor LaCour
: 6' 1"; Junior
: C