OCU at Mid-America Christian women’s basketball preview

Stars open SAC play with road test

Alexis Hill scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds against Our Lady of the Lake (Texas).

Women's Basketball | 12/1/2017 1:26:00 PM

3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2
Gaulke Activity Center | Oklahoma City

STATS | WATCH

THE MATCHUP
• Top-ranked Oklahoma City University opens Sooner Athletic Conference play with a road test against Mid-America Christian
• The Stars haven't lost a conference opener since the 2009-10 season, when they fell to Oklahoma Baptist 72-64 in overtime on Dec. 3
• OCU owns a 23-0 all-time advantage over Mid-America Christian

ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City University (6-2) lost a nail biter to Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) on Saturday at the Mabee Gymnasium in the Our Lady of the Lake Classic. The Saints sunk a 3-pointer as time expired and handed OCU a 96-93 loss in double overtime
• Daniela Galindo, a 5-10 senior from Shattuck, Okla., exploded for a career-best 37 points against the Saints, hitting clutch shots down the stretch to force overtime. She picked up SAC player of the week for Nov. 20-26 and leads OCU in scoring with 22.3 points per game – the third highest average in NAIA Division I women's basketball
• Alexis Hill, a 6-1 senior from Byng, Okla., added 12 points and seven rebounds on Saturday, connecting on 8-of-9 of her free-throw attempts. She averages 9.4 points and 6.8 rebounds this year, and is one of only two Stars to record a double-double this season
• Oklahoma City's red-hot shooting from behind the arc has bumped the Stars to 43.0 percent from 3-point range, the second best clip in the NAIA Division I. OCU also ranks 10th in overall field goal percentage, hitting 47.1 percent of its shots
• 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
• In its last meeting with Mid-America Christian, Oklahoma City knocked off the Evangels 96-61 in the SAC Tournament semifinals on March 3. Daniela Wallen scored a career-high 41 points, becoming just the fifth player to score over 40 points in a game in NAIA Division I that season

ABOUT THE EVANGELS
• Mid-America Christian (5-2, 1-0 SAC) opened conference play with a 108-63 victory over Central Christian (Kan.) on Thursday at the Gaulke Activity Center. The Evangels outscored Central Christian in the paint 62-20 and shot 43.2 percent from the field
• Alexis Shannon, a 5-11 sophomore from Noblesville, Ind., leads Mid-America Christian in scoring, putting up 22.1 points per contest – the fourth highest mark in NAIA Division I. She had 28 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Central Christian, her second double-double of the season
• The Evangels have the highest scoring offense in NAIA Division I women's basketball, averaging 87.7 points per game. They're just as good on the boards, ranking first in total rebounds per game (52.4), second in defensive rebounds per game (33.1) and third in offensive rebounds per game (19.3)
• Mid-America Christian was picked to finish fourth in the SAC preseason coaches poll

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (60-13, 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. During that time, the Sooners made five NCAA Tournament trips with the 2002 NCAA runner-up finish and Final Four berth with three Big 12 regular-season titles and two conference tournament crowns

Hannah Moeller (28-15, second season with MACU)
• Moeller took over as Mid-America Christian coach in 2016-17 after spending the previous four years as Randall head coach
• In her first season with the Evangels, Moeller guided her team to a 23-13 record and a fourth-place finish at the NCCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship
• Moeller served as the MACU assistant women's basketball coach during the 2010-11 season for current Yale University assistant coach Roman Owen

ON THE AIR
• Follow along Saturday's action via live stats or watch the game live here. Alex Freedman will call the action

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Players Mentioned

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

#24 Alexis Hill: C; 6' 1"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

#24 Alexis Hill
: 6' 1"; Senior
: C

Players Mentioned

#5 Daniela Galindo

#24 Alexis Hill

Players Mentioned

#5 Daniela Galindo

#24 Alexis Hill