OCU vs. Central Christian women's basketball preview

Stars clash with Central Christian for first time in Sooner Athletic Conference play

Sydney Webb had five points against Southwestern Assemblies of God on Jan. 4 in her Stars debut.

Women's Basketball | 1/15/2018 10:02:00 PM

6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University begins a stretch of five consecutive home contests against Central Christian (Kan.)
• Central Christian is in its first season as a member of the Sooner Athletic Conference
• Tickets cost $7 for adults, $5 for students, and OCU students, faculty and staff get into all regular-season OCU home athletics events free with their ID
• When the Stars score 70 points, fans get a 2-for-1 combo coupon for Raising Cane's

ABOUT THE STARS
• The Stars outlasted Southwestern Christian 59-54 on Saturday in Bethany, Okla. Oklahoma City (14-2, 7-0 SAC) won despite shooting under 40 percent from the field for the third time this season. OCU limited its opponent to below 40 percent shooting from the floor for the fourth consecutive game
• Taylor LaCour, a 6-foot-1 junior from Germantown, Texas, posted 18 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. LaCour hit all six of her free-throw shots. LaCour provides the Stars with 13.7 points and 6.3 rebounds a game
• Payton Taylor, a 5-11 freshman from Ada, Okla., reached season bests with 14 points and four 3-pointers. Taylor turns in 6.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists a contest
• Among the NAIA, the Stars knocks in 77.2 percent from the free-throw line to rank third in that category. Daniela Galindo, a 5-10 senior from Shattuck, Okla., ranks sixth in the NAIA in scoring (20.1 points a game), free-throw percentage (85 percent) and 3-pointers per game (2.93). To compare how OCU ranks with the rest of NAIA Division I statistically, click here
• OCU maintained its perch at eighth in the most recent NAIA Division I rankings. Oklahoma City appeared in the top 25 for the 241st consecutive time since 1997-98 for the NAIA's longest such streak. 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 championship and 11th SAC Tournament title in 2016-17. The Stars have won or shared seven of the past eight SAC regular-season titles and have gone 152-11 (.933 winning percentage) in league play during that span
• Oklahoma City routed Central Christian 133-24 on Nov. 24, 2012 in Shawnee, Okla., in the Oklahoma Baptist Holiday Classic in the first meeting between the two schools. OCU set program single-game records for fewest points allowed in a half (six), 3-point field-goal attempts (40) and made 3-pointers (18). Autumn Huffman equaled Kesha Watson's school record of 12 steals

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Southwestern Christian sent Central Christian to its 10th consecutive loss 72-58 on Thursday in Bethany, Okla. Central Christian (1-14, 0-7 SAC) is searching for its first win since a 98-66 victory over Barclay (Kan.) on Nov. 21 in Haviland, Kan.
• Holly Golden, a 5-9 sophomore, delivered a season-high 23 points to go with 17 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Golden leads Central Christian with 14.5 points and 6.7 rebounds a game
• Central Christian's 16.8 offensive rebounds a game ranks seventh in the NAIA
• Central Christian has been picked to finish 12th in the SAC

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (68-13, 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

Marc Golden (first season with Central Christian)
• Guided Fort Myers Evangelical Christian (Fla.) to a 42-11 record and back-to-back district titles in three years
• Spent four years as an assistant at Baptist Bible (Mo.), his alma mater
• Coached two National Christian College Athletic Association all-Americans at Baptist Bible

ON THE AIR
• Oklahoma City University athletics provides live and on-demand audio, stats and video of its contests on OCU's Stretch portal. Cost to watch the game is $7.95 per game, $34.95 for a men's basketball season pass and $79.95 for an all-season pass in 2017-18
• Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes enters his seventh season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 10 years starting on color commentary as an OCU student
• Fans can access regular-season broadcasts from NAIA institutions as well as from NAIA Championships postseason contests via Stretch Internet through custom apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Users can search for "NAIA" on the app interfaces on any compatible device, and then download the free NAIA Network app

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Players Mentioned

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

#23 Payton Taylor: F; 6' 0"; Freshman

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

Players Mentioned

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

#23 Payton Taylor
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: F

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

Players Mentioned

#5 Daniela Galindo

#23 Payton Taylor

#14 Taylor LaCour

Players Mentioned

#5 Daniela Galindo

#23 Payton Taylor

#14 Taylor LaCour