OCU vs. Wayland Baptist women’s basketball preview

Stars prepare for top-10 matchup against No. 8 WBU

Torie Shanbour had four points, three steals and three rebounds in Tuesday's win over Central Christian (Kan.).

Women's Basketball | 1/17/2018 4:31:00 PM

6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Fifth-ranked Oklahoma City University gears up for a top-10 showdown against No. 8 Wayland Baptist (Texas) at Abe Lemons Arena
• 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
• Oklahoma City (15-2, 8-0 SAC) extended its winning streak to nine games after hammering Central Christian (Kan.) 94-53 Tuesday night at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars outscored their opponent 54-12 in the paint and forced Central Christian into 20 turnovers
• Daniela Galindo, a 5-foot-10 senior from Shattuck, Okla., erupted for her first game with at least 20 points since Dec. 6. She poured in a game-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds, four steals and two assists against Central Christian. Galindo ranks third in NAIA Division I in points per game, averaging 20.6 points per contest
• Alexis Hill, a 6-foot-1 senior from Byng, Okla., notched her second double-double of the season Tuesday night, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 boards. Hill averages 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and ranks 13th in NAIA Division I in free throw percentage (82.0)
• JoHanna Beathard, a 6-foot sophomore from Fletcher, Okla., corralled a season-high nine rebounds to go along with eight points and two blocks against Central Christian. Beathard is shooting 50.0 percent from the floor this season
• The Stars rank third in NAIA Division I in both 3-point field goal percentage (38.5) and free throw percentage (76.6). OCU ranks fourth in defensive rebounds per game with 30.9 and fifth in total rebound margin at plus-11.2. To compare how Oklahoma City ranks with the rest of NAIA Division I statistically, click here
• OCU improved three spots to No. 5 in the latest NAIA Division I rankings. Oklahoma City appeared in the top 25 for the 242nd 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 153-11 (.933 winning percentage) in league play during that span
• The two programs last met in the 2017 SAC Tournament championship game, where Oklahoma City got 31 points from Galindo and secured its 11th SAC title with an 86-65 victory at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars hold a 38-23 all-time record against Wayland Baptist

ABOUT THE FLYING QUEENS
• Wayland Baptist (12-3, 6-2 SAC) comes off 65-39 thrashing over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Monday in Plainview, Texas. The Flying Queens smothered their opponent on defense all night, forcing 24 turnovers and holding OPSU to 27.1 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range
• Maci Merket, a 5-foot-10 junior from Canadian, Texas, leads the team in scoring with 12.9 points per game. She tallied nine points, five rebounds and two assists in Monday's win
• Kendrick Clark, a 5-foot-11 sophomore from Georgetown, Texas, fueled the Flying Queens with a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds against OPSU. Clark averages 9.9 points and 4.0 boards per game
• Wayland Baptist ranks sixth among NAIA Division I in both assists per game (18.1) and offensive rebounds per game (16.9). The Flying Queens are seventh in blocks per game with 4.57 and eighth in 3's made per game with 8.4
• WBU was picked to finish third in the Sooner Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll. The Flying Queens finished the 2016-17 season 25-7, the program's most wins in a season since 1998-99

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (69-13, 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

Alesha Ellis (100-39, fifth season with WBU)
• Monday's win over Oklahoma Panhandle State earned Ellis her 100th career victory in four-plus seasons with Wayland Baptist
• In her first year as head coach, Ellis led the Flying Queens to a 20-12 record and a trip to the NAIA Championships for just the second time in a decade
• Ellis 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

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

#30 JoHanna Beathard: F; 6' 1"; Sophomore

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

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

Players Mentioned

#30 JoHanna Beathard
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: F

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

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

Players Mentioned

#30 JoHanna Beathard

#5 Daniela Galindo

#24 Alexis Hill

Players Mentioned

#30 JoHanna Beathard

#5 Daniela Galindo

#24 Alexis Hill