JoHanna Beathard had nine points in her season debut against Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Jan. 4.

Women's Basketball 1/19/2018 5:28:00 PM

OCU vs. Panhandle State women's basketball preview

Stars look to start new winning streaks

3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University renews its series against Panhandle State, taking on the Sooner Athletic Conference newcomer for the first time in 23 years
• Tickets are $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's winning streak came to an end in a 66-57 setback to Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (15-3, 8-1 SAC) scored a season-low 57 points and shot 37.5 percent from the field for their fourth game with an under-40 percent field-goal percentage this season
• Brooke Irwin, a 6-foot-3 senior from Mustang, Okla., recorded her first career double-double for OCU with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Irwin shot 6-for-9 from the field. Irwin supplies the Stars with 12.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.12 blocked shots a contest
• Taylor LaCour, a 6-2 junior from Georgetown, Texas, turned in 14 points and five rebounds. She hit all eight of her free throws. LaCour picks up 13.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game
• Among NAIA Division I, the Stars rank second in free-throw percentage with a 77.0 shooting clip. Daniela Galindo, a 5-10 senior from Shattuck, Okla., ranks third with 342 points and fifth in scoring (20.1 points per game). To see how the Stars rate among NAIA Division I statistically, click here
• OCU went to fifth in the NAIA Division I ratings released Tuesday. Oklahoma City extended the NAIA's longest streak of top-25 appearances to 242 consecutive rankings dating back to 1997-98. OCU 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
• The Stars have won or shared seven of the past eight SAC regular-season titles and with a 153-12 mark (.927 winning percentage) in league play during that span. OCU suffered its first loss in conference play since a 78-72 loss to Wayland Baptist on Jan. 16, 2017 in Plainview, Texas, ending the Stars' 20-game SAC winning streak. Oklahoma City dropped a home game for the first time since an 82-67 decision to Wayland Baptist on Jan. 28, 2016, ending OCU's 28-game homecourt winning string
• Oklahoma City has gone 3-0 vs. Panhandle State. OCU's last victory over Panhandle came Dec. 9, 1995 78-61 in Tahlequah, Okla. LaSandra Colbert led OCU with 19 points and 10 rebounds

ABOUT THE AGGIES
• Panhandle State slipped past Central Christian (Kan.) 62-60 on Thursday in McPherson, Kan. Hannah Faulks sank free throws with seven seconds left to clinch the win for Panhandle (10-6, 3-6 SAC)
• Madison Dearmin, a 5-10 senior, produced her team-best fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Dearmin averages 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game
• Addison Munsch, a 5-7 sophomore, tops Panhandle State with 16.5 points per contest
• Panhandle holds opponents to 34 percent shooting from the field to rank 11th in the NAIA
• SAC coaches predicted Panhandle State to finish ninth in the league. Panhandle State joined the NAIA and the SAC this year after competing in NCAA Division II

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (69-14, 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

Victor Esparza (first season with Panhandle State)
• Elevated to the head-coaching position after serving 2016-17 as assistant to Charles Terry
• Previously served as head basketball coach at Raton (N.M.) High School
• Panhandle State alum who spent seven years as assistant men's basketball coach and became head men's and women's cross country 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 women's basketball season pass and $79.95 for an all-season pass in 2017-18
• Andrew Himes provides the play-by-play. 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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#5 Daniela Galindo

#40 Brooke Irwin

#14 Taylor LaCour

Players Mentioned

#5 Daniela Galindo

#40 Brooke Irwin

#14 Taylor LaCour