OCU vs. Bacone women’s basketball preview

Stars look to stay atop conference standings

Stefanie Mitchell added four points and three rebounds in Saturday's win over Panhandle State.

Women's Basketball | 1/24/2018 12:32:00 PM

6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University squares off against Sooner Athletic Conference opponent Bacone for the second time this season
• 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
• The Stars bounced back from Thursday's loss to eighth-ranked Wayland Baptist (Texas) with a 74-48 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. Oklahoma City (16-3, 9-1 SAC) forced the Aggies into 30 turnovers and held an opponent to under 30 percent shooting for the fifth time this season
• Daniela Galindo, a 5-foot-10 senior from Shattuck, Okla., moved past 1,000 career-points in the win over Panhandle State, bringing her total as a Star to 1,024. She averaged 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 4.33 steals a game last week to earn her third SAC player of the week honor this year
• Brooke Irwin, a 6-foot-3 senior from Mustang, Okla., supplied the Stars with nine points, five boards and three blocks against the Aggies. She averages 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and ranks fourth in the conference with 22 total blocks
• NaShyla Hammons, a 5-foot-11 a sophomore from Oklahoma City, stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the win. Saturday was the third time this year Hammons reached double digits in the scoring column
• Among NAIA Division I, OCU ranks third in free throw percentage (76.6), fourth in total rebound margin (plus-10.3) and fifth in both 3-point field goal percentage (37.7) and defensive rebounds per game (30.7). The Stars also block 4.56 shots per game, the seventh-best average in Division I
• OCU went to fifth in the latest NAIA Division I ratings. 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 154-12 mark (.928 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
• OCU won its last meeting against Bacone 62-59 on Dec. 16, 2017 in Muskogee, Okla. Taylor LaCour led the Stars with a game-high 18 points to go along with four rebounds and four blocks. The Lady Warriors battled back and made it a two-possession game late, but OCU was able to fend off a late Bacone rally and come away with the win
• Oklahoma City leads the all-time series over Bacone 6-0

ABOUT THE LADY WARRIORS
• Bacone lost its fourth consecutive game on Saturday, falling to USAO 86-66 at the Palmer Center in Muskogee, Okla. The Lady Warriors (11-8, 3-7 SAC) turned the ball over 26 times and were outrebounded by their opponent 44-30
• Samantha Jackson, a 5-foot-11 junior from Joiner, Ark., leads the Lady Warriors in scoring with 13.3 points per contest. Jackson ranks sixth in NAIA Division I in total steals with 56 and eighth in steals per game with 3.11
• Cierra Miles, a 5-foot-6 senior from Rancho Cucaonga, Calif., provided Bacone with a team-high 24 points against USAO, her fourth game with at least 20 points this season. Miles ranks fourth in Division I in total steals with 61 and fifth in steals per game with 3.39
• Bacone ranks second in NAIA Division I in both offensive rebounds per game (17.7) and steals per game (15.3). The Lady Warriors have gotten 276 total steals this year, the third most in Division I and are 38 steals ahead of second-place Texas Wesleyan
• The Lady Warriors were slotted at 10th in the preseason SAC coaches poll

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (70-14, 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

Josh Nichols (30-47, third season with Bacone)
• Led Bacone to a 9-20 mark and an eighth-place showing in the SAC in 2016-17
• Spent four years as assistant to Bacone athletic director and men's coach Alan Foster
• Played at Oklahoma Wesleyan and later coached there as an assistant

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

#25 NaShyla Hammons: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#25 NaShyla Hammons
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: F

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

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