OCU at Texas Wesleyan women's basketball preview

Stars bring 16-game winning string in Sooner Athletic Conference play

Claire Gauer added three rebounds Thursday night.

Women's Basketball | 1/5/2018 1:24:00 PM

3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6
Sid Richardson Center in Fort Worth, Texas

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University looks to keep its winning string alive in a road trip to Sooner Athletic Conference opponent Texas Wesleyan
• The Stars have taken five in a row overall plus own a 16-game winning streak within SAC play. OCU has won 27 of its last 28 within the league
• Both the defending men's and women's NAIA Division I champions will be in the Sid Richardson Center on Saturday. OCU captured the NAIA women's crown last year, while Texas Wesleyan collected the men's national championship

ABOUT THE STARS
• The Stars routed Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) 91-49 on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena. Oklahoma City (11-2, 5-0 SAC) got off to a 14-3 start as Southwestern Assemblies of God scuffled to 1-of-12 shooting from the field with three turnovers as of the 1:56 mark of the first quarter
• Brooke Irwin, a 6-foot-3 senior from Mustang, Okla., keyed OCU with 22 points to equal her season best against Texas College on Nov. 11 in Waxahachie, Texas. Irwin sank 9 of her 11 shots from the floor. Irwin produces 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.00 blocked shot per game while ranking second in the NAIA with a 61.5 percent field-goal percentage
• Taylor LaCour, a 6-1 junior from Germantown, Texas, added 10 points and six rebounds. LaCour supplies the Stars with 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds a contest
• Within NAIA Division I, the Stars stand fourth with a 77.5 percent team free-throw percentage and fifth with a 38 percent 3-point shooting clip. Daniela Galindo, a 5-10 senior from Shattuck, Okla., ranks fourth in scoring (21.2 points per game) and sixth in 3-pointers per game (2.92). To see how the Stars rate among NAIA Division I statistically, click here
• OCU held at No. 8 in the NAIA Division I top 25 released Tuesday. Oklahoma City appeared in the rankings for the 241st consecutive time since 1997-98 for the NAIA's longest such streak. 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 have gone 150-11 (.932 winning percentage) in league play during that span
• Oklahoma City rolled to an 81-62 triumph over Texas Wesleyan on Feb. 4 at Abe Lemons Arena. NaShyla Hammons had 14 points and seven rebounds as OCU reached 20 victories for the 19th consecutive season. The Stars boast of a 12-0 all-time mark against Texas Wesleyan

ABOUT THE LADY RAMS
• Texas Wesleyan got into the win column with a 71-59 victory over Central Christian (Kan.) on Thursday in McPherson, Kan. The Lady Rams (3-10, 1-4 SAC) left behind a seven-game losing streak with the victory
• Evie Whorley, a 5-5 freshman, spearheaded Texas Wesleyan with 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Whorley averages 9.0 points and 5.2 rebounds a game
• Nicole Gleason, a 5-11 sophomore, paces the Lady Rams with 11.5 points per game
• Texas Wesleyan hits 8.39 3-pointers per contest to rank seventh in the NAIA
• Conference coaches expect Texas Wesleyan to take sixth in the SAC according to the preseason poll

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (65-13, 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

Steve Trachier (first season with Texas Wesleyan)
• Took over the program after Bill Franey announced his retirement from coaching in March
• Added coached duties while serving Texas Wesleyan in his seventh year as athletic director
• Guided Texas Wesleyan into the SAC in 2013-14 and in reviving Texas Wesleyan's football program after a 76-year absence from campus

ON THE AIR
• Oklahoma City University will carry live and on-demand audio of the contest on OCU's Stretch portal
• 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
• Texas Wesleyan provides live and on-demand statistics and video of its contests via Stretch Internet at a cost of $7.95 per game
• 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