Alexis Hill, Brooke Irwin and Daniela Galindo contributed to OCU's national championship run last season.

Women's Basketball 2/24/2018 7:50:00 PM

OCU vs. Texas Wesleyan women’s basketball preview

Stars honoring three seniors Sunday

1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City prepares for its final home game of the regular season against Texas Wesleyan Sunday afternoon at Abe Lemons Arena
• With a win, OCU will have won or shared eight of the last nine Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season titles
• 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 comes off a 78-53 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) Friday in Waxahachie, Texas. The Stars (24-5, 16-3 SAC) are one win away from notching their 19th 25-win season in the last 20 years
• Daniela Galindo, a 5-foot-10 senior from Shattuck, Okla., leads OCU with 21.3 points per game. Galindo finished with 25 points, five rebounds and three steals against SAGU – her seventh consecutive game with at least 20 points
• Alexis Hill, a 6-foot-1 senior from Byng, Okla., added 12 points and nine rebounds in Friday's win. Hill averages 6.6 points and 5.6 boards per contest and ranks 10th in NAIA Division I in free throw percentage (82.6)
• Brooke Irwin, a 6-foot-3 senior from Mustang, Okla., gives the Stars 12.2 points 6.1 rebounds per game. Irwin ranks fourth in the conference in blocks per game with 1.27
• Among NAIA Division I, Oklahoma City ranks second in free throw percentage (77.8), fourth in both defensive rebounds per game (29.9) and 3-point field goal percentage (38.0), and sixth in total blocks (128). To see how the Stars rank in other categories, click here
• OCU moved to No. 7 in the latest NAIA Division I rankings. Oklahoma City extended the NAIA's longest streak of top-25 appearances to 244 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 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 with a 161-14 mark (.920 winning percentage) in conference play during that time
• Oklahoma City won the last meeting between the two teams 82-62 on Jan. 6 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Stars boast of a 13-0 all-time mark against Texas Wesleyan

ABOUT THE LADY RAMS
• Texas Wesleyan ended its eight-game losing streak with a 91-72 victory over Central Christian (Kan.) Friday in Fort Worth, Texas. The Lady Rams (8-19, 6-13 SAC) assisted on 24 of their 31 made baskets against Central Christian
• Nicole Gleason, a 5-11 sophomore, paces the Lady Rams with 11.7 points per game. Gleason had five points and six rebounds in Friday's win
• Among NAIA Division I, Texas Wesleyan ranks seventh in both steals per game with 12.85 and total steals with 347. To see how the Lady Rams rank in other categories, click here
• Conference coaches expect Texas Wesleyan to take sixth in the SAC according to the preseason poll

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (78-16, 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 Daniela 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, 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

POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS
• Oklahoma City is playing for a share of the SAC regular-season championship. The Stars will be the No. 2 seed in the SAC Tournament if they win on Sunday and a No. 3 seed if they lose
• Texas Wesleyan must defeat OCU to earn No. 8 seed in the SAC Tournament. If the Lady Rams lose on Sunday, they will not make the conference tournament
• The top four seeds in the conference tournament host quarterfinal games Tuesday. The remainder of the SAC Tournament will be March 2-3 in Siloam Springs, Ark. NAIA Division I Tournament berths will be at stake as the nation's premier NAIA basketball conference stages its postseason tournament

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 adds the commentary. 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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#5 Daniela Galindo

#24 Alexis Hill

#40 Brooke Irwin

Players Mentioned

#5 Daniela Galindo

#24 Alexis Hill

#40 Brooke Irwin