2018 Sooner Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament champion

Women's Basketball 3/7/2018 6:11:00 PM

OCU meets Providence in NAIA Tournament

Stars look to defend their national title starting 3:15 p.m. CDT March 15

BILLINGS, Mont. – Oklahoma City University seeks its second consecutive national championship beginning with a first-round contest vs. Providence (Mont.) at 2:15 p.m. MDT (3:15 p.m. CDT) Thursday, March 15 at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in the NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament.
The Stars collected their ninth national title March 21, 2017 with a 73-66 win over Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in Billings, Mont. OCU (28-5) owns national crowns won in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
Oklahoma City enters the tournament as the second seed in the Cramer bracket and fifth in the last rankings prior to the tournament. The Stars reached the NAIA Tournament for the 21st consecutive year and for the 24th time overall. OCU has the best record in NAIA Tournament play with a 71-14 mark.
OCU captured its 12th Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title 89-63 over USAO on March 3 in Siloam Springs, Ark. The Stars became SAC regular-season co-champions to win or share the league regular-season crown for the third year in a row, eighth time in nine years and 18th overall time.
Daniela Galindo, a 5-foot-11 senior from Shattuck, Okla., ranks among the NAIA's top five in points (fourth with 668 points), scoring (fifth at 21.5 points per game), steals (fifth with 85) and free-throw percentage (fifth at 84.6 percent). Galindo became SAC player of the year and conference tournament most valuable player.
Brooke Irwin, a 6-3 senior from Mustang, Okla., has furnished OCU with 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.27 blocked shots a game. She took second-team all-league. Taylor LaCour, a 6-1 junior from Georgetown, Texas, delivers 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a contest. She collected third-team all-SAC and all-tournament in the conference tournament.
Alexis Hill, a 6-1 senior from Byng, Okla., and Michaela Kay, a 5-7 junior from Spokane, Wash., picked up all-tournament nods in the SAC Tournament. Hill posts 7.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.19 blocks a game, averages she increased to 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.33 blocked shots per contest during the SAC Tournament. Kay leads the NAIA with a 51.8 percent 3-point shooting percentage.
The Stars rank second in the NAIA with their 78.8 percent free-throw shooting and fourth in 3-point shooting (38.5 percent). To see how the Stars rank among the NAIA statistically, click here.
Providence (19-11) was an at-large selection to the tournament. Stephanie McDonagh, a 5-9 guard, tops the Argos with 17.7 points and 2.37 steals a game. She was first-team all-Frontier Conference and league defensive player of the year.
For the tournament web site with ticket information and a visitor's guide to the area, click here.
Stretch Internet, the NAIA's official video streaming company of select NAIA national championship events, will be broadcasting the first 30 games from Billings. Day passes cost $9.95, while an all-tournament pass with 30 games is available for $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click here. All of the games of the national championship will be available via live stats here.
ESPN3 will show the NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament championship game live 7 p.m. MDT (8 p.m. CDT) on March 20.

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