OCU vs. Central Christian women's basketball preview

Stars look to protect home court Thursday

6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University entertain Central Christian (Kan.) in a Sooner Athletic Conference contest
• 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 pulled away from Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) 94-79 in overtime Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. Michaela Kay gave OCU a 79-76 lead with 2.4 seconds to go by nailing a trey, but Lexi Rich answered with a buzzer-beating 3 to tie the game. The Stars (16-2, 9-1 SAC) improved to 1-1 in overtime games under Bo Overton by unleashing a 15-0 run in the extra period
• Payton Taylor, a 6-foot sophomore from Ada, Okla., posted her first career double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Taylor turned in career bests in scoring and rebounds. Taylor contributes 6.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game
• Abby Selzer, a 6-2 freshman from Thomas, Okla., notched her fifth double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Selzer tops OCU with 16.2 points and 6.8 rebounds a contest. She ranks second nationally in field-goal percentage (62.6 percent) and eighth in free-throw percentage (86.0 percent)
• The Stars have the stingiest defense in the country this season, limiting teams to an NAIA-low 29.1 percent shooting from the floor. OCU also ranks second in defensive rebounds a game (32.6) and third in assists a contest (18.9) and blocked shots a game (6.50). To see how OCU ranks with the rest of the NAIA statistically, click here
• Oklahoma City moved to 12th in the last NAIA Division I ranking. Oklahoma City extended the NAIA's longest streak of top-25 appearances to 249 consecutive rankings dating back to 1997-98. The Stars reached the NAIA Tournament for the 21st consecutive year and for the 24th time overall last season. OCU has captured nine national championships in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017
• The Stars picked up the second spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll. Oklahoma City took its 18th SAC regular-season championship and 12th SAC Tournament title last season. OCU has won or shared nine of the past 11 league titles, going 209-21 (.909 winning percentage) within SAC play since 2007-08
• OCU cruised to a 78-47 victory over Central Christian on Dec. 1, 2018 in McPherson, Kan., in the earlier meeting between the two squads this season. Mallory Lockhart fueled the Stars with season bests of 20 points and six 3-pointers
• The Stars moved to 4-0 vs. Central Christian in the all-time series

ABOUT THE LADY TIGERS
• Mid-America Christian dumped Central Christian 89-68 on Saturday in McPherson, Kan. Central Christian (2-16, 1-10 SAC) committed 16 turnovers to let the Evangels pick up 25 points
• Piper Kalthoff, a 5-8 senior, had 23 points and eight rebounds. She sank 6 of her 15 3-point attempts. Kalthoff averages 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.22 steals per game
• Central Christian ranks seventh in the NAIA in offensive rebounds a contest (16.6), while Mycah McDonald rates sixth with 3.63 steals a game
• SAC coaches predicted the Lady Tigers to finish 11th in the preseason conference poll

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (98-19, fourth season with OCU)
• Led Stars to 28-6 season with the SAC regular-season and tournament crowns in 2017-18
• Overton has coached four all-Americans while at OCU, including Daniela Wallen, the 2017 NAIA Division I player of the year, and Daniela Galindo, the 2018 WBCA NAIA 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
• He has an overall record coaching college women of 120-66, notching his 100th career win in a 78-53 victory at Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Feb. 23, 2018

Marc Golden (3-44, second season with Central Christian)
• Directed the Lady Tigers to their first SAC victory 105-49 over Bacone on Jan. 5 in Muskogee, Okla.
• Guided Fort Myers Evangelical Christian (Fla.) to a 42-11 record and back-to-back district titles in three years
• Spent four years as an assistant at Baptist Bible (Mo.), his alma mater
• Coached two National Christian College Athletic Association all-Americans at Baptist Bible

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 2018-19
• Andrew Himes will provide the play-by-play. Himes is in his eighth season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 11 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

#10 Michaela Kay: G; 5' 6"; Senior

#5 Mallory Lockhart: G; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#40 Abby Selzer: C; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#23 Payton Taylor: G; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

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

#10 Michaela Kay
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G

#5 Mallory Lockhart
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: G

#40 Abby Selzer
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: C

#23 Payton Taylor
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G