OCU vs. USAO women's basketball preview

Stars honor their seniors in home regular-season finale

Taylor LaCour ranks fourth in the conference with an 81.4 percent free-throw percentage.

Women's Basketball | 2/20/2019 2:20:00 PM

6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University aims to keep pace in the Sooner Athletic Conference in a contest against USAO
• 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
• Oklahoma City is tied with Wayland Baptist (Texas) atop the SAC standings

ABOUT THE STARS
• The Stars dropped a 76-61 decision to Wayland Baptist on Saturday in Plainview, Texas. Oklahoma City (25-3, 18-2 SAC) had won 12 in a row after its last loss 70-63 to Wayland Baptist on Jan. 10 in Oklahoma City
• Abby Selzer, a 6-foot-2 freshman from Thomas, Okla., put together 17 points and four rebounds. Selzer has turned in double-figure scoring performances in 15 games in a row, scoring no fewer than 12 points during that span. Selzer leads OCU with 16.6 points and 7.0 rebounds a contest. Selzer has compiled a 65.2 percent field-goal percentage for the best in the NAIA
• Shamika Smith, a 5-4 junior from Midwest City, Okla., chipped in nine points and two steals. She equaled her season high by hitting five free throws, going 5-for-6 from the foul line. Smith contributes 4.6 points, 2.6 assists and 1.54 steals a game
• The Stars boasts of the top field-goal percentage (47.3 percent) and best defensive field-goal percentage (28.7 percent). To see how the Stars rate among NAIA Division I statistically, click here
• OCU went to 10th in the last NAIA Division I rankings. Oklahoma City added to the NAIA's longest streak of top-25 appearances, making its 251st consecutive national ranking dating back to 1997-98. OCU has made 24 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 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 218-22 (.908 winning percentage) within SAC play since 2007-08
• Oklahoma City sank USAO 64-38 on Jan. 5 in Chickasha, Okla. Payton Taylor led OCU with 11 points. OCU owns a 56-4 all-time mark against the Drovers

ABOUT THE DROVERS
• USAO knocked off John Brown (Ark.) 65-59 on Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark. The Drovers (19-9, 14-6 SAC) have a six-game winning streak overall, a nine-game winning string on the road and gone 12-1 over their past 13 games
• Vivian Holcomb, a 6-1 senior, had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Holcomb averages 15.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.39 steals a contest. Her 8.0 defensive rebounds rate third in the NAIA
• USAO ranks fifth nationally with 31.7 rebounds a game
• SAC coaches predicted USAO to finish fourth in the SAC in the preseason

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (107-20, 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 129-67, notching his 100th career win in a 78-53 victory at Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Feb. 23, 2018

Darrick Matthews (65-50, fourth season with USAO)
• Collected 2018 John Hudson SAC coach of the year after directing USAO to a 29-6 record and its first SAC regular-season title, sharing the conference crown with OCU last season
• Overall head-coaching record stands at 70-66 including one season at Southwestern Christian, where he led the Lady Eagles to a fourth-place finish in the 2015 National Christian College Athletic Association Division I Tournament
• Began his college playing career at Oklahoma Christian, then transferred to the University of the Southwest (N.M.), where he became an all-conference performer playing for Quinn Wooldridge, who would eventually become an OCU assistant. Matthews completed his college career at McMurry (Texas)

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 calls the action. Himes enters 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

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

#3 Shamika Smith: G; 5' 4"; Junior

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#3 Shamika Smith
: 5' 4"; Junior
: G

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