OCU vs. Langston Women's Basketball Preview

Stars Looking for 20th straight win, Season Sweep of Langston

Women's Basketball | 1/31/2020 9:05:00 PM

2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University returns to the court at home for the first of two straight games at home, hosting Langston University in search of the season sweep of the Lady Lions
• OCU has won 12 of the 14 meetings in the series since the 2009-10 season, including seven in a row dating back to Nov. 7, 2015.

ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City University used a huge third quarter to pull away from Central Christian (Kan.) to an 88-51 win. The Stars outscored the Tigers 33-13 in the third quarter to break open a game that been a 14 point game at the half.
• Mallory Lockhart, a 5-8 Sophomore from Keller, Texas, led the Stars with 22 points thanks in large part to a 6-for-11 performance from 3-point range. Lockhart also added three steals in the game
• Abby Selzer, a 6-2 sophomore from Thomas, Okla., and Brennyn Seagler, a 5-11 senior from Gruver, Texas, each narrowly missed out on double-doubles in the game as well. Selzer had 19 points and eight rebounds, and she was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line. Seagler added 14 points and nine rebounds to go with six assists. Taylor Sylvester and NaShyla Hammons scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, to round out the Stars in double figures in the game
• OCU leads NAIA Division I in free throw percentage (80.2 percent), and they rank in the top-5 as a team in seven other categories. To see how OCU stacks up to the rest of the NAIA statistically, click here
• Oklahoma City rose to the top spot in the most recent NAIA Division I rankings, and the Stars are the last unbeaten team still standing. The Stars reached the NAIA Tournament for the 22nd consecutive year and for the 25th time overall last season. OCU has captured nine national championships in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017
• OCU was chosen tied for first in the SAC preseason coaches' poll. The Stars took their 19th SAC regular-season championship last season

ABOUT THE LADY LIONS
• Langston been in the midst of an up and down season. The Lady Lions posted a 5-5 record in January, but they only posted consecutive wins once in the month, and they have not won a road game since Jan. 9 at Bacone. Langston won their last game at home over Southwestern Christian, 96-78, to complete the season sweep of the Eagles.
• Talia Edwards posted a double-double for Langston in the win with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Asheika Alexander, though, was the leading scorer for LU in the game, pouring in 33 points on 12 of 24 shooting
• Alexander is the SAC's leading scorer at 21.286 points per game, and she ranks 2nd in the NAIA in scoring average
• The Lady Lions were selected by SAC coaches to place eighth in the conference preseason poll

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (134-22, fifth season with OCU)
• Led Stars to a 33-5 season with the SAC regular-season crown and an NAIA DI tournament championship trip in 2018-19
• Overton has coached four all-Americans while at OCU, including Daniela Wallen, the 2017 NAIA DI 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 Olympic games
• From 1998-2004, Overton served as an assistant for Oklahoma. The Sooners made five NCAA Tournament appearances during that time, with a 2002 NCAA runner-up finish and Final Four berth. He also earned three Big 12 regular-season titles and two conference tournament championships throughout his six years
• He has an overall record coaching college women of 156-69 in seven years as a head coach

Elaine Powell (42-59, fourth season)
• Powell came to Langston to take her first head coaching job at the collegiate level. She spent time as an assistant coach at three different NCAA Division I Programs – Alabama A&M, Ohio University, and Grambling State
• Prior to beginning her coaching career, she played in the WNBA for 10 seasons, amassing more than 1,500 points for the Orlando Miracle (1999-2002), the Detroit Shock (2002-06, 07-08), and the Chicago Sky (2006)
• Powell won three WNBA Championships while with the Shock, playing for head coach and former NBA star Bill Laimbeer (CLE 1980-82, DET 1982-94) and cutting down the nets in 2003, 2006, and 2008.
• Powell played her collegiate basketball at LSU, where she was a Kodak All-American, and she finished her career in 11th on LSU's all-time scoring list with 1,163 points. She was the first player in LSU history to be drafted into the WNBA.

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, $29.95 for a women's basketball season pass and $74.95 for an all-season pass in 2019-20
• Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes is in his ninth season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 12 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

#25 NaShyla Hammons: F; 6' 0"; Senior

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

#34 Brennyn Seagler: F; 5' 11"; Senior

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

#33 Taylor Sylvester: C; 6' 5"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

#25 NaShyla Hammons
: 6' 0"; Senior
: F

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

#34 Brennyn Seagler
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

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

#33 Taylor Sylvester
: 6' 5"; Senior
: C