OCU vs. Texas Wesleyan women's basketball preview

Stars host Rams in key early season SAC showdown

NaShyla Hammons Ranks Third in the NAIA in Free Throw Percentage (93.3%)

Women's Basketball | 1/8/2020 9:13:00 AM

6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University hosts Texas Wesleyan in an early season matchup that will help shape the Sooner Athletic Conference race. OCU is currently tied atop the league standings, while Texas Wesleyan is in a three-way tie for third in the SAC
• Bo Overton recently notched his 125th win as OCU coach. The Stars have gone 58-5 at home under Overton
• 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 surged early and then held off a late charge against Central Christian (Kan.) on Saturday, taking the 75-59 win. The win extended the Stars' season opening winning streak to 11 games - their longest unbeaten streak to begin a campaign since they won 14 in a row to open the 2011-12 season
• Shamika Smith, a 5-foot-5 senior from Midwest City, Okla., played 36 minutes on Saturday - 13 minutes more than her previous single-game high this season - and she poured in a season-best 15 points in the Stars' win. The scoring total matched her OCU career best mark as well, which was originally set against Southwestern Christian on Feb. 5, 2019
• Abby Selzer, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Thomas, Okla., continued to prove a formidable presence in the post, tallying 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. Selzer has scored in double-figures in eight of the nine games in which she has appeared, and she has not been held below 50% shooting from the floor in any game this season. She ranks No. 5 in NAIA Division I in Field Goal Percentage (64.3%)
• The Stars have the second best Assist-to-Turnover Ratio in NAIA Division I at 1.361, and NaShyla Hammons in No. 3 in NAIA Division I in Free Throw Percentage (93.3%). To see how the Stars rank among the nation's statistical leaders, click here
• Oklahoma City rose to second in the most recent NAIA Division I rankings. 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. OCU has won or shared nine of the last 10 league titles, going 223-22 (.910 winning percentage) within SAC play since 2007-08
• Oklahoma City owns a 16-0 all-time record against Texas Wesleyan. The Stars dominated the Rams 85-56 on Feb. 9, 2019 at Abe Lemons Arena in the most recent meeting. OCU held Texas Wesleyan to under 31% from the field in that game, and just 8-for-28 (28.6%) from long range, whil OCU scored 34 points in the paint, 19 off turonvers, and 41 points off the bench in that contest

ABOUT THE RAMS
• Texas Wesleyan had a three-game winning streak snapped their last time out, falling 78-64 at home against the No. 6 Wayland Baptist Flying Queens.
• Makayla Coy led the Rams with 17 points and nine rebounds in the loss. She was 5-for-11 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the foul line in the game
• The Rams were picked to seventh in the 11-team SAC by the league coaches before the season

MEET THE COACHES
Bo Overton (126-22, 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 148-69 in seven years as a head coach

Steve Trachier (31-39, third season with Texas Wesleyan)
• Led Texas Wesleyan back into the postseason in 2018-19, earning a seven seed in the SAC Tournament with a 12-10 conference mark
• Currently also serves as Texas Wesleyan's Associate Athletic Director for Athletics Equity and Compliance after Serving as TXWU's Athletic Director from 2011-18
• While serving as the Rams' AD, Trachier oversaw the Rams move into the Sooner Athletic Conference (2013-14), as well as the re-instatement of the Texas Wesleyan football program in 2017 after a 75-year hiatus

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 will provide the play-by-play. 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

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

#3 Shamika Smith: G; 5' 5"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

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

#3 Shamika Smith
: 5' 5"; Senior
: G

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

Players Mentioned

#25 NaShyla Hammons

#3 Shamika Smith

#40 Abby Selzer

Players Mentioned

#25 NaShyla Hammons

#3 Shamika Smith

#40 Abby Selzer