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

THE MATCHUP

• Coming off the holiday break and two COVID-related forfeit losses, Oklahoma City University resumes the 2021-22 season with a home Sooner Athletic Conference contest against Mid-America Christian on Thursday evening at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars last played on Dec. 8 with the result being a 76-62 win over John Brown (Ark.).
• OCU leads the all-time series against Mid-America Christian 30-0. The Stars have won the last 10 games by double digits since an 87-85 conference tournament win over MACU on March 4, 2016
• Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for students. All tickets must be purchased via OCU's HomeTown Ticketing portal. No tickets are to be purchased via cash on site. OCU students, faculty and staff gain admission to all OCU regular-season home athletics events free of charge with their ID 
• Fans will be required to wear masks in place over their faces while observing social distancing. No concessions will be offered

ABOUT THE STARS 

• Oklahoma City University (9-3, 4-3 SAC) extended its winning streak to five games with a 76-62 Sooner Athletic Conference win over John Brown (Ark.) on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars held a slim 52-50 lead at the 1:18 mark of the third quarter before going on a 9-0 run to build an insurmountable 61-50 lead on a lay-up by Annilia Dawn at the 9:03 mark of the fourth quarter. JBU would get no closer than seven points the rest of the game.
• Dawn, a 5-foot-5 senior transfer from Butler, contributed a season-high nine rebounds in the win over JBU. The Amarillo native ranks third on the squad with a 12.1 points per game scoring average and fourth in rebounding with a 4.5 rebounds per game average.
• Abby Selzer, a 6-2 senior from Thomas, Okla., and Paige Pendley, a 5-9 senior from Elgin, Okla., recorded double-doubles in the win. Selzer finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Pendley contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds.
• Selzer has recorded double-doubles in nine of 10 games played this season and Pendley has accomplished that feat three times, all within the last four games.
• Selzer leads the Sooner Athletic Conference in rebounding with a 12.2 rebounds per game average while ranking third in the conference in scoring with an 18.9 points per game average. She has recorded 1,470 points and 640 rebounds in her career.
• Erika Ankney, a 5-9 senior from Harrah, Okla., contributed a team-high 20 points in the win over JBU, marking the eighth time in nine games she has scored in double-figures and the fourth time she has reached the 20-point mark. Ankney ranks second on the squad and fifth in the SAC with an 18.3 points per game scoring average
• OCU out-rebounded JBU 53-32, marking the fifth time this season that the Stars have out-rebounded their opponent by double digits and second time they have out-rebounded the opponent by 20 or more rebounds. The Stars rank fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference in rebound margin (plus 9.9)
• OCU received votes in the latest NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, released on Nov. 17. Oklahoma City has captured nine national championships in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017 and finished as national runner-up four times (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2019) 
• The Stars took third in the preseason SAC poll. Oklahoma City owns 20 SAC regular-season titles and 12 SAC Tournament championships. Since 2007-08, OCU has gone 246-25 (.908 winning percentage) in conference play

ABOUT THE EVANGELS

• Mid-America Christian (12-2, 5-1 SAC) enters Thursday's game with a three-game winning streak, with the closet margin during the streak being a 71-58 win over Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas). MACU defeated UNT-Dallas 99-74 in its last outing on Monday.
• Grad student Ossyana Ozoani contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds in the win over UNTD. Senior guard McKenzi Lamer also contributed 20 points and sophomore guard Sydney Wycoff pitched in with 17 points, six assists and three steals.
• MACU ranks first in the SAC in team defense (56.7 ppg) and third in offense (81.6 ppg).
• Ozoani ranks second in the SAC in rebounding (11.6 rpg) and field goal percentage (61%), just behind OCU's Abby Selzer in both categories.
• MACU took fourth in the preseason conference coaches poll

MEET THE COACHES

Brett Tahah (14-4, second season with OCU)
• Tahah is the first former OCU student-athlete to serve as head coach of the program
• As a player from 2002-10 she helped lead the team to a 63-10 record, two conference championships and two NAIA Fab Four appearances
• Tahah compiled a 117-50 head-coaching record with two state tournament semifinal berths in six years at Oklahoma high schools Frontier, Elgin, Hobart and Lookeba-Sickles 

Hannah Moeller (sixth season at MACU)
• Led the Evangels to their first ever Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season title and NAIA National Tournament appearance last season.
• Guided the team to 20-win seasons in her first four seasons as head coach before last year's COVID-shortened campaign.
• Two-time NCCAA National Coach of the Year honoree.
 
ON THE AIR

• Oklahoma City University athletics provides live and on-demand audio and video of its contests on OCU's BlueFrame platform as well as live statistics. Cost to watch OCU athletics live is $4.99 per game, while there is a women's basketball season pass available for $56
• Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes enters his 11th season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 14 years starting on color commentary as an OCU student
• OCU has partnered with BlueFrame Technology to create the OCU Sports Network. To watch live video, fans can find the Stars' BlueFrame platform over the web on the SAC Network along with streaming apps for mobile devices (iOS and Android) and televisions including Amazon Fire Tablet, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. The app can be found and installed by searching for the SAC Network