OKLAHOMA CITY -  The Oklahoma City Women's Basketball team notched its first win of the season in the Sooner Athletic Conference opener by a score of 71-52 against Nelson. 

TOP PERFORMERS
Jerney Bennett - 15 PTS, 11 REB, 3 BLK
Jerzie Bryant - 13 PTS, 9 REB
Amaya Gordon - 8 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST
Raegan Travis - 9 PTS, 5-6 FT, 2 REB

STAR OF THE SHOW: Freshman Jerney Bennett gave the Stars another strong outing in her young career posting her third straight game scoring in double-figures while notching her second consecutive double-double with career-highs of 15 points and 11 rebounds while also adding three blocks. 

STAT OF THE GAME: Oklahoma City had a strong performance as a team on the boards tying a season-high with 30 rebounds while grabbing a season-best 15 on the offensive end. 

FIRST QUARTER: Oklahoma City fell behind 9-0 to start the contest before the Stars first make came at the 5:50 mark on a three-point basket by Brooke Curry. Down by 12, Curry sparked an 11-0 run with another three while freshman counterpart Taryn Cottrell capped off the quarter cutting the deficit to just one as the buzzer sounded.

SECOND QUARTER: Riding the momentum, Oklahoma City delivered a seven-point swing as Jerzie Bryant opened the quarter with a make from downtown before Cacie Gorman put the Stars up 25-21 almost four minutes into the quarter. Kate Miller gave the Lions their final basket of the period with 5:31 remaining as Nelson was shutout the rest of the way being held to just four points in the second quarter. The stout OCU defense turned to offense as the Stars put together an 8-0 run to finish the half with a 33-23 advantage. 

THIRD QUARTER: Paris Miller for Nelson cut the deficit to just five as Nelson began to creep back into the game. OCU put a stop to Lions shift in momentum right away with a 14-2 run as Raegan Travis scored seven of her nine points in the period while Bennett led the way with eight points as the Stars outscored Nelson 22-13 seeing their largest lead up to this point at 19 to end the quarter. 

FOURTH QUARTER: Imani Cudjoe cashed in her first three-point basket of the season to open the quarter as the Stars lead grew all the way up to 26 points after Cottrell delivered on a three-point play. Oklahoma City's advantage was to much for Nelson to overcome as the Stars wrapped things up with a 71-52 victory on Thursday night. 

GAME NOTES

• Oklahoma City picked up its first win of the season and start 1-0 in conference for the time since the 2021-22 season. 
• Jerzie Bryant followed Bennett as the other Star to reach double-figures scoring a season-high 13 points while hauling in a career-high nine rebounds, four of which coming on the offensive end. 
• Raegan Travis posted her second straight nine point game while seeing a solid night from the foul line going 5-for-6. 
• Amaya Gordon brought down a season-high 11 rebounds making her presence felt on the glass while scoring eight points on the night. Gordon did not reach double-digits in scoring for the first time since Jan. 6, 2024. 
• Sharpshooter Brooke Curry swished three shots from distance bringing her scoring total to nine on the night as the freshman has shot 8-for-13 (61.5%) from deep over the past two games. 
• As a team, Oklahoma City shot a season-best 46.6% from the field while tying its season-high of threes made in a game with five. 
• Oklahoma City snapped a three-game drought against Nelson earning its biggest win over the Lions since 2022. 
• The win gives Oklahoma City an 18-4 advantage over Nelson since 2014. 

NEXT TIME OUT:  Oklahoma City will have a quick turnaround as the Stars go on the road to UNT-Dallas on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 2:00 PM. 

FOLLOW THE STARS
Find all news, scores, highlights and updates on ocusports.com, Twitter (@ocustars), Instagram (@ocustars), Facebook (Oklahoma City University Stars) and Youtube (@ocustars). Catch every OCU home game and select away games on the SAC Sports Network.