OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City got its first conference win of the season, holding off a big rally from John Brown for a 69-63 win on Thursday.
 
OCU, which played at times this season with seven players, due to injuries, got 10 players into the game and the depth made a difference. The Stars produced 27 points off the bench while shutting out JBU's reserves.
 
"I was so proud of them tonight," said OCU Head Coach Alexis Lawrence. "Now we have a few subs and we were able to get some people in and out."
 
The Stars built a 15-point lead midway through the second quarter and went to the halftime lockers up 35-22.
 
John Brown whittled away at the deficit and grabbed the lead briefly with 2:37 left in the third quarter but Ellie Willard converted a three-point play in the waning seconds to send the Stars to the final frame with a 52-48 lead.
 
The Stars answered every challenge in the fourth quarter and then rebuilt the lead to 67-55 as Victoria Ososanya scored four points and Lauren Rowan added three during a decisive 12-2 run.
 
JBU's Sarah Snodgrass had a monster night with 33 points and 24 rebounds but the Golden Eagles got scoring from only five players.
 
Willard led the Stars with 17 points while Ososanya, Amanda Sene Da Cruz and Sunishka Kartik scored 13 apiece. Willard and Rowan had four assists each. Rowan led OCU with nine rebounds.
 
The Stars return to action on Saturday, facing College of the Ozarks at 2 p.m. in Abe Lemons Arena.