Stars win SAC tournament title game

The women’s basketball team kept their winning streak alive last weekend, picking up the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament title. The team has won 23 straight games heading into next week’s national tournament.

The Stars won the SAC tournament title game, 62-55, against Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday at the Sawyer Center.

Junior Guard Donica Cosby was named the tournament MVP after an 18-point performance in the title game. The Stars, ranked sixth in NAIA Division I, rallied from an eight-point deficit to win the game.

Cosby also contributed four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Guard Starr Fairbanks came off the bench to produce 17 points in the game.

Coach Rob Edmisson said the team worked hard to win the tournament.
“We had a great team effort,” he said. “We defended really well and made big plays at important times.”

Senior Guard Laura Duncan earned the tournament hustle award. Duncan registered five points, four rebounds, three assists and a block in the final game. She reached 1,000 points in her three-year OCU career.

Freshman Forward Lauren Gober and Fairbanks made the all-tournament team.
The entire team stepped up to fill the void left when Senior Forward Holly Hardin was out with a concussion, Gober said.

Hardin missed the first two games of the tournament with the injury, but returned in the title game to record 10 points and eight rebounds.
“We all just played really well and deserved to win it,” Gober said.
The Stars will look to extend their winning streak once the national tournament starts Wednesday.

The Stars secured the conference’s automatic berth in the NAIA championship tournament by winning the tournament.

The winning streak adds some pressure on the team as they prepare for the national tournament, Gober said.

“We can’t remember the last time we lost,” she said. “We don’t want to experience that during nationals.

“We’re going to go in and do our best. That’s all we can really do.”

Edmisson said he was proud of the way the team has performed during their winning streak and hopes the tournament committee will reward them.

“We had a great team effort,” he said. “We defended really well and made big plays at important times. We deserve a No. 1 seed at the national tournament.”

The NAIA Division I women’s basketball tournament bracket will be unveiled today. It can be viewed at oocusports.com.