OCU Women Take Down Rogers State 87-39

Oklahoma City University beat Rogers State 87-39 on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena in a matchup of women's basketball teams ranked in NAIA Division I's top 15.

Kayla MacKenzie, a junior from Peoria, Ariz., topped the Stars with 18 points and six steals. Fourth-ranked OCU improved to 13-2, 5-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, and 15th-ranked Rogers State dipped to 14-5, 4-1 in league play.

Lauren Gober, a senior from Newcastle, Okla., produced 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Katie Hall, a senior from Hazelton, Idaho, piled up 15 points and nine rebounds for OCU.

The Stars' Autumn Huffman, a junior from Midwest City, Okla., added 12 points, five rebounds and two steals, and Desiree Jeffries, a senior from Oklahoma City, posted 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

OCU owns a 12-game winning streak.

OCU rolled to 21 unanswered points to build a 31-6 early advantage. Rogers State went without a point for six minutes during the Stars' onslaught. MacKenzie scored seven of her points during that span.

MacKenzie had the final four points of the OCU run. MacKenzie tallied a layup, then two free throws to put OCU up 25 points with 5:37 to go in the first half. Huffman sparked the 21-0 spree with a layup at the 10:53 mark.

OCU took advantage of 31 Hillcat turnovers, outscoring Rogers State 48-10 in points off turnovers. The Stars pocketed 16 steals. Rogers State managed 35.7 percent shooting from the field – 26.9 percent in the first half. The Stars hit 51.6 percent from the floor for the game and 54.5 percent in the first period.

Cara Pugh scored off a putback with 8:15 left in the game to increase OCU's margin to its largest of the game, 84-30. Pugh's bucket capped a 10-2 OCU run.

Kelby Fritz became Rogers State's only double-digit scorer with 10 points. Fritz's 3-pointer gave the Hillcats their only lead of the game at 3-1 1:39 into the tilt. OCU answered with a 9-0 run.

OCU meets Oklahoma Baptist at 3 p.m. Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.