Stars Take Down Langston 68-49

Oklahoma City University edged 14th-ranked Langston 68-49 Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena.

Senior Lauren Gober, of Newcastle, sank seven 3-pointers to help the Stars, ranked No. 10 in NAIA Division I women's basketball, move to 2-2 on the season. Gober's seven 3-point buckets were one shy of OCU's single-game record set by Patricia Ordonez on March 22, 1988 in the NAIA Division I championship.

OCU took a 9-2 lead at the 15:46 mark of the first half while Langston hit 1 of its first 4 shots from the floor. 3-pointers from Gober and Jessica Lankston fueled the Stars' run.

The Stars and Lady Lions traded baskets until Kayla MacKenzie hit a jumper in transition to spark a 14-4 run. Ravven Brown capped the run with a bucket in the paint to give OCU a 33-15 with 3:26 to go in the first half. Desiree Jeffries score in the lane to give OCU a 12-point lead at the half. The Stars shot 45 percent from behind the 3-point line in the period and forced 18 Langston turnovers.

Gober kicked off the second half with a pair 3-pointers and MacKenzie followed with five points of her own to start OCU on a 15-8 run. Brown and Jeffries converted back-to-back layups to push OCU's lead to 50-31 at the 14:13 mark.

Langston's Amber Coleman cut the OCU lead to 12 with just over 10 minutes to play, but a clutch 3-pointer from Gober and a pair of free throws from Brown stretched the Stars' lead to 55-38 with 8:47 to play.

OCU got a pair of buckets from Cara Pugh with less than two minutes remaining to maintain its lead and earn the 68-49 victory. Gober led the way with a game-high 25 points on 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point distance. The junior forward also grabbed eight rebounds and notched four takeaways. MacKenzie followed with 12 points. Jeffries posted 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Katie Hall grabbed 12 boards.

OCU shot 42 percent from 3-point land while holding the Lady Lions to 12 percent from behind the 3-point stripe. The Stars scored 21 points off 26 Langston turnovers. OCU's bench outscored the Langston bench 27-9.

The Stars return to action against Park (Mo.) at noon Saturday at Breckon Sports Center in Parkville, Mo.