THE AGENDA
The OUAZ women's basketball team will open the 2018-19 season on Saturday afternoon when they host Saint Katherine on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the start of the second season in program history. The Spirit will then return to action on Monday with an exhibition game against California Miramar at 7 p.m.
Both games will be played at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise, Arizona. Admission for OUAZ women's basketball is free all season long.
Live video will not be available for Saturday's game. Monday's game will be broadcast live on the OUAZ Game Central portal and on the NAIA Network. The cost to view the game is $7.95. The NAIA Network is available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku devices by searching NAIA.
OUAZ will also provide live stats for both of the games. Links for all live features are available at
OUAZSpirit.com/live.
The latest news and information on OUAZ women's basketball can be found at
OUAZSpirit.com, by downloading the OUAZ Athletic app from the Apple and Android app stores, and by following the Spirit on social media by searching OUAZSpirit and OUAZWBB.
ABOUT THE SPIRIT
OUAZ completed the first season in program history with an 8-11 final record. They won the final four games of the season and seven of the last nine. The Spirit finished 3-2 at home, 5-7 on the road, and 0-2 at a neutral site.
Offensively, the Spirit scored 63.4 points per game while shooting 36.2 percent from the field. They made 5.6 threes per game at a 28.1 percent clip. OUAZ shot 65.0 percent at the foul line and they averaged 11.6 assists per game with a 0.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The opposition ended the year scoring 66.8 points per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the field. Opponents hit on 5.3 three-pointers per contest in shooting 27.2 percent from deep. OUAZ averaged 42.7 rebounds per game with a 0.1 rebounding margin. Spirit opponents averaged 17.4 turnovers per game with OUAZ getting 8.8 steals per game.
Alexis Smith will lead the team into her senior season after scoring a team-high 15.0 points per game last season. She scored in double figures 13 times with four 20-point performances along the way. Smith shot 35.3 percent from the field and made 22 3-pointers by shooting 24.4 percent from long range.
Bailey Osmer enters her sophomore season as the school's leader with 260 points scored. Osmer averaged 13.7 points per game and shot 41.4 percent from the field. She scored in double figures 15 times, including the final six games of the year. Osmer averaged 5.6 rebounds with 52 assists and 48 steals.
ABOUT SAINT KATHERINE
Saint Katherine will also open its 2018-19 season on Saturday. The Firebirds went 0-29 last season. They averaged 45.3 points per game while allowing 88.0 to the opposition. Briana Lampkin returns after scoring a team-best 243 points a season ago.
OUAZ leads the all-time series with Saint Katherine, 1-0. The Spirit claimed a 95-54 win on the road last January. In the game, five OUAZ players scored in double figures. That includes 18 apiece from
Alexis Smith and
Jorie Mayfield.
ABOUT CAL MIRAMAR
Monday's game against Cal Miramar is an exhibition for the Spirit. It will be the first-ever game for the Fighting Falcons.
JOINING THE GSAC
OUAZ will play a full Golden State Athletic Conference schedule this season as a first-year member of the NAIA. The Spirit are not eligible for GSAC or NAIA postseason play during this first year of membership. The preseason coaches' poll had OUAZ picked to finish eighth in the 10-team league.
LOOKING AHEAD
After these first two games, the Spirit will take a few days off of competition before returning to action on November 8 when they host crosstown foe Benedictine Mesa. That game will be played at Willow Canyon High School at 7 p.m. in the first of two meetings between the two teams this season.
