THE AGENDA
The OUAZ women's basketball team heads back to the road this week for a pair of Golden State Athletic Conference games. On Thursday, the Spirit are headed for Fullerton, California where they will play Hope International at 6:30 p.m. MST. They will then head for San Dimas, California to play Life Pacific on Saturday at 2 p.m. MST to bring this four-game road stream to an end.
 
Live video of both games will be available through the host school's Game Central portal and on the NAIA Network. Live stats will also be available during the HIU game. The NAIA Network is available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku devices by searching NAIA.
 
Links for all live coverage is available at OUAZSpirit.com/live.
 
ABOUT THE SPIRIT
OUAZ heads back to Southern California with a 7-5 overall record and coming off a 1-1 week that included a 69-64 win at San Diego Christian on Saturday for the program's first-ever GSAC win. The Spirit are currently eighth in the GSAC with a 1-4 record in league play and they are 3-2 in all road games,
 
The Spirit are averaging 71.1 points per game and they shoot 37.6 percent from the field. They have scored 70-plus points six times this season, including the school record 110 against Bethesda on December 29. The Spirit shoot 26.0 percent from three while averaging 6.0 makes from beyond the arc per game. They convert 69.5 percent at the foul line and record 12.7assists with a 0.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
OUAZ opponents are averaging 69.4 points per game and shooting 37.7 percent from the floor. The Spirit have held the opposition under 70 points six times this season with a 5-1 record in those contests. In school history, OUAZ is 9-0 when holding an opponent under 60 points.
 
This season, the opposition shoots 30.9 percent from three with an average of 6.9 makes per game. The Spirit grab 43.0 rebounds per game and they are forcing 17.7 turnovers while averaging 10.6 steals and 2.4 blocks per game.
 
Bailey Osmer continues to lead the Spirit in scoring at 16.3 points per game to rank fifth in the GSAC. Osmer has scored in double figures 10 times, including a school record 36 against Arizona Christian on December 8. She also leads the team with 72 rebounds and 27 steals while adding 27 assists and five blocked shots.
 
Alexis Smith scores 13.0 points per game and she has been in double figures eight times. She had a career high and then-school record 31 points against Benedictine Mesa on November 8. Smith leads the Spirit with 37 assists to rank eighth in the GSAC at 3.1 assists per game. Her 1.7 A/TO ratio is good for seventh in the conference.
 
In 10 games played, Jorie Mayfield is scoring 12.3 points per game and shooting 44.6 percent from the field. Mayfield has scored in double figures eight times and has posted three double-doubles. She ranks 11th in the GSAC in grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game and has double-digit rebounds in three of the team's last four games.
               
ABOUT HOPE INTERNATIONAL
Hope International starts the week at 11-3 overall and tied for sixth in the GSAC with their 2-3 record in conference play. The Royals are on a 3-game winning streak that includes a 93-48 home win over Life Pacific on Saturday. Sydney Lopez leads the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game with Rhianne Omori close behind at 11.6 per night.
 
The Spirit and Royals met twice last season with HIU winning each time. Both games were played on a neutral court with the second meeting go to the Royals 76-74 in December 30, 2017.
 
ABOUT LIFE PACIFIC
Life Pacific will begin the week with a 1-14 overall record and looking to snap a 13-game losing streak. The Warriors are tied for ninth in the GSAC at 0-5 and they are 0-3 in all home games this season. Allison Ayala is 11th in the conference in scoring at 12.7 points per game for a team that scores 53.9 points per outing.
 
Saturday is the first-ever meeting between the two programs. They will meet again in Surprise on February 14.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
OUAZ will spend next week at home where they will complete the first half of conference play with a pair of games at Willow Canyon High School. Nationally ranked Menlo comes to Surprise on January 17 at 5:30 p.m. MST before fellow ranked opponent William Jessup faces the Spirit on January 19 at noon MST.