Women's Basketball Takes On Oklahoma Christian

Nov. 6, 2000

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TIP OFF INFORMATION
Tonight is the first of two exhibition games for the Oklahoma Sooners. OU plays host to Oklahoma Christian, an NAIA university, before hosting Australia Institute for Sports on Friday, Nov. 10. Both games are schedule for a 7 p.m. tip inside the Lloyd Noble Center. Tonight's game is not on television or radio.

OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Head Coach Sherri Coale and her Sooners captured a school-record 25 victories (25-8) a year ago. That same team also won its first Big 12 Conference regular season title (13-3) and appeared in its first NCAA Sweet 16 Tournament, under the 64-team format. The Sooners ended the year with a final national ranking of No. 13 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.

Even though OU lost its All-American Phylesha Whaley, the Sooners have four starters and 11 letterwinners back from that extraordinary team. In addition, Oklahoma returns 73.7 percent of its points, 79.6 percent of its rebounds, 91.1 of its assists and 88.5 percent of its steals.

So, look for a more mature and experienced team to emerge this season. Coale believes she has the right mixture of veterans and the added depth needed at each position to strengthen the Sooners' chances of going deeper into the NCAA Tournament.

Oklahoma will continue to play an up-tempo, fast break type of an offense, while extending their defense and applying more full court pressure due to the added depth.

OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Oklahoma Christian University returns four starters to a team that went 23-13 overall and 9-5 in the Sooner Athletic Conference a year ago. OC also finished the season ranked No. 11 and advanced to the NAIA Sweet 16 under 16-year Head Coach Stephanie Findley.

The Lady Eagles' top returning scorer and rebounder is third team NAIA All-American Sarah Reese. The 6-1 junior forward from Owasso, Okla., posted team highs of 18.4 points and 12.3 rebounds last season. Assisting Reese will be junior Lindsay Wilson (6-3, forward) and senior Kristi Little (5-9, forward). Wilson, a third team All-SAC selection, averaged 11.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, while Little, an NAIA Scholar Athlete, had 8.8 points and 7.5 rebounds an outing. In addition, junior Ali Griffin (5-3, guard) returns at point guard.

Last week, OC defeated St. Gregory's, 76-73, to open its 2000-2001 schedule. The Lady Eagles were paced by Griffin's team-high 16 points and seven assists. Wilson produced a game-high 14 rebounds, 11 defensive, while Reese grabbed 12 boards and added eight points.

EXHIBITION SUCCESS
Oklahoma is 6-4 in exhibition play over the past five seasons. OU dominated Norrkoping Proderm (Sweden), 47-31, and Lithuania, 83-69, last year. For the 1990's, OU went 9-7 in preseason action.

CAUFIELD TABBED AS THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
Junior guard LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) has been named a third team All-American by the Women's Basketball News Service. Caufield caught the attention of the WBNS as a freshman when she was selected as a first team Freshman All-American. The 5-9 Ada, Okla., native is the team's top returning scorer averaging 15.9 points per game. She also paced the Sooners in the NCAA Tournament with a team-best 23.7 points per game. In addition, Caufield shot an impressive 60.5 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the free throw line during postseason action.

DALES SELECTED PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12
Junior point guard Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) was one of five players named to the 2000-2001 All-Big 12 preseason team. Dales averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds for the Sooners a year ago.

This past summer, the Brockville, Ontario native contributed 11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 31 minutes of action as a member of the 2000 Canadian Olympic Team.

Other preseason All-Big 12 selections include Iowa State's Angie Welle and Megan Taylor, Texas Tech's Plenette Pierson, and Missouri's Amanda Lassiter. Dales was a member of the 2000 All-Big 12 second team while Taylor and Lassiter were on the third team. Pierson was the 2000 Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Welle was chosen the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year.

HARDEMAN AND DALES SHARE LEADERSHIP ROLE
This year's 2000-2001 team captains will be senior Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) and junior Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario). Dales is a three-time team co-captain, while Hardeman will serve her first season as a team co-captain.

SOONERS ADD DEPTH AND TALENT TO 2001 ROSTER
Oklahoma welcomes the addition of junior college transfers Rosalind Ross (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Jamie Talbert (Elkhart, Kan.), plus freshman Stephanie Luce (Southlake, Texas) to its 2000-2001 roster.

Ross and Talbert bring a wealth of playing experience to the court as each were named to the National Junior College All-American first team a year ago. Ross averaged 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.9 steals as a sophomore at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. Talbert had a solid 23.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per outing after leading Seward County Junior College to an overall record of 33-1 last season. Luce, an All-State Texas selection, was productive on the court as she averaged 15.0 points, 5.4 assists and 2.8 steals a game for Carroll High School.

MEMBERS ONLY WATCH
Junior guards LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) and Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) are on the verge of becoming members of Oklahoma's elite 1,000-point club.

Caufield needs 37 points to become the 15th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. In two years, she has scored 967 points. Dales has 766 career points and needs to score 234 points to become a member of the elite club.

OU HEAD COACH SHERRI COALE
With only four years of NCAA Division I women's basketball coaching experience, Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coale has given new life to a once bleak program. Coale, who believes in hard work and commitment, has now laid the foundation for OU to be a yearly contender for conference and national titles.

Coale engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds in women's basketball history this past season. Her team collected a school-record 25 victories, grabbed a share of its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season title and gained national respect with its NCAA Sweet 16 appearance that resulted in a final national ranking of No. 13 by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

The 1999-2000 team's success has skyrocketed Coale's credibility and escalated her stock as she earned numerous coach of the year accolades, including runner-up for the prestigious Associated Press National Coach of the Year Award. Coale also was named Big 12 Conference, ESPN.com The Dish and Women's Basketball Coaches Association District V Coach of the Year.

The Healdton, Okla., native is a 1987 graduate of Oklahoma Christian University (BS in education) and 1990 graduate of Oklahoma (Masters' in education).

Prior to OU, Coale coached seven years at Norman High (1990-1996) producing an overall record of 147-40 and two state championships.

BIG 12 PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Oklahoma was picked to finish second in the 2001 Big 12 Conference championship in a preseason poll voted on by the league's head coaches. In addition, OU point guard Stacey Dales was one of five placed on the preseason All-Big 12 first team, while junior teammate LaNeishea Caufield received votes.

The top picks were close as only nine points separated the top three teams. Iowa State is this year's favorite as the Cyclones garnered five first-place votes and had a total of 113 points, followed by OU's 109 points and three first place votes. Texas Tech ranked third with 104 points and four top votes. All three schools tied for the 2000 regular season title with 13-3 records in conference action.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Women's Basketball Takes On Oklahoma Christian

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