No. 17 Sooners Hit Road To Take On No. 21 SMS

Dec. 14, 2000

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THE GAME
Two nationally-ranked women's basketball programs will face each other for the second time this season when No. 17/15 Oklahoma (5-2) travels to Springfield, Mo., to challenge No. 21/18 Southwest Missouri State (5-2) inside the Hammons Student Center (8,846) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16.

This will be the first of back-to-back games for SMS' basketball programs as the men will tip off at 7:15 p.m. against Southeast Missouri State.

The women's game will be broadcast live on KOMA-AM (1520), OU's radio network, and on the Internet at www.soonersports.com. James Hale, who's filling in for Ed Murray, will provide the play-by-play while Jenny Bramer will be the color analyst for this weekend.

SERIES RECORDS
Series Tied 2-2
Saturday will complete this year's two-game series between Oklahoma and Southwest Missouri State. Never before have the two programs faced off twice in one season. OU opened its home schedule with an 89-82 win over the Lady Bears on Dec. 9.

Oklahoma won the first ever game between the two teams, 68-66, in Springfield, Mo., in 1980. The two teams would meet again in Springfield in 1997 which resulted in an 81-58 win for SMS, followed by an 81-65 victory for the Lady Bears in Noman in 1998.

Oklahoma is 16-12 when playing schools from the Missouri Valley Conference. OU Head Coach Sherri Coale is 1-2 against the Cheryl Burnett of SMS.

OKLAHOMA (5-2)
The Sooners return to the court after a week layoff to study for class finals. OU is currently on a three-game winning streak and ranked 17th in the AP and 15th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Polls. The Sooners most recently defeated SMU, 101-71, in Norman on Dec. 9, and Arkansas-Little Rock, 86-45, on Dec. 5, in Little Rock. OU was led in the two games by juniors LaNeishea Caufield's (Ada, Okla.) and Stacey Dales' (Brockville, Ontario) 19.0 and 13.0 points per game, respectively. Sophomore Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) also averaged in double figures in scoring with 12.0 points and had a team-high 5.0 rebounds per game. In addition, Caufield and Dales grabbed 4.5 boards per game. As a team, OU averaged 93.5 ppg and 46.5 rpg while shooting 53.3 percent (72-of-135) from the field and 40.0 percent (10-of-25) from the arc.

On the season, Oklahoma is led by Caufield and Dales. Caufield is averaging team highs of 16.7 points and 4.9 steals per game. Dales follows closely with 16.4 ppg and a team-best 8.3 assists per game. Leading the team defensively is Hill who's averaging a team-best 6.4 boards per game. Hill also ranks third on the team in scoring with 9.4 ppg. Jen Cunningham (Kingston, Ontario) contributes defensively with eigth total blocked shots.

As a team, OU scores 84.3 points and gets 41.7 rebounds per game compared to its opponents' 70.6 points and 37.6 rebounds.

Oklahoma opened its season with victories over Tulsa, 80-49, and host Oral Roberts, 87-56, at the Bertha Teague Classic in Tulsa, Okla. OU then traveled to Madison, Wis., to compete in the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge where OU lost to Georgia, 94-70, and host Wisconsin, 97-77. Dales was named to both all-tournament teams, while teammate Caufield was voted to the all-tournament team and was MVP of the Bertha Teague Classic.

SMS (5-2)
Southwest Missouri State enters the game with a 5-2 record and has won two consecutive games since dropping an 89-82 decision to OU on Dec. 9, in Norman. The Lady Bears picked up a road win over Tulane, 67-61, on Dec. 4, and defeated Iowa, 101-87, in Springfield on Dec. 7. Against Iowa, SMS' Jackie Stiles racked up 39 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field (72.2%), including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and 10-of-12 free throws. Stephanie Busbey came off the bench for 18 points while starting forward Tara Mitchem had 15 points.

Against Tulane, Mitchem led the team with 22 points, followed by Stiles' 16 and Carly Deer's 11 points. Deer led the team in rebounds with six and assists with five.

On the year, Stiles leads the NCAA in scoring with a 32.4 average, while Mitchem is averaging 13.3 and Deer contributes 10.1 points per game. Deer is the team's top rebounder with 7.6 boards per game. The Lady Bears are averaging 83.9 points and 39.7 rebounds per game and are shooting 48.5 percent from the field.

NCAA LEADERS
Junior guard LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) currently leads the nation in steals with an average of 4.9 thefts per outing. Ranking second in thefts per game is Grambling's Chovanique Kibble who averages 4.5 spg.

In addition, junior point guard Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) ranks third in the NCAA in assists per game, dishing out 8.3 per contest. She also ranks sixth in thefts with 4.1 per game.

FIRST ROUND VS. SMS
Sophomore Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) was one of five Sooners to score in double digits as OU upset 13th-ranked Southwest Missouri State, 89-82, in the home opener Dec. 1, at the Lloyd Noble Center. Hill scored a career-high 23 points and had 12 rebounds en route to her first double-double of the season and seventh of her career. Junior point guard Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) was second in scoring with 19 points. Dales also led OU in assists with eight. Junior LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) poured in 17 points and pocketed a game-high five steals. Caufield also held SMS' All-America senior guard Jackie Stiles to just six shots and eight points in the first half. Junior guard Rosalind Ross (Milwaukee, Wis.) came off the bench to hit several key jumpers down the stretch to keep the Sooners ahead. Ross finished the game with 15 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 performance from the foul line, and five rebounds. Sophomore Jadrea Seeley (Bethel, Okla.) seemed to get back her offensive touch as she scored 11 points and was one of three OU players who was perfect from the free throw line.

The Sooners established school records at the free throw line. OU topped the most consecutive free throws made in a half with 18 in the opening period and most consecutive free throw made in a single game with 21. The Sooners were perfect from the charity stripe until Dales missed the second of two free throws with 2:16 remaining in the game.

SMS jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes before Oklahoma roared back to take a 16-15 lead after Caufield's first three-pointer of the season. OU went into the locker room with a 48-37 lead but the two teams battled back and forth in the second half with the Lady Bears pulling ahead of OU at the 10:42 mark with a two-point jumper by Stiles. Ross responded the next time down the floor with a jumper of her own to put the Sooners up for good at 60-59.

Stiles ended the evening by scoring 23 of her game-high 31 points in the second half.

OU outrebounded the Lady Bears, 36-28, and shot 53.6 (30-for-56) percent from the field compared SMS' 45.9 percent (28-for-61).

TOPPING THE CONFERENCE
Juniors Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) and LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) top the Big 12 Conference as the duo leads the league in assists (8.3) and steals (4.9) per game, respectively. In addition, Caufield ranks seventh in scoring, 10th in free throw percentage and 15th in field goal percentage while Dales ranks second in steals and assists/turnover ratio and eighth in scoring.

SOONER SUBS PLAY A VITAL ROLE
Oklahoma reserves are contributing 36 percent of the team's total points compared to its opponents' 25 percent. In five of the team's seven games, the subs have contributed more than 30 percent of OU's total points, including 55 percent (42-of-77 points) against Wisconsin.

DID YOU KNOW?

Both Oklahoma and Southwest Missouri State scored 101 points in their last games.
Oklahoma is 5-0 when leading at halftime.
The Sooners are on a three-game winning streak.
OU is coming off a school-record 25 victories, a Big 12 regular season title and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance a year ago.
LaNeishea Caufield has scored in double figure in each game this season.
OU's largest margin of victory is season has been 41 points against UALR.
Stacey Dales' 14 assists against SMU on Dec. 9, tops the Big 12 Conference and ranks third for most assists in a single game for a Sooner.
After returning to action against Arkansas-Little Rock, sophomore Emily Britt is averaging 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and shooting 66.7 percent from the field. Britt missed five games due to a sprained ankle.
Saturday's game features three players who rank among the nation's best in scoring, assists and steals. SMS' Jackie Stiles leads the NCAA in scoring (32.4 ppg) while OU's LaNeishea Caufield leads the nation in steals (4.9 spg). Stacey Dales appears among the top six in two categories: third in assists (8.3) and sixth in steals (4.1).
Oklahoma isn't the only school in the Big 12 Conference that will face a non-conference opponent twice. Texas squared off with Denver in the Cancun Tournament and then hosted the Pioneers less than a week later in Austin.

DON'T BRING IT IN HERE
Junior Jen Cunningham (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) is off to a solid start this season as the 6-3 center has earned a starting spot in three of seven games. Her biggest contribution has been her ability to block shots. Cunningham has eight blocked shots, which ranks seventh in the league. She also contributes 4.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Cunningham now appears among OU's all-time shot blockers. In the first game of the season, she rejected two of Tulsa's shots to break into the all-time record list at No. 13. Cunningham now has 27 career blocked shots to rank 11th.

SUNNY DAYS ARE HERE
Senior guard Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) scored a season-high 13 points on five-of-six shooting from the field, including nailing three treys, in just 21 minutes of action in OU's game against SMU on Dec. 9. Hardeman's performance around the arc moved her up to No. 6 on the career three-pointers made chart. She's five treys shy of breaking into the top 5.

Hardeman also is on the verge of breaking into the all-time assists list. She currently has 200 assists and needs three to rank among the top 15.

DALES SECOND IN CAREER ASSISTS
Junior guard Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) has dished out 58 assists, including a career-high 14 against SMU, this season to rank among the NCAA elite in the category. Dales holds the No. 3 spot in the NCAA statistics with an 8.3 assists per game average. She also ranks sixth in the nation in steals per game averaging 4.1 per outing.

Dales currenlty ranks second among OU's all-time greats in assists and needs 203 assists to become OU's all-time leader in this category. In addition, Dales only needs 144 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 17 Sooners Hit Road To Take On No. 21 SMS

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