Oklahoma-Baylor Women's Basketball Game Notes

Jan. 12, 2001

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No. 23/NR Baylor (13-1, 2-1) at No. 19/16 Oklahoma (10-4, 2-1)
* Saturday, Jan. 13, 2001 -- 7 p.m. (Central time)
* Ferrell Center (capacity 11,100), Norman, Oklahoma
* TV: None
* Radio: KOMA-AM (1520)
Internet Radio: www.SoonerSports.com or www.KOMARadio1520.com

THE GAME
Oklahoma (10-4, 2-1 Big 12) continues Big 12 Conference action by traveling to Waco, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 13, to face the Baylor Bears (13-1, 2-1 Big 12). Tip time is set for 7 p.m. inside the Ferrell Center.

The contest will be broadcast live on KOMA-AM (1520) radio station and on the Internet at www.SoonerSports.com.

OU enters the game ranked 17th in the AP and 16th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' polls while the Bears are ranked 23rd in the AP poll for the first time in 23 years. BU is not ranked in the coaches' poll.

OU looks to continue its winning ways as the Sooners upset No. 14/15 Texas, 85-74, at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman Wednesday. Baylor, who suffered its first setback of the year, wants to rebound from an 84-61 loss to No. 11/9 Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, Wednesday.

SERIES RECORD OU vs. Baylor (OU leads 8-4) Oklahoma swept the two-game series a year ago against Baylor. The Sooners sport an all-time series record of 8-4 against BU. The last time OU lost to Baylor was in 1998 when the Bears handed Oklahoma a 30-point loss, 97-67, in Waco. OU has a 3-2 edge over Baylor when playing in Waco.

OU's Sherri Coale has never faced Baylor's first-year head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson. Robertson is a former player and coach at Louisiana Tech.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma returns to the Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday, Jan. 17, for a game against Texas A&M (11-3, 1-2 Big 12). Tip time is 7 p.m. Following that game, OU steps out of conference action to participate in the Big 12/ACC Challenge. The Sooners will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to face the University of North Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 21, in game that will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

OKLAHOMA (10-4, 2-1 BIG 12)
Oklahoma is coming off one of its most satisfying victories of the season. The Sooners rebounded from their last-second lost to Iowa State with an 85-74 victory over No. 14/15 Texas Wednesday. The win over UT marked the first time in school history that Oklahoma beat a ranked Texas team.

OU led by as many as 14 points midway through the first half but Texas closed out with a 24-8 run to lead 35-33 at intermission. The Sooners took the lead for good on a Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) layup less than two minutes into the second half that put Oklahoma up 39-37. The layup was part of a 14-0 OU run to open the final stanza. The Sooners would lead by as many as 22 before a late Texas run cut the score to 72-62. That was as close as UT could get.

Oklahoma was paced by junior Jen Cunningham (Kingston, Ontario) who scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her first career double-double. Sophomore Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) also posted a double-double, her fourth in as many games against the Longhorns, with 17 points and 12 boards. LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) (14), Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) (13) and Rosalind Ross (Milwaukee, Wis.) (10) all scored in double figures for OU. Caufield also pocketed a career-high eight steals, while Dales dished out eight assists.

The Sooners held UT to 39.7 percent shooting while hitting 48.3 percent of their shots, including better than 50 percent in the second half.

SOONERS LED BY COMMITTEE
The Oklahoma has had seven different players leading the Sooners' offense this season. Last game it was junior center Jen Cunningham (Kingston, Ontario) who produced team highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds against Texas for her first collegiate double-double. Before that it was senior guard Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) pouring in a career high 20 points on a 6-of-8 performance from beyond the arc. Before that, sophomore forward Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season with career highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds at Colorado and the list goes on. Bottom line, OU has many weapons to throw at its opponents and when they try to stop one or even two of those weapons, Head Coach Sherri Coale unleashes another.

Leading Oklahoma in scoring this season is preseason third team All-American LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.). Caufield averages 16.2 points and a team-high 4.6 steals, ranking her second in the nation in thefts. She leads the team in free throw percentage, of players averaging 10-plus minutes per game, hitting 86.3 percent (63-for-73). She also ranks second in assists and fourth in rebounds. Junior Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) follows closely with 15.9 ppg and leads the team and the Big 12 Conference in assists with 7.7 per game, which ranks her fourth in the nation. Dales also ranks second on the team and seventh in the nation in steals with 3.3 thefts outing, plus she's third on the team in rebounds with 4.6 rpg.

Hill continues to play well for the Sooners with six double-doubles this season. She leads the team in rebounding with 8.9 boards per game and ranks third in scoring with 12.3 points per game. Hill's boards per game rank fourth in the league. She also leads the team in field goal percentage (.504), of players averaging 10-plus minutes per game, and ranks third in free throw percentage (.794). Cunningham tops the team in blocks with 1.6 stuffs per outing and ranks second on the team in rebounds with 6.3 rpg.

As a team, OU scores 81.9 points and gets 41.8 rebounds per game compared to its opponents' 72.1 points and 36.9 rebounds.

BAYLOR (13-1, 2-1 BIG 12 )
First year Head Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson guided Baylor to a school-record 13 straight victories before suffering the first loss of the season to Texas Tech, 84-61, in Lubbock Wednesday. Mulkey-Robertson has also guided BU to its first national ranking in 23 years. Baylor is ranked 23rd in the latest Associated Press poll. In addition, the Lady Bears have already surpassed their season win total of last year (7-20). The previous mark for most consecutive victories was 12 set in the 1975-76 season.

Leading the Baylor charge is junior college transfer Sheila Lambert, junior Danielle Crockrom and senior Monica Arnold. Lambert tops the Big 12 Conference and team with a solid 24.5 points per game while Crockrom contributes 21.0 and Arnold adds 11.0 points per game. Crockrom also leads the conference and team in rebounds with 12.4 boards per outing.

Baylor opened league action with wins over Oklahoma State, 81-69, and at Kansas, 85-80. The win in Lawrence marked the first time ever Baylor had defeated the Jayhawks on their home court.

As a team, BU averages 82.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The Bears hold their opponents to 60.6 points and 34.9 boards.

A LOOK BACK AT TEXAS
(AP) - Junior Jen Cunningham scored a career-high 18 points and had 12 rebounds to lead No. 17 Oklahoma to an 85-74 victory over No. 14 Texas on Wednesday night.

Caton Hill added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Sooners (10-4, 2-1). Kenya Larkin scored a career-high 18 points and had six assists for the Longhorns (13-4, 1-2).

Oklahoma opened the second half with 14-0 run. Stacey Dales' layup with 15:07 left capped the run and gave the Sooners a 47-37 lead. Dales finished with 13 points and eight assists.

Oklahoma's LaNeishea Caufield, second in the nation in steals, had a career-high eight steals, including five in the first half.

Texas' Tracy Cook had 16 points, including 10 in the second half.

Texas committed a season-high 27 turnovers.

CUNNINGHAM HAS BECOME A FACTOR FOR SUCCESS
On of the most obvious keys to Oklahoma's success this season has been the emergence of junior Jen Cunningham (Kingston, Ontario, Canada). Not only does the 6-3 center bring size and strength to the court but she has the ability to score, rebound and block shots.

The Canadian had a stellar performance against Texas Wednesday when she recorded a career-high 18 points and had 12 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double. She also set personal bests in field goals made (8) and attempted (12) against the Longhorns. Cunningham has led the Sooners' blocking efforts with 22 of Oklahoma's 39 blocked shots.

Cunningham has provided a steady presence inside for the Sooners in the first 14 games. She's appeared in 11 starting lineups and has set or matched career highs in 10 of 13 categories, including 15 rebounds and five blocked shots at San Diego on Dec. 21.

Cunningham contributes 5.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game plus shoots 44.6 percent from the field [33-for-74]. She now ranks ninth on OU's all-time blocked shots list with 41.

STEPPING UP THE D
Even though Oklahoma prefers a fast-paced offense, the Sooners don't lose track of the importance of good solid defensive pressure. That fact is shown in the Sooners' holding eight of their first 14 opponents to below 40 percent from the field which in return produced an 8-0 record for OU. Opponents are shooting 39.7 percent from the field against the Sooners, including just 33.5 percent from three-point territory. Oklahoma has also collected 276 steals as opposed to its opponents' 179. In addition, the Sooners have outrebounded their opponents 41.8-36.9 (+4.9) per game (585-516 overall).

Only two teams have scored more than 80 points against the Sooners this season -- Southwest Missouri State and Stanford.

DALES 12 POINTS SHY OF THE 1,000-POINT PLATEAU
Junior guard Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) is just 12 points shy of becoming the 16th member of the elite 1,000-point club for the University of Oklahoma. Dales has 222 points on the season, pushing her career total to 988. She opened the season by scoring a season-high 24 points against Tulsa in the Bertha Teague Classic and has scored in double digits in 12 of 14 games this year.

OU's point guard also has dished out 108 assists, including a career-high 14 against SMU. Dales currently ranks second among OU's all-time greats in assists and needs 153 to become OU's all-time leader. She has 448 career assists.

She ranks fourth in the NCAA while leading the team and Big 12 Conference in assists per game with 7.7. In addition, she ranks second on the team in scoring (15.9 ppg) and is third in rebounding (4.6 rpg).

SOONER BACKCOURT TANDEM AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Juniors LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) and Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) are one of the best guard tandems in America. Fourteen games into the season, Caufield and Dales lead the Sooners and are among the Big 12 Conference and NCAA as they post impressive numbers.

Dales ranks fourth in the NCAA and leads the team and Big 12 Conference in assists with 7.7 per game. She also averages 15.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 67.7 percent from the charity stripe. The Canadian is also among the league's best in four categories: assists, assists/turnover ratio, steals and scoring.

Caufield leads the team and ranks seventh in the Big 12 Conference in scoring with 16.2 points per game. She also leads the league and ranks second in the nation in thefts with 4.6 steals per outing. The Oklahoman also contributes 4.3 boards and nails 86.3 percent of her free throws.

SOONER VERSATILITY
Head Coach Sherri Coale has a deeper and more versatile team as six players are playing 10-or-more minutes per game. Coale has also seen six different player lead the Sooners in scoring, making it tougher for OU's opponents to focus on stopping the Sooners' dynamitic duo of junior guards LaNeishea Caufield and Stacey Dales.

SUNNY DAYS ARE HERE
Senior Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) hit a career-high six three-pointers en route to scoring a career-high 20 points against Iowa State last Saturday. The guard had only made 12 treys on the year until she hit six of her eight attempts vs. the Cyclones.

Hardeman's performance around the arc moved her up to No. 5 on the career three-pointers made chart. She now has hit 94 career treys. She also ranks on the all-time assists list at No. 12 with 226.

For the year, she averages 5.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and hits 46.3 percent of her three-point shots. Hardeman is among the conference leaders in three-point percentage, (7th), and three-pointers made per game (15th).

DOUBLE DOSE
Sophomore Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) continues to play well for the Sooners as the 6-1 power post player dropped 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Texas Longhorns Wednesday for her sixth double-double of the season and fourth all-time against UT. Hill entered the week tied for second in the Big 12 Conference and leads the team for most double doubles.

Before the Iowa State game last Saturday, Hill had produced four straight double-doubles including career highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds at Colorado on Jan. 3. The power forward owns 12 career double-doubles.

Hill tops the team in rebounding with 8.9 per game and field goal percentage (.504) of players averaging 20-plus minutes per game. She also ranks third on the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game. Within the Big 12 Conference, Hill is fourth in rebounding, 11th in field goal percentage and 20th in scoring.

SOONERS AGAINST TOP 25 TEAMS
The Sooners are 5-2 against top-25 opponents at the Lloyd Noble Center over the last two years. The wins against Texas and Stanford marked the second and third time this year that Oklahoma has accomplished the feat after upsetting then-13th-ranked Southwest Missouri State on Dec. 1. Last year, OU defeated Texas Tech (No. 13/13), 82-76, and Kansas (No. 24/25), 88-69, in Norman.

OU's only home losses to top-25 teams have been against Iowa State, 81-79, last Saturday and to the 2000 NCAA champions Connecticut, 84-68, on Dec. 29, 2000.

NO CUPCAKES ON THIS SCHEDULE
Baylor is the eighth top-25 team that Oklahoma will have played this year. OU is 3-4 against the nation's best teams, defeating Southwest Missouri State, 89-82, Stanford, 102-98 OT and Texas, 85-74.

SOONER BRIEFS
The last time Oklahoma opened league action with a 20-point win was against Nebraska, 79-58, in Norman in 1995-96. OU defeated Colorado by 20, 89-69, in Boulder on Jan. 3.

Against Stanford, six OU players scored in double figures, marking the first time since the 1995-96 season that this feat had been accomplished. In 1995, six players posted 10 or more points in OU's opening game at TCU and seven players recorded double digits in scoring two games later vs. North Texas.

Against Colorado, three Sooners scored 20-or-more points in a single game for the first time since 1992. Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) led the way with a career-high 25 points followed by LaNeishea Caufield's (Ada, Okla.) season-high 22 while Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) added 20. Against Kansas in 1992, Carin Stites scored 23 points while Angi Guffy had 22 and Mandy Wade added 20 in OU's 88-73 win in Manhattan.

OU has dished out 276 assists to its opponents' 179 and has pocketed 184 steals to its oppositions' 129.

Oklahoma is 8-0 when leading at halftime.

Oklahoma is 10-0 when producing a better field goal percentage than its opponents and 10-1 when making more field goals than its foes.

Oklahoma is 3-4 against nationally-ranked teams and 4-1 in televised games.

OU won its first double overtime game with a 65-63 win at San Diego.

Junior Jen Cunningham (Kingston, Ontario) now ranks ninth on OU's all-time blocked shots list with 41.

LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games.

Oklahoma is 5-1 inside the Lloyd Noble Center and has won 13 of its last 15 home games.

Senior Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) and junior Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) serve as the team co-captains.

Sophomore Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) has produced six double-doubles this season and has 12 for her career.

Junior guard LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) scored her 1,000th career point against Georgia on Nov. 22. Caufield now has 1,190 career points.

OU's largest margin of victory this season has been 41 points at UALR.

Stacey Dales' (Brockville, Ontario) 14 assists against SMU on Dec. 9 tops the Big 12 Conference and ranks third for most assists ever in a single game for a Sooner.

Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) had three straight double-doubles over the holiday break to capture Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honors in a vote of a media panel for games during Dec. 18-31. Hill led OU with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Sooners' 102-98 overtime win against Stanford. Against North Texas, she scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds. Vs. San Diego, she had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Over the three-game span, she averaged 16.0 points and 11.3 rebounds and shot 59.0 from the field (23-for-39) while playing 30.7 minutes per game.

Oklahoma ranks 19th in the latest Collegiate Basketball News Women's RPI College Basketball Rankings. The Sooners are also ranked 18th in the most current WBCA/ Summerville RPI Rankings.

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