Women's Hoops Faces Washington On Saturday At 11:30 Central.

March 21, 2001

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TELEVISION: Saturday's game between second seed Oklahoma and sixth seed Washington will be aired on ESPN at 11:30 CST. Calling the action for ESPN will be Michele Tafoya, Doris Burke and Beth Mowins. Monday's West Regional championship game will be aired on ESPN2 at 9:00 p.m. CST.

RADIO: All of Oklahoma's games are carried live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network on 1520 AM KOMA. Ed Murray will be calling the play-by-play with Jenny Bramer adding color commentary. Also, there is a webcast on the internet at soonersports.com

OKLAHOMA (28-5)
Oklahoma will participate in its third overall and second straight NCAA Sweet 16 Regional this weekend. The Sooners advanced to regional action by way of defeating 15th seed Oral Roberts, 70-64, and 10th seed Stanford, 67-50, in Norman last weekend.

For the two sub-regional games, OU averaged 68.5 points, 43.5 rebounds and shot 40.5 percent from the field. Three Sooners averaged 10-plus points. Sophomore Caton Hill led the way with a double double as she averaged 15.0 points and 12.0 rebounds. Juniors Stacey Dales and Rosalind Ross followed with 15.0 ppg and 11.0 ppg, respectively. The trio also paced the team in rebounding. Hill's 12.0 boards per game ranks seventh best among NCAA Tournament games. Ross and junior Jamie Talbert grabbed 6.0 rebounds each per game, while Dales collected five boards an outing.

Oklahoma held its first sub regional opponents to just 57.0 points and 29.0 rebounds per game and a 39.3 field goal percentage.

OU entered NCAA Championship action after advancing to the Big 12 Tournament title game on March 3. OU lost to Iowa State, 68-65, at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. This was Oklahoma's first ever appearance in the Big 12 title game. In fact, OU had never won a tournament game until this season. Oklahoma defeated ninth seed Kansas, 80-61, in the quarterfinals and handed fourth seed Colorado a 102-93 loss in the semifinals.

OU has proven that it is a very versatile and deep team this year as eight different players have stepped up to lead the Sooners in scoring. OU also has eight players who are averaging 12-plus minutes per game. Oklahoma is a more mature and experienced team and, with the added depth, Head Coach Sherri Coale believes she has the right mixture to strengthen the Sooners' chances of going deeper into the NCAA Tournament.

The Sooners returned four starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's 25-8 NCAA Sweet 16 team. In addition, OU returned 73.7 percent of its points, 79.6 percent of its rebounds, 91.1 percent of its assists and 88.5 percent of its steals.

FIVE YEARS DOWN THE LINE...
Five years ago, Sherri Coale's first season as the head coach, the Sooners only won five games. Five years later, OU has only lost five games. Coale has taken the women's basketball program from a 5-22 record (1996-97) to an impressive 28-5 overall mark this season.

SERIES RECORDS

OU vs. Washington UW 1-0
Oklahoma and Washington have only faced each other once with UW winning, 83-64, in 1987 in Seattle as part of the Washington Tournament.

Oklahoma is 3-9 all-time against teams from the Pac-10 Conference.

OU vs. Southwest Missouri State SMS 2-3
Oklahoma and Southwest Missouri State have faced each other twice this season, with each winning on its home court. OU defeated the Lady Bears, 89-82, in Norman on Dec. 1, followed by a SMS victory, 69-61, in Springfield on Dec. 16. The two teams played twice to complete their regular season schedules.

Oklahoma is 16-14 against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.

OU vs. Duke First meeting
Oklahoma and Duke have never faced each other but have a player in common. Duke's Iciss Tillis, who's from Tulsa, Okla., was also recruited by OU.

Oklahoma is 1-1 against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. OU defeated North Carolina, 94-77, as part of the Big 12/ACC Challenge on Jan. 21, in Durham, N.C. Big 12 foe Iowa State also defeated North Carolina State, 71-64, in Raleigh, N.C.

[1] DUKE (30-3)
Count on Georgia Schweitzer to continue to be Duke's floor leader. The Blue Devils have won seven games in a row and defeated UW-Milwaukee, 96-63, and Arkansas, 75-54, to advance to the West Regional.

Schweitzer, plus freshman Alana Beard and sophomore Sheana Mosch, averages 10-plus points a game. Beard is good for 16.6 ppg, followed by Schweitzer's 14.2 and Mosch's 10.9 ppg. Senior forward Rochelle Parent leads the Blue Devils in rebounds with 6.1 per game. As a team, DU averages 75.4 ppg, 39.7 rpg and shoots 46.0 percent from the field.

[5] SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE (27-5)
When it comes to SMS, we all know about Jackie Stiles. The high-scoring senior averages 30.2 ppg and shoots 57.2 percent from the field. The only other Lady Bear to average 10+ points a game is senior Tara Mitchem. Mitchem contributes 13.2 ppg and ranks second on the team in rebounds with 5.6. Senior Carly Deer tops the team with 7.7 rpg.

The Lady Bears average 82.8 ppg and 40.2 rpg and shoot 49.8 percent from the field.

SMS advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 after winning its eighth straight game. The Lady Bears defeated Toledo, 89-71, and upset Rutgers, 60-53, to advance to the West Regional.

[6] WASHINGTON (21-9)
After finishing ninth in the Pac-10 and producing an overall record of 8-22 last season, Washington enters the NCAA Sweet 16 with nothing to lose. The Huskies have been shooting well, as evidenced by their 49 percent performance from the field against Florida. UW was also 27-of-34 from the free throw line Sunday.

The Huskies are led by terrific guard play from Megan Franza and Giuliana Mendiola. Franza leds the team with 16.2 ppg while Mendiola contributes 11.0 ppg. Loree Payne also averages 11.0 ppg. Senior LeAnn Sheets tops the Huskies in rebounds with 6.8 followed by Mendiola's 6.3.

As a team, Washington averages 73.7 ppg, 42.5 rpg and shoots 40.8 from the field.

ONE PAC-10 TEAM DOWN, ONE TO GO
Oklahoma eliminated Pac-10 foe Stanford Monday from the NCAA Championship and will face Washington, a member of the Pac-10 Conference, Saturday, for the right to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history.

SOONER HOOPS A HOT TICKET
Oklahoma's Lloyd Noble Center is becoming a popular place for all ages as the women's basketball team averaged more than 10,000 fans in its last three home games. The Sooners played in front of a record crowd of 11,050 Monday to earn their second straight opportunity to participate in the NCAA Sweet 16. That figure also is the largest to ever witness a female sporting event in the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has posted 23 school attendance marks since Sooner coach Sherri Coale took over in 1996-97. OU has also increased its yearly attendance average each season over the past four years.

This year OU nearly doubled its average home attendance. The Sooners drew 4,367 fans per game compared to last year's 2,659.

SOLD OUT!
Oklahoma announced for the first time in women's basketball history a sell-out crowd last Friday for the 2001 NCAA first and second round games at the Lloyd Noble Center (11, 100) in Norman. The Norman site had the only NCAA first and second round games to be preannounced as sellouts.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
In NCAA action, Oklahoma is holding its opponents to just 57.0 points per game and 29.0 rebounds per outing. OU is scoring 68.5 ppg and grabbing an impressive 43.5 rpg. The Sooners are also holding their opponents to just 39.3 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from the arc.

BIG 12 ADVANCES FOUR TEAMS TO NCAA REGIONALS
For the first time in its five-year history, the Big 12 Conference has advanced four teams to NCAA Regionals. The league will have a representative in each regional as Iowa State, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas Tech have earned berths in the Sweet 16.

The Big 12 had a nation-leading seven teams invited to the NCAA Tournament and went 5-2 in first round games and 4-1 in second round games. The Big 12 is the only conference with four teams still playing. Three other conferences are tied for second with two teams remaining.

Iowa State has advanced to a regional for the third time- all in the last three years. The Cyclones advanced to the Elite Eight in 1999 before failing to Georgia. Texas Tech is also making its third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance and ninth overall. The Lady Raiders advanced to the regional final last year before ending their season against Tennessee.

Oklahoma has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year and third time overall. The Sooners never have played in a regional final. Missouri is making its second regional semifinal appearance and first since 1982. The Tigers also never have advanced to the Elite Eight.

OU IN REGIONAL ACTION...
In Oklahoma's rather youthful experience in the NCAA Tournament, the Sooners are winless in regional play. However, OU's two losses in regional action were to the eventual national champion: Texas, 1986, and Connecticut, 2001. In first round play, OU has a perfect 3-0 mark, followed by a 2-1 second round mark.

SOONER BITS ... UNTIL THIS YEAR
OU has never played in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. OU has never advanced to two consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. OU is 3-0 in NCAA first round games. OU is 3-0 in NCAA Tournament games played in Norman. OU has never won 28 games in a single season. OU has matched its most games ever played in a single season with 33 heading into regional action. OU captured back-to-back Big 12 regular season titles, including its first outright this season. OU got its first Associated Press first team All-American in junior Stacey Dales. OU got its first defensive player of the year in junior LaNeishea Caufield. OU was the only team in the Big 12 Conference to go through the conference road schedule untouched (8-0). OU earned its second 20-win season in as many years. It has been 13 years since an OU women's basketball team put together back-to-back 20-win seasons. The 1983-1984-85 and 1985-86 teams accomplished this feat three years in a row.

LIMITED NCAA EXPERIENCE
Only eight players on this year's roster have ever played in an NCAA Tournament game. Only four current players averaged more than 20-plus minutes in last year's NCAA Sweet 16 run -- returning starters LaNeishea Caufield (3 games/36.0 mpg), Stacey Dales (3 games/37.3), Sunny Hardernan (3 games, 27.0) and Caton Hill (3 games, 26.0). Caufield tops the team in NCAA scoring average (23.7), followed by Dales (12.0) and Jadrea Seeley (7.3), while Hill is OU's best rebounder in NCAA Tournament action, pulling down 8.7 rpg.

DALES GOOD FOR 45.3% OF FGS MADE
All-American Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) has had a hand in 45.3 percent of all the Sooners' field goals made this year. She ranks sixth in the NCAA at 7.4 assists per game and tops the team with 198 field goals made. She also has assisted on 245 of OU's 990 made field goals.

Dales, the soon-to-be school recordholder in assists, moved into Oklahoma's top 15 career scoring list earlier this season and currently has 1,296 points. Dales also became the only player in school history to score 1,000-plus points and dish out more than 500 assists.

45.7% IN THE PAINT
All-America candidate LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) has scored 45.7 percent of her 530 points this season in the paint. She's netted 242 points either on a layup or by slashing and driving into the paint. (note: This total excludes the game at Southwest Missouri State - a shot chart was not kept at that game)

DALES 16 ASSISTS SHY OF RECORD
Junior Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) is 16 assists shy of tying the school record of most career assists. She currently has 585 career assists while the school record is 601. Dales has the nation's sixth-best assists per game average of 7.4.

SIX IS ENOUGH
Oklahoma had six players average 10-surplus points during the Big 12 Tournament March 7-10. OU also had four different players to pace the team in scoring.

The Sooners were led by junior reserve Rosalind Ross who averaged a team-high 14.3 points per game. Junior guards Stacey Dales and LaNeishea Caufleld contributed 14.0 and 13.3 points, respectively, while senior Sunny Hardernan scored 12.0 ppg. Sophomore Caton Hill (11.7) and junior Jamie Talbert (11.0) also averaged 10-plus points a game.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY..
For the past two years, OU's coach Sherri Coale has guided the Sooners to an impressive 53-13 record and a 28-4 Big 12 Conference mark. Oklahoma collected its second conference regular season title and is making its first ever back-to-back appearance in the NCAA Tournament bracket and Sweet 16. Coale has coached Oklahoma's first Associated Press All-Americans in Stacey Dales and Phylesha Whaley. Dales received first team accolades last week, while Whaley was named to the honorable mention team a year ago. Coale has also coached the Big 12 Player of the Year for the past two seasons ... Dales (2001) and Whaley (2000).

17-0 RUN
Oklahoma sandwiched a school and Big 12 17-0 run record between two losses to Big 12 Conference foe Iowa State from Jan. 6 to March 10. The Sooners also plowed through their league road schedule with a flawless 8-0 record.

DALES CLAIMS SINGLE SEASON ASSISTS RECORD
With four assists against Stanford Monday night, junior point guard Stacey Dales became OU's all-time single-season assists leader with 245. Dales averages team highs of 7.4 apg and 16.1 points per game.

HILL'S AMONG ALL-TIME SOONER GREATS
With 26 rebounds in the first two NCAA Tournament games, sophomore Caton Hill now ranks among Oklahoma's all-time greats in rebounds. Hill has collected 549 career boards in just two seasons at OU. The school record is 1,071 set by Molly McGuire.

SUNNY DELIGHT
Senior Sunny Hardeman tied the school's all-time record for games played in with 122 against Stanford in the second game of this year's NCAA Championship. Hardeman also ranks among the Sooners' greats in three pointers made, attempted and accuracy

BIG 12'S SEVEN NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS LEADS NATION
The Big 12 Conference's success during the regular season led to a nation and conference-high seven teams selected to the NCAA Tournament. The Big 12 had six teams selected on two occasions. The SEC and ACC each got six teams in the 2001 tournament, while the Big East and Big Ten had five apiece.

Representing the Big 12 are regular season champion Oklahoma, tournament champion Iowa State, Baylor, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and Texas Tech. With Baylor earning its first berth, every Big 12 team has made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

BIG 12 GETS THREE NO. 2 SEEDS
The Big 12 accomplished another first with three teams receiving No. 2 seeds and hosting subregionals. Two seeds include Texas Tech in the Mideast, Iowa State in the Midwest and Oklahoma in the West.

Prior to the 2001 NCAA Tournament, the Big 12 had never bad more than one team seeded in the top two in the same year. Texas Tech was a top seed in the 1998 bracket, but no other conference team was seeded higher than fourth. Colorado earned a two seed in the 1997 bracket with Texas and Kansas getting three seeds. Texas Tech got a two seed in the 1999 tournament with Iowa State getting a four seed. Iowa State and Texas Tech were the league's top-seeded teams last year with both getting three seeds.

OU SETS SCHOOL RECORDS
Oklahoma has established a school record for most wins in a single season with 28 to date. OU has also recorded Sooner bests for points recorded (2,716), assists (656), three pointers made (201), attempted (519) and minutes played (6,700).

16-2 ON TV
Oklahoma sports an impressive 16-2 record when playing in a televised game, including a 4-0 record on Sooner Sports Network, a 5-2 mark on Fox Sports Network and a 2-0 record on ESPN2. OU's only losses on television have been to Iowa State on Fox Sports Network. The Sooners have not appeared on ESPN this season.

STREAKS AND TRENDS
Oklahoma is undefeated when producing a better field goal percentage than its opponents (26-0) ... when leading at halftime (26-0) ... when scoring 80-plus points in a game (21 -0) ... OU is 22-1 when collecting more total rebounds than its opponent ... the Sooners are 27-2 when out rebounding their foes on the defensive end but when they are outhustled they are 14 ... The Sooners are 13-2 when they collect more offensive rebounds.

SOONER TRIPLE THREAT
Oklahoma is led by juniors LaNeishea Caufleld and Stacey Dales plus sophomore Caton Hill who combine for 54.4 percent of the Sooners' offense and 45.1 percent of OU's rebounding. The trio also account for 62.0 percent of the team's assists and 68.3 of its steals. Between the three, they shoot 49.1 percent from the field (55 1 -of1123).

SEEING DOUBLE
Sophomore Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) recorded her l3th double-double of the season when she scored 14 points and bad 14 rebounds against Stanford in the second game of the NCAA Championship.

Oklahoma has had five different players tally 22 double-doubles in 33 games. Other double-double performances for the Sooners this season include junior Stacey Dales (at Texas' 17 points, 10 rebounds, vs. Baylor, 10 points, 13 assists, vs. K-State, 20 points, 12 assists, at OSU, 18 points, 10 rebounds, vs. SMU, 14 points, 14 assists), junior LaNeishea Caufleld (at ORU 's 22 points, 10 rebounds and vs. Iowa State, 13 points, 12 assists) and junior Jen Cunningham (vs. Texas 18 points, 12 rebounds) and junior Jamie Talbert (vs. Colorado 10 Points, 10 rebounds).

SHARING THE WEALTH
OU has proven that it does not have to depend on its trio of superstars, Stacey Dales, LaNeishea Caufield and Caton Hill, to win games as eight different players have led the Sooners in scoring this season.

In addition, the Sooners share the wealth as shown in their assists per game statistic. OU averages 19.9 apg compared to its opponent's 13.5. Oklahoma has dished out 212 more assists (OU-656, Opponent-444) than its opponents this season. OU has also pocketed an additional 71 steals and turned the ball over nine less times.

DALES NAMED FIRST-TEAM AP ALL-AMERICAN
Oklahoma's Stacey Dales became the first OU women's basketball player ever to be named to the Associated Press All-America first team. She also was the only junior and the only player who did not receive All-America accolades a year ago to be among the top five players in the nation this season.

Joining Dales on the first team are Ruth Riley of Notre Dame, Katie Douglas of Purdue, Southwest Missouri State's Jackie Stiles and Georgia's Kelly Miller.

BIG 12 HONORS
For the second consecutive year, Oklahoma sports the Big 12 Conference Coach and Player of the Year. Fifth-year coach Sherri Coale and Sooner point guard Stacey Dales were awarded the league's top honors. Dales also appeared on the All-Big 12 first team, while teammates LaNeishea Caufleld, a junior guard, and Caton Hill, a sophomore forward, were selected to the All-Big 12 second team. Former Sooner Phylesha Whaley received the leagues player of the year honor last season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Women's Hoops Faces Washington On Saturday At 11:30 Central.

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