Oklahoma Set To Host Oklahoma Christian On Tuesday

Sooners host Bertha Teague Classic at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City Saturday.

Media Information

What: Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma Christian

When: Tues., Nov. 18, 2003

Where: Lloyd Noble Center

Time: 7 p.m.

Radio: none

TV: none

Rankings: #21/21 Oklahoma (1-0) , #20 Oklahoma Christian (5-0), NAIA

Live Stats and Audio: Sooner fans can watch live stats as they are posted and listen to play-by-play action of OU women's basketball by logging onto www.SoonerSports.com.

Probable Starters

Oklahoma 2002-03 stats PPG RPG

10 F Caton Hill 10.3 9.5

14 C Beky Preston 4.1 4.5

35 G Dionnah Jackson 11.8 6.5

34 G Erin Higgins 10.0 1.3

5 G Maria Villarroel 15.0 5.0

Oklahoma Christian PPG RPG

32 F Katie Fariss 9.6 8.8

2 F Tasha Turney 14.4 6.2

25 G Eden Wiens 3.5 2.8

20 G Sarah Stanley 10.0 1.6

12 G Lauren Decker 13.4 4.8

Oklahoma (1-0 exhibition)

Oklahoma opened its preseason schedule with an impressive 94-56 win over Sparta Praha of Czech Republic last Thursday at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Four players scored 10-or-more points, while all 14 Sooners saw playing time. OU jumped out to a 17-point lead six minutes into the game and went on to win by 38 points.

Senior Maria Villarroel produced a game-high 17-points, all in the first half, followed by junior Dionnah Jackson's 13 and senior Caton Hill and freshman Leah Rush's 10 points each. Sophomore Antoinette Wadsworth came off the bench to grab a game high six rebounds, while Beky Preston, Jackson and Rush each had five boards.

As a team, OU out rebounded Sparta Praha, 53-36, and dished out an impressive 21 assists to Sparta's nine. Oklahoma shot 46.5 percent from the field but only 56.8 percent from the free throw line, hitting 21-of-37 attempted foul shots.

Oklahoma Christian (5-0)

Oklahoma Christian enters Tuesday's exhibition game with a 5-0 record and No. 20 preseason NAIA ranking. The Lady Eagles have defeated Bacone College (104-41), York College (62-36), Texas Wesleyan (69-62), SW Assemblies of God (95-39.) and Bethany (Kan.).

Stephanie Findley, who begins her 18th season as head coach of the Lady Eagles, owns a career record of 353-212 and returns three starters from last season's squad which advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament.

Exhibition Success

With Oklahoma's 94-56 victory over Sparta Praha last Thursday, OU improved its record to 9-0 in exhibition games since the 2000 season.

The Sooners are 13-4 in exhibition play under Head Coach Sherri Coale.

Tuesday's game will be the third contest that the two teams have faced each other in preseason action.

OU defeated Oklahoma Christian, 93-61, in 2002-03 and won 90-62 in 2001-02.

Familiar Faces on the Sidelines

Tuesday's sidelines will feature some very familiar faces between the two programs. Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale will face former coach and good friend in Oklahoma Christian's head coach Stephanie Findley. Findley coached Coale (then Sherri Buben) for two years and Sooner assistant coach Jan Ross for one year at OC. Ross also served as an assistant coach under Findley for five years (1986-91).

Coale graduated summa cum laude and was an Academic All-American in 1987, while Ross earned academic and athletic All-America honors her senior season (1986).

Welch Out For Season

Oklahoma 5-9 sophomore guard Chelsi Welch (Plainview, Texas) has been sideline for the 2003-04 women's basketball season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to her left knee The injury occurred near the end of practice Friday.

Welch, 2003 co-Big 12 Freshman of the Year and All-Big 12 second teamer, she scored six points, grabbed three rebounds while playing just 13 minutes in OU's first exhibition game against Sparta Praha.

As a freshman, she collected numerous all-conference honors and was a Freshman All-America honorable mention pick by www.womenscollegehoops.com. She was one of 12 players on the Big 12 All-Star team that represented the United States at the 2003 World University Games in South Korea. Welch averaged 12.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for OU last season.

“This is a disappointing situation for Chelsi,” said Coale. “It's such a difficult thing when you know she worked extremely hard in the off season and was looking forward to competing this year. We're all extremely disappointed in losing Chelsi but we'll support her in every step of her rehab. Our main concern for Chelsi is getting her healthy.”

Bertha Teague Classic has Changes fOR sATURDAY

To accommodate the interest of basketball and football fans in the state of Oklahoma, changes have been made to the game schedule for the 2003 Women's Basketball Bertha Teague Classic.

Oklahoma and Oral Roberts will tip off the event at noon, followed by Tulsa and Oklahoma State at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.

This decision was made due to the recently announced kickoff times of the OU-Texas Tech (2:30 p.m.) and OSU-Baylor (11 a.m.) football games.

Tickets for the Bertha Teague Classic can be purchased at at www.tickets.com, the Ford Center Box office and Homeland Grocery Stores. Prices range from $11 to $5.

Next weekend will be the season opener for OU, Tulsa, Oklahoma State, while ORU will have had played two regular season games.

2003 Bertha Teague Classic Sat., Nov. 22

Oklahoma vs. Oral Roberts 12 p.m.

Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State 2:30 p.m.

OU Picked Fourth in Preseason Conference rankings

In a pair of preseason Big 12 Conference Polls [Coaches and Media] Oklahoma was tabbed to finish fourth in the conference race. Texas was picked to win its second straight Big 12 title in both polls. Kansas State, who finished second in last year's conference race, was tagged to finish second again while Texas Tech was chosen third, followed by OU. Colorado is a preseason pick to finish fifth, while Baylor, Missouri, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Nebraska rounds out the preseason rankings. In the coaches preseason poll, Texas A&M was chosen 12th while Nebraska was 11th.

Coale Lands Top Recruits In Early Signing Period

Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale announced Wednesday the signing of Stephanie McGhee (Howe, Okla.) and Kelly Lam (Milwaukee, Wis.) to a national letter of intent for the 2004-05 academic year.

McGhee, a two-time Daily Oklahoman Super Five pick and AAU All-American, is expected to complete her prep career as the state of Oklahoma all-time high school scorer. The 6-0 forward has averaged more than 30.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game over the past three seasons. She set the state's single-season 5-on-5 scoring record last year with 946 points, shattering the previous record of 817. The 2003 Gatorade State Player of the Year chose Oklahoman over Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Texas and Texas Tech.

“Stephanie McGhee is a tremendous high school basketball player,” Coale said. “Before she's done at Howe High School, she should become the most prolific scorer in Oklahoma state high school history. She is one of the most versatile basketball players ever to play in Oklahoma. She is also an outstanding student, as she ranks #1 in her class and maintains a 4.0 grade point average. We are thrilled to have Stephanie join our family.”

Lam, a 6-3 center, averaged 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game as a high school junior. She also shot 46 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line last season. The two-time team MVP earned All-State honorable mention accolades as a junior and was invited to the Nike Camp this past summer. Lam has been an all-conference, all-county and all-area selection for the past two seasons. She was voted the conference player of the year as a sophomore and earned second team all-conference honors as a freshman.

“Kelly is a tough, aggressive, intelligent high school basketball player,” Coale said. “She has great passion for the game and is a skilled inside player who is a true 6-3. Kelly is also an outstanding student who ranks in the top 10 percentile of her class. Kelly is a great fit for our program.”

Villarroel Returns better than ever

Senior Maria Villarroel (Margarita, Venezuela) concluded her first season as a Sooner as one of the best field goal shooter in the nation. Villarroel nailed 57.6 percent of her shots from the field to rank 14th in the final NCAA Statistics ranking as well as topping the Big 12 charts.

In July, the petite guard was named the MVP of the South America Tournament in Ecuador after averaging 23 ppg for the Venezuela National Team. She also nailed a tournament high 20 three pointers including nine against Cuba in the consolation game. She also was the tournament's leading scorer.

Look for an overall improved player on both ends of the court this season.

Sharp Shooters Return

OU's top three scorers return to the court including All-Big 12 second teamers Dionnah Jackson (St. Louis, Mo.), a junior, and Chelsi Welch (Plainview, Texas), a sophomore. Welch also garnished co-Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors and earned Freshman All-American honorable mention accolades by womencollegehoops.com last year.

Jackson dishing out the numbers

With just two seasons completed, junior Dionnah Jackson (St. Louis, Mo.) currently ranks 10th on OU's all-time assists list with 268, trailing Sooner great and WNBA standout Stacey Dales-Schuman's 764 assists.

Look At the Sooners Now

Oklahoma owns the best NCAA winning percentage of any team in the Big 12 Conference. The Sooners sport a 64.7 winning percentage, winning 11 of 17 games. Texas Tech ranks second with a 64.3 winning accuracy (27-15), followed by Texas' 60.9 winning percentage (28-18).

Sooner Coach Sherri Coale also sports the best Big 12 Coaches' NCAA Tournament winning percentage of 69.2 (9-4). Texas Tech's Marsha Sharp ranks second with a 64.3 winning percentage (27-15).

Only Oklahoma and Texas Tech has won three Big 12 regular season titles. OU, Texas and Texas Tech are the only teams in the conference that has participated in an NCAA Final Four.

Tickets, Tickets For Sale

Of OU's 30 scheduled games, 15 will take place in Norman starting Nov. 13. Season tickets are on sale now at the OU Athletic Ticket Office. To purchase your season tickets call 405-325-2424 or 800-456-4668.

Season tickets are on sale for $85 for reserved and $60 for general admission.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Oklahoma Set To Host Oklahoma Christian On Tuesday

Sooners host Bertha Teague Classic at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City Saturday.

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors