OU Women's Basketball In Action Sunday at 2 p.m.

MEDIA INFORMATION
No. 15/16 Oklahoma Sooners (8-1) vs. Illinois (5-4)
Date & Time: Sun., Dec. 28 @ 2 p.m. CST
Site: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000) - Norman, Okla.
Series Record: OU leads 1-0
Tickets: Tickets still available. To purchase call 405-325-2424.
Radio: All Oklahoma games are broadcast live on KOMA-AM (1520) with Brian Brinkley (play-by-play) and Tara Robinett (color analyst). These broadcasts also are available through the OU athletics web site.
TV: None
Real-Time Stats: Live in-game statistics are available through OU's athletics web site.
Web Site: Oklahoma (www.SoonerSports.com), Illinois (www.fightingillini.com)

PROBABLE STARTERS
OKLAHOMA (8-1)                    PPG             RPG
10   F   Caton Hill                        15.0              5.4
14   F   Beky Preston                  6.8                6.8
35   G   Dionnah Jackson           11.6               5.4
34   G   Erin Higgins                    5.4                1.9
5   G   Maria Villarroel              14.6                5.1

ILLINOIS (5-4)                           PPG                RPG
30   F   Aminata Yanni                16.2                 3.7
34   F   Erin Wigley                       6.9                 5.7
55   C   Cindy Dallas                    12.4                7.4
22   G   Tiffanie Williams              17.0                7.9
33   G   Angelina Williams            14.6                5.9

UPCOMING ACTION
     After taking four days off for the holidays, Oklahoma (8-1) women's basketball team will conclude its non-conference schedule with two-home games on Dec. 28 and 30. OU will host Illinois (5-4) on Sun., Dec 28 at 2 p.m., followed by Wichita State (2-4) on Tues., Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.
      OU is coming off a tough 71-55 loss to No. 2 Tennessee in Norman on Dec. 21. The Sooners scored a season low 55 points en route to shooting season lows from the field (.338, 24-of-71) and free throw line (.444, 4-of-9). OU also had its second worst performance from the three-point line (.125, 3-of-24).
      Illinois (5-4) is on a four-game winning streak but looking to win its first road game of the season. IU's most recent victory was over Alabama State, 89-70, on Dec. 21. The Illini have four players who are averaging double digits in scoring and five plus rebounds per game.

OU-ILLINOIS SERIES
      The OU-Illinois series is a short one as the Sooners own a 1-0 advantage over the Illini. Oklahoma defeated IU, 91-69 (+22), inside the Lloyd Noble Center on Dec. 16, 2001.
      Senior Caton Hill (14 points, 4 rebounds) and juniors Dionnah Jackson (4 pts, 6 rebs, 6 assists) and Lauren Shoush (6 minutes) played in that game. OU shot 48.5 percent from the field (33-of-68), 43.8 percent from the three-point line (7-of-16) and 94.7 percent from the free throw line (18-of-19). Illinois also had solid numbers: 46.6 percent from the field (27-of-58), 42.1 percent from the arc (8-of-19) and 87.5 percent from the stripe (7-of-8).
      The Sooners dished out 22 assists and forced 28 Fighting Illini turnovers.

OU-WICHITA STATE SERIES
Oklahoma leads the all-time series against Wichita State 11-6 and has won the previous three games. OU defeated WSU, 70-64, last season while playing inside the sold out O'Shaughnessy Hall (1,200), due to renovations to the Charles Koch Arena. The last time the Shockers beat OU was in 1999 when they handed the Sooners a 71-56 loss in Wichita.
Wichita State was OU's first post season opponent under current Head Coach Sherri Coale. OU eliminated the Shockers, 75-67, in the first round of the 1999 WNIT hosted by WSU.

OKLAHOMA (8-1)
      Oklahoma returned a seasoned group of letterwinners and added an elite mix of talented newcomers, including two redshirt freshmen, to its 2003-04 roster making this year's team its deepest in eight seasons. Even though the Sooners have 10 underclassmen on the roster, eight of the returning players saw an average of 10 minutes per game last year.
      With early season success, the Oklahoma women's basketball program has returned to the national spotlight under eighth-year head coach Sherri Coale. The Sooners slide a bit i after losing to No. 2 Tennessee but own an overall record of 8-1, earning them a No. 15 and No. 16 national ranking in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls, respectively.
      Not only has OU returned to the national spotlight, the Sooners have made it clear that they can score and play defense, by producing a +20.9 point scoring margin over its opponents. OU ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in offensive production, averaging 81.7 points per game. OU also ranks among the league's top 5 in nine other categories, including first in rebounding margin (+12.6).
      Oklahoma has scored 80-plus points in six of nine games and hit the 90-point plateau three times (90 vs. ORU, 95 at Pepperdine, 90 at Montana State). OU showcased its offensive power as the Sooners averaged 90 ppg and shot 59.1 percent (65-of-110) from the field at the Yellow Book Turkey Shoot Out over the Thanksgiving break. OU defeated Siena, 85-70, in the opening round and handed host Pepperdine a 95-77 loss in the title game. The Sooners 95 points scored were the most since OU recorded 101 against Colorado in the 2001 Big 12 Tournament.
      OU's season opening win over ORU was one of the most lopsided victories in women's basketball history. The 48-point margin of victory tied for the fifth-most impressive win in school history, while the 90 point production marked OU's highest output since scoring 103 points in a season-opening win over TCU on Nov. 25, 2003.
      The Sooners have a well-balanced ability to score and rebound as five different players have led OU in each category this year. In addition, OU has three players averaging 10 or more points and four with 4.5 plus rebounds per game.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE SOONERS
      Through the first nine games of the season Oklahoma has displayed a well-balanced attack from its front and back courts. To date, the Sooners are getting 56.2 percent of their points from the guards and 43.8 percent from post players.
      Senior guard Maria Villarroel (14.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, .575 FG%) has been a vital piece of Oklahoma's transition game for the past two seasons. She has scored in double digits in all but one game this season and ranks second on the team with 14.6 points per game. She scored a season-high 24 points in the win at Stephen F. Austin by hitting 10-of-12 shots. Villarroel opened the season by hitting her first 17 free throws, she currently ranks first on the team attempting 4.3 foul shots per game.
      Junior Dionnah Jackson (11.6 ppg, team-high 4.4 apg and 5.4 rpg, .933 FT%) is in her second season as the everyday point guard for the Sooners. Jackson is getting her points as a slasher, driving to the basket and creating havoc for opposing defenses. She moved up to fourth (previously sixth) in the Big 12 in assists/turnover ratio (+2.0) and 12th in steals (2.00) per game. Jackson earned a spot on the Pepperdine All-Tournament team, after averaging 12 points, three rebounds and three steals per game and shooting 68.8 percent from the field.
      Senior forward and preseason All-America candidate Caton Hill (15.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, two double-doubles) has lived up to her accolades. She leads the team in scoring and three-point field goal shooting (.462). She was named OU's MVP of the Bertha Teague Classic on Nov. 22 after scoring 17 points with the assistance of three 3s against ORU in the season opener. She then piled up back-to-back double-doubles on the road vs. SMU (14p, 10r) and Montana State (23p, 10r). At MSU, she hit a career-best 8-of-10 shots (80%), was 4-of-4 from the arc (100%) and 3-of-4 from the foul line (75%). She now has a school record 31 career double-doubles and moved up to No. 2 on the all-time rebounding list after collecting nine against No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 21. She's 174 shy of tying the school record in this category.
      Redshirt-freshman Erin Higgins (5.4 ppg, .333 3-pt. FG%) has slid into the starting lineup after sophomore Chelsi Welch was sidelined in November with a season ending ACL injury. She leads the Sooners with three-pointers made (1.4) and attempted (4.3) per game, plus ranks fourth on the team with a .333 three-point field goal percentage.
      After averaging only four points and four rebounds per game last year, sophomore Beky Preston has almost doubled her scoring output (6.8 ppg). She also owns a team-best 6.8 rpg. In addition, she is showing offensive diversity by adding a few extra post moves to her arsenal over the summer months. Preston was named MVP of the Pepperdine Invitational in November after leading the Sooners in scoring and rebounding.
      Freshman forward Leah Rush (8.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .580 FG%) and freshman guard Britney Brown (3.3 ppg, 1.7 apg, .409 FG%) have made important contributions this season. Rush has scored 10-plus points in four games including a team-high 16 points in the home-opening win against Southeast Missouri State, hitting six of seven shots. Brown has played valuable minutes in relief of Jackson at the point guard position. She took No. 19/23 Utah for a career-high 10 points, burying two three-pointers and hitting four of seven shots in the 73-65 OU win. Brown also dished out a personal-best four assists against Siena (N28).

ILLINOIS (5-4)
      Illinois is on a four-game winning streak but is still looking for its first road win of the season. IU's most recent victory was over Alabama State, 89-70, on Dec. 21.
      The Illini have four players who are averaging double digits in scoring and five plus rebounds per game. Junior Tiffanie Guthrie tops the squad in scoring with 17.0 ppg and 7.9 rebounds per contest. Guthrie is followed by senior Aminata Yanni's 16.2 ppg, junior Angelina Williams' 14.6 and 12.4 ppg comes from senior Cindy Dallas. Dallas also ranks second on the team with 7.4 rpg.
      Guthrie, who plays all positions, is IU's most complete player, leading the Illini in points (17.0), rebounds (7.9), assists (4.2) and steals (2.0), while ranking second in blocks (0.7). She is also among the Big Ten best in scoring and rebounds per game.
      Dallas set a single-game field goal percentage record when she hit all 10 attempted shots against Illinois State on Dec. 6, inside the United Center in Chicago. She tops the league for best field goal percentage, hitting 34-of-52 shots (.654 percent) in seven games. Dallas was recently granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. She has suffered three ACL injuries, one in high school and two at Illinois. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native only played a total of 48 minutes her first two years at IU.
      Illinois averages 75.3 points and 43.4 rebounds per game. Of the four games IU's two losses have been against top 25 teams (Louisiana Tech, 61-67, and UC-Santa Barbara, 59-70). The four losses combined have been less than a 10 point margin (-9.25).
      Ten players for Illinois average 10 minutes or more per game.
      Head coach Theresa Grentz (Immaculate, 1974) returned four starters and 12 letterwinners that produced a 17-11 record and 9-7 mark, sixth-best in the Big Ten, a year ago. Coach Grentz led IU to its eighth NCAA Tournament before losing to Virginia, 72-56, in the first round. IU has participated in post season play in seven of Grentz eight years at Illinois. She currently ranks eighth among the all-time winningest Division I women's basketball coaches.

HOLIDAY FAMILY PACKS
      Oklahoma still has two home games remaining where Sooner fans can take advantage of the Holiday Family Packs which includes your game ticket, a regular hotdog, a small Coke and an OU t-shirt (coupon redeemable at OU Authentic) all for just $10 (minimum order of four packages)!
      Call 800-456-GoOU or online at www.soonersports.com and get your tickets before it's too late!
      Holiday Family Pack coupon can be used for one of the following games:
Illinois Sun., Dec. 28
Wichita State Tues., Dec. 30

UP NEXT
Oklahoma continues its homestand as the Sooners host Missouri Valley member Wichita State (2-4) on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at the Lloyd Noble Center.
This will be the 18th meeting between OU and Wichita State. OU leads the all-time series 11-6 with the last meeting resulting in a 70-64 win for the Sooners last year at Wichita State.

SOONERS STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE STRONG
      Oklahoma currently ranks 35th in the most recent (Dec. 21) WBCA-Summerville RPI Rankings.
      This week seven of OU's opponents are ranked in the AP Top 25, while two another are receiving votes in the either the AP or ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls.
      On the slate are eight teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and four to the WNIT a year ago --- Pepperdine, Utah, Tennessee, Illinois, Texas (Final Four), Kansas State, Texas Tech (Elite Eight) and Colorado (Sweet 16). WNIT participants from the 2002-03 season are Montana State, Siena, Baylor (runner-up) and Missouri.

HOME ATTENDANCES RANKINGS OUT
      OU's game against Tennessee ranks as the seventh best attended women's basketball game of the 2003-04 season. OU-UT drew a record setting 12,080 fans, the most ever to witness a women's basketball game in the state of Oklahoma. The previous best was 11,245 for the NCAA Tournament second-round game between OU and Villanova on March 18, 2002. The previous best for an OU regular season game was 10,713 when the Sooners hosted Connecticut on Dec. 29, 1999.
      Connecticut ranks No. 1 for the third-straight week, bringing in an average of 13,843 fans per home game. Oklahoma leaped into the top-10 at No. 9 after hosting Tennessee.
      Eight of the Big 12's teams rank among the nation's top-36 in home attendance average, including five in the top-12.

BIG THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES
      One of the biggest threats, but smallest bodies on the OU roster is senior Maria Villarroel. Villarroel stands 5-8 and weighs about 125 pounds. Most opponents didn't consider her that big of a threat considering her size. However, after averaging a team-high 15.0 points and ending the season ranked 14th in the NCAA in field goal percentage, shooting 57.6 percent, this year's foes think differently.
      Villarroel, a guard, continues to be among the Sooner leaders in field goal percentage, shooting 57.5 percent (50-of-87), second best of players attempting more than 10 shots. She also ranks second on the team with 14.8 points per game and ranks third in rebounds with 5.1 boards per outing.
      Villarroel has recorded double digits in scoring in eight of OU's nine games played and has grabbed four-plus rebounds in all but one contest. She opened the season hitting her first 17 attempts from at the free throw strip and has produced a field goal percentage of 50 percent or better in six contests.

JACKSON AMONG ALL-TIME ASSIST BEST
Junior Dionnah Jackson dished out seven assists against No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 21 to move up to the No. 5 spot on Oklahoma career assists list. She currently has 308 and looks to move past Angie Alexander's (1989-92) 367 (+59) and LaNeishea Caufield's 377 (+69) before season ends for fourth best.
Sooner great and ESPN analyst Stacey Dales-Schuman holds the school record with 764 assists. Dales is the only player to have scored more than 1,900 points, grabbed 700 plus rebounds and dished out more than 700 assists in a Sooner uniform. She was the first Oklahoma women's basketball player to earn academic and athletic All-America honors in the same year (2002). Dales was a two-time Associated Press All-American, consensus All-American, Kodak All-American, USBWA All-American, Women's Basketball News Service All-American and Kodak District V All-American in 2002 and 2001 and was selected as the Big 12 Player of the Year twice (2001, 2003) and Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.

VILLARROEL RANKS AMONG ALL-TIME BLOCKERS
Standing at 5-8, senior Maria Villarroel has blocked four shots this season, ranking her 14th on OU's all-time shot blocking chart (25). She concluded last season with a team-best 21 blocked shots. Villarroel and junior point guard Dionnah Jackson each has a team-best four blocked shots this season.

SUPPORTING CASE
In all but two game (at SFA) at least one bench player has produced double digits in the scoring column for the Sooners. Krista Sanchez started things off with 13 points vs. ORU (N22), while freshman standout Leah Rush carried the load for the next three games (16 vs. SEMO (N24); 13 vs. Siena (N28); 10 at Pepperdine (N29); 13 at SMU (D3)). Sophomore Lauren Shoush also stepped up during the SMU game, scoring 10 points. Norman native and freshman Britney Brown was a surprise when she took No. 19/23 Utah (D7) for a career-high 10 points (two threes plus a pair of free throws). Shoush followed that performance with a personal-best 18 points at Montana State (D10), hitting a career- and game-tying four 3s.

JACKSON REMAINS A LEADER
      Junior point guard Dionnah Jackson looks like a totally different player on the court this season. A year ago the St. Louis, Mo., native was forced to be the team leader on and off the court, something she wasn't accustom to doing. Jackson's nature is to lead by example and to be forced to lead verbally put her in an uncomfortable zone last season.
      However, she took that challenge and guided OU to its fourth consecutive NCAA Championships. You see a more confident, relaxed and buoyant Jackson on the court this season with the return of senior Caton Hill. Hill and Jackson were voted the team's co-captains for the 2003-04 campaign.
      Jackson ranks among the top three in 11 of the team's 16 statistical categories, including first in defensive rebounds (4.3), assists (4.4), steals (2.0) and blocked shots (0.4) per game. She contributes 11.6 points (third best on the team and 24th in the Big 12) and 5.4 rebounds per game (second on the team). Jackson's field goal shooting has improved as well, hitting 50.0 percent of her shots (41-of-82), compared to last year's 42.5 percent. Her biggest jump has been at the free throw line where she's hitting 93.3 percent (14-of-15). A year ago, she connected on just 69.3 percent (79-of-114) of foul shots taken.

HILL HAS CONSECUTIVE DOUBLE DOUBLES
      Senior Caton Hill increased her career double double record to 31 with back-to-back DD road performances against SMU (14 points and 10 rebounds) and Montana State (23 points and 10 rebounds). Hill's numbers at MSU were solid as she went 4-of-4 from the three point line. Her four made treys matched a career best while her 8-of-10 performance from the floor marked a personal best of 80 percent field goal shooting (when attempting and making more than one shot). The Ada., Okla., native also canned 3-of-4 foul shots in just 24 minutes of action.
      The 6-1 power forward past former Sooner great Phylesha Whaley on Oklahoma's all-time rebounding chart against Tennessee on Dec. 21. Hill now owns 897 career rebounds for second best on OU's chart.
      Hill has surpassed several milestones already this season including moving up to No. 9 on Oklahoma's all-time scoring list. She surpassed Tami Rogers for the ninth spot after scoring a season-high 23 points at Montana State. Hill has a total to 1,378 points in three-plus years. Hill already holds the school record for most defensive boards (625).

SOONER BENCH POWER
Out of Oklahoma's 735 points scored this season 34.7 percent (255 points) has come from its bench. Freshmen Leah Rush's 79 points account for 31 percent of the bench scoring.
As a group, OU reserves have outscored the opponent subs 255-140.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Even thought 10 of 14 players on the OU roster are underclassmen, the Sooners don't lack leadership as seniors Caton Hill and Maria Villarroel top the team in scoring and rank among the top rebounders.
Hill leads OU in scoring with 15.0 points per game, followed closely by Villarroel 's 14.6 ppg. Both players average better than 5.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore center Beky Preston grabs an OU best 6.8 rpg.

THE RECORD WATCH
Senior Caton Hill is 100 rebounds short of 1,000 and 118 shy of 1,500 points. If she reaches the 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds mark she will become just the second Sooner in school history to do so. Molly McGuire is currently the only Sooner to hold this honor. She scored 2,187 points and grabbed 1,071 rebounds from 1980-1983.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Women's Basketball In Action Sunday at 2 p.m.

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