Double Dose of Basketball Saturday

Oklahoma (4-3)
vs.
SMS (4-2)

Date: Saturday, Dec. 11, 2004
Tipoff: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Norman, Okla.
Arena: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000)
Television: Sooner Sports Network
Oklahoma City - KWTV (Ch. 9),
Tulsa - KWBT, Lawton - KSWO,
Woodward - KOMI, Kansas City - Metro Sports (tape delayed)
Radio: KOKC (1520 AM)
Records: Oklahoma: 4-3 & SMS: 4-2
Rankings: OU & SMS - not ranked
Series: SMS leads 3-2
Internet: A live audio stream of all OU women's basketball games are available via the Internet at OU's official site, www.SoonerSports.com.
Tickets: Holiday Family Packs are $10 which includes your game ticket, a regular hotdog, a small Coke and an OU t-shirt (redeemable at OU Authentic). (minimum order of four packages required)
Coaches: OU's Sherri Coale is 160-98 in nine seasons with the Sooners.Katie Abrahamson-Henderson is in her third season at SMS with an overall record of 50-19.

The Oklahoma women's basketball team (4-3) enters Saturday's game looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The Sooners will host SMS (4-2) at 3:30 p.m. inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. Saturday's game is part of a true double-header with the men's team. The Sooner men will host Northern Colorado at 12:30 p.m. Fans that attend the men's game are encouraged to stay for the women's contest free of charge.

Both the men's and women's games will be televised by Sooner Sports Network. SMS and Mediacom will also televise the women's game back to Springfield, Mo. The game will air locally on KWTV-cable Ch 9 with Mark Rodgers (play-by-play) and Patty Phillps (color analyst) calling the action. Brian Brinkley and Tara DeGiusti will be calling the action live on KOKC-AM (1520). The game can also be heard on the Internet at SoonerSports.com.

The Sooners most recently lost to No. 23/25 TCU, 81-65, in Fort Worth, Texas. Senior standout Dionnah Jackson and sophomore sensation Leah Rush led OU. Jackson produced her third straight double-double with 16 points and a team- and career-high 15 rebounds. Rush led OU with 22 points and had nine boards. The duo hit four of the team's nine three-pointers. As a team, OU still had trouble getting the ball to go through the rim. The Sooners shot just 32.9 percent from the field (23-of-70) and 30.0 percent (9-of-30) from the arc.

Jackson leads Oklahoma in almost every category including scoring (15 pg), rebounding (7.6 pg), assists (5.1 pg), steals (3.4 pg) and blocks (1.6 pg). Rush follows with 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Erin Higgins and senior Lauren Shoush contributes 6.7 ppg each, while sophomores Krista Sanchez and Chelsi Welch each account for 6.4 ppg. Five players are responsible for 10-or-more assists.

OU is still in search of a consistent rotation as 11 players are averaging 10-plus minutes per game. Only Jackson, Rush and Erin Higgins are playing 20 minutes or more per game. Oklahoma is currently averaging 68.4 points and 42.1 rebounds per game but is only shooting 28.7 percent from the three-point range and 40.1 percent from the field.

SMS is winners of four-straight including a 66-44 victory over Big 12 foe Missouri Wednesday. The Lady Bears only two losses came against Richmond (91-71) and Tulsa (71-67) in mid-November.

Following finals next week, OU returns to the road to face Louisiana Tech on Dec. 18 in Eugene, Ore., and Utah on Dec. 21, in Salt Lake City.

PROBABLE STARTERS
OKLAHOMA (4-3)
24 F Leah Rush (6-1, So., Amarillo, Texas - 11.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
34 G Erin Higgins (5-9, So., Oklahoma City - 6.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
35 G Dionnah Jackson (5-9, Sr., St. Louis, Mo. - 15.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
11 G Laura Andrews (6-0, Jr., Washington, Okla. - 3.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
00 G Chelsi Welch (5-9, So., Plainview, Texas - 6.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg)

SMS (4-2)
24 F Nicole Lehman (6-0, Sr., Lamar, Mo. - 8.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
54 C Tiff Terwelp (6-2, Fr., Quincy, Ill. - 7.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
34 G Sarah Klaassen (5-9, Jr., Whitewater, Kan. - 14.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
15 G Jenni Lingor (5-10, Sr., Tahlequah, Okla. - 21.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
03 G K.C. Cowgill (5-8, Sr., Grand Island, Neb. - 10.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

SERIES HISTORY
SMS leads the series 3-2. The last time the two teams faced each other was in 2001. That year they squared off twice, winning their respective game on their home court.

OU also won the first ever meeting between the two programs, 68-66, in 1980.

Sherri Coale is 1-3 against SMS but has not face the Lady Bears new coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.

SMS (4-2)
SMS is coming off a 66-44 victory over Missouri Wednesday night in Springfield. The Lady Bears have won four consecutive games and come to Norman with a 4-2 overall record.

After opening the regular season with a pair of losses, the Lady Bears have regrouped to earn an average winning margin of +22. Senior Jenni Lingor, a native of Tahlequah, Okla., has led the team in scoring and rebounding in four of the six games. She's averaging 21.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. The 5-10 guard has recorded 20-plus points in each of the last four games and was two assists shy from a triple double against Missouri.

Also averaging in double digits in scoring is junior Sarah Klaassen and senior K.C. Cowgill who contributes 14.5 and 10.0 points, respectively.

As a team, SMS is averaging 76.0 points and 34.8 rebounds per game. The Lady Bears are also shooting a solid 51.4 percent from the field and 43.0 percent from beyond the arc. The team averages 19.7 turnovers per game.

SATURDAY'S BASKETBALL PROMOTIONS
Women's Basketball Holiday Family Packs are now on sale! Holiday Family Packs include your game ticket, a regular hotdog, a small Coke and an OU t-shirt (redeemable at OU Authentic) all for just $10 (minimum order of four packages required). To purchase the Holiday Family Packs visit www.SoonerSports.com.

The US Marine Corp. will be collecting toys for their Toys for Tots program at the Lloyd Noble Center prior to the Dec. 11 men's basketball game vs. Northern Colorado as well as prior to the women's basketball game later that day vs. SW Missouri State. All toys collected will be distributed to less fortunate families in the OKC area. Fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy and place them in the collection bins outside the entrances to the Lloyd Noble Center.

Anyone with a ticket to the men's basketball at 12:30 on Saturday will be permitted to stay for the women's game and sit in any upper level section.

For Saturday's women's game, all Boy and Girl Scouts in uniform will receive a FREE Participation Patch courtesy of OU Athletics. To order group tickets contact the OU Marketing Department at 405-325-5482.

JACKSON IS ONE OF A KIND
Senior Dionnah Jackson is the ONLY player in the Big 12 Conference that ranks in 10 of 13 statistical categories. The next closest player is Iowa State's Anne O'Neil who ranks in eight.

MCGHEE SEES FIRST COLLEGIATE ACTION
Freshman Stephanie McGhee played in her first collegiate game against TCU Wednesday. The 6-0 guard/forward saw three minutes of playing time after missing the previous six games due to a stress fracture in her right fibula. McGhee scored her first collegiate points on her first attempted jumper with 16 seconds to play in the first half.

McGhee was named the Preseason Big 12 and Media Freshman of the Year. She played in both of OU's exhibition games and averaged 8.5 points. Three of her five field goals made were 3s. McGhee is the state's all-time leading scorer with 3,376 points, a mark that broke the previous record by more than 600 points.

OU SHUFFLES LINEUP
Head coach Sherri Coale will put her fourth different lineup on the court Saturday. Coale has played all available 13 players in three games and 11 players are averaging 10-plus minutes per game.

Only Dionnah Jackson, Leah Rush and Erin Higgins have started all seven games and average better than 20 minutes per game.

3-1: Welch, Higgins, Jackson, Preston, Rush vs. Southeast Missouri State, Texas State, Akron, Iowa
1-1: Shoush, Higgins, Jackson, Preston, Rush vs. Lamar and Tulsa
0-1: Sanchez, Higgins, Jackson, Brown, Rush vs. TCU

SCORING WOES
It's been two years since OU has averaged less than 70 points per game. OU is currently averaging 68.4 points per game. The 2002-03 squad finished the season with a 66.8 ppg mark, while the 1997-98 team averaged 67.7 ppg.

Only three teams in the Sherri Coale era has finished the season averaging below 70 ppg -- her first two teams and the 2002-03 squad.

RUSH CARRYING INSIDE LOAD
Sophomore Leah Rush is carrying most of the load for the Sooners in the paint. The 6-1 forward has scored in double digit in four of seven games and has had nine rebounds in each of OU's last three games.

The Amarillo, Texas native ranks second to Dionnah Jackson in scoring (11.7 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg) and blocks (6). Rush does top the team in free throw percentage, hitting 81.0 percent of her shots (17-of-21). That figure also ranks 13th best in the Big 12 Conference. Overall, Rush is shooting 42.5 percent from the field.

THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS
One thing that is going right for the Sooners is the sharing of the basketball. 70.1 percent of Oklahoma's made field goals (174) have been assisted (122) this season. Only 52 made field goals have been unassisted.

In the last two games, OU has also cut down on its turnovers. The Sooners took much better care of the basketball against Tulsa and TCU recording only 14 and 15 TOs, respectively. Against TCU, OU had 12 at halftime but only committed three turnovers in the final 20 minutes.

Usually the smaller of the two teams on the court, OU has out rebounded five of its seven opponents.

JACKSON RECORDS SIXTH TRIPLE DOUBLE IN BIG 12 HISTORY
Preseason All-American Dionnah Jackson posted the Big 12's sixth and OU's second triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Tulsa on Dec. 4. Former Sooner LaNae Jones produced OU's first triple-double with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks against Southern on Dec. 29, 1993.

Following is a list of Big 12 Triple-Doubles.
Dionnah Jackson (Oklahoma, 2004) - 15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists
Megan Mahoney (Kansas State, 2004) - 12 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists
Toccara Williams (Texas A&M, 2002) - 13 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists
Edwina Brown (Texas, 2000) - 18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists
Edwina Brown (Texas, 1999) - 13 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists
Rene Hanebutt (Texas Tech, 1997) - 19 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists

HOME SWEET HOME
The Oklahoma is 3-0 inside the Lloyd Noble Center this season. OU has produced a home court record of 71-14, an 82.9 winning percentage, over the last seven years. The Sooners have only lost three non-conference games during this period (Connecticut 2000 (84-68), SMU 2003 (71-68) and Tennessee 2004 (71-55)).

OU STILL AMONG NATION'S ELITE IN HOME ATTENDANCE
OU currently ranks No. 15 on the unofficial 2004-05 women's basketball home attendance rankings compiled by the University of Wisconsin. The Sooners currently draw 4,605 fans to home games (fourth best in the Big 12 Conference).

IN SEARCH OF 500TH PROGRAM WIN
Oklahoma is 16 wins shy of reaching its 500 career victory. The 31-year old women's basketball program has 484 wins.

SHOUSH MAKING AN IMPACT AS A SENIOR
Senior Lauren Shoush has appeared in the starting lineup in two games this season and 12 total for her career. The Oklahoma City native has earned this opportunity by averaging 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds, third best figures on the team. She's also shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the foul line.

JACKSON IS ON THE MOVE
With seven games under her belt, senior Dionnah Jackson is climbing OU's career charts. Jackson now ranks among the top five in defensive rebounds and steals. The St. Louis, Mo., native is fifth in career defensive rebounds (480) and steals (224). She pocketed 24 steals, including a personal-best nine against Iowa, and 37 defensive boards for the moves.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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