OU Women Set To Face No. 19 Baylor Saturday in Waco

MEDIA INFORMATION

No. 24/22 Oklahoma Sooners
(17-6, 7-5 Big 12)
at
No. 19/24 Baylor Lady Bears
(19-6, 7-5 Big 12)

Date & Time: Sat., Feb. 21 @ 7 p.m.
Site: Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas
Series Record: OU leads 15-5
Radio: Sooner Sports Network - KOMA-AM (1520); Mark Rodgers (play-by-play) & Tara Robinett (analyst). All broadcasts also are available through the OU athletics web site.
TV: None
Rankings: OU is ranked 24th in the AP poll and 22nd in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. Baylor is ranked 19th in the AP poll and 24th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.
Web Site: Oklahoma (www.SoonerSports.com), Baylor (www.baylor bears.com)

PROBABLE STARTERS
OKLAHOMA (17-6)                                                             PPG          RPG
10   F   Caton Hill (6-1, Sr., Ada, Okla.)                               12.3          6.0
24   F   Leah Rush (6-1, Fr., Amarillo, Texas)                         8.0           4.6
34   G   Erin Higgins (5-9, Fr., Oklahoma City)                       7.0          2.5
35   G   Dionnah Jackson (5-9, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.)                 11.4         6.0
05   G   Maria Villarroel (5-9, Sr., Margarita, Venezuela)        14.7         5.3

BAYLOR (19-6)                                                                     PPG         RPG
33   F   Sophia Young (6-1, So., St.Vincent, West Indies)      15.7         8.2
35   F   Abiola Wabara (6-0, Fr., Parma, Italy)                       1.8           0.8
45   C   Steffanie Blackman (6-2, Jr., Dallas, Texas)               15.0         7.4
02   G   Chlsea Whitaker (5-9, Jr., Dallas, Texas)                    4.7           2.6
10   G   Jessika Stratton (5-10, Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) 10.0         3.3

SATURDAY PREVIEW
Oklahoma (17-6, 7-5 Big 12) is set to travel to Waco, Texas, to face Baylor (19-6, 7-5 Big 12) on Saturday, Feb. 21, inside the Ferrell Center at 7 p.m. The Lady Bears are currently ranked 19th in the Associated Press Poll and 24th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, while OU sits at No. 24 and 22, respectively. Saturday's game will be carried live on KOMA Radio (1520-AM).

The Sooners closed out their Big 12 North schedule with an impressive 78-58 win over No. 13 Colorado in Norman, while Baylor handed Oklahoma State a 76-61 loss in Waco Wednesday. Both squads went 3-3 against teams from the North Division.

Oklahoma is riding a four-game winning streak while BU has gone 3-3 since last seeing the Sooners on Jan, 24.

The two teams are also tied for fifth place in the Big 12 Conference standings with identical 7-5 conference records.
BU is 10-2 at home and OU is 6-4 on the road this season.

Both teams are well-balanced as each have at least three players average better than 10-points and five rebounds per game. In addition, OU and BU are ranked among the Big 12 top 5 in nine categories.

OU's seniors Maria Villarroel and Caton Hill sports 14.7 and 12.3 points per game, respectively, while junior guard Dionnah Jackson averages 11.4 ppg and team bests of 5.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Jackson and Hill also leads OU with 6.0 rebounds per game.

Baylor's top player is sophomore Sophia Young. Young averages team best of 15.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg. Junior Steffanie Blackmon charts a close 15.0 ppg, followed by freshman Emily Niemann's 10.5 and senior Jessika Stratton's 10.

OU-BAYLOR SERIES
Earlier this season Baylor snapped OU's 11-game series winning streak. The Lady Bears handed OU a 74-67 loss in Norman on Jan. 24. However, OU still dominates the all-time series 15-5 and has won the 11 of the 12 games against Baylor.

The Sooners have not lost to the Lady Bears in Waco since the 1998 season. BU swept that two-game series that year.

Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 1-7 against Sherri Coale's Sooners.

OKLAHOMA (17-6, 7-5 BIG 12)
Oklahoma looks to be on the upward swing of things, riding a four-game winning streak and back in the AP Top 25 poll, but the Sooners must become more consistent at shooting the basketball and controlling turnovers down the stretch.

OU sports an overall record of 17-6 and a Big 12 Conference mark of 7-5. The Sooners are lead by junior sensation Dionnah Jackson. Jackson ranks among the league's best in seven different categories when facing Big 12 teams. She's the team leader in rebounds (6.4), assists (5.8), steals (2.8), defensive rebounds (5.1) and block shots (0.9) per game vs. conference opponents. In overall games, Jackson averages 11.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.6 steals per game.

Leading the Sooners in overall scoring are seniors Maria Villarroel (14.7 ppg) and Caton Hill (12.3 ppg). Villarroel also owns the team's best field goal percentage mark of 58.1 percent (of players making more than 10 shots). Hill's 6.0 rebounds per game leads the team.

Redshirt-freshman Erin Higgins has been more consistent as a scoring threat for opponents as she's averaging 2.45 three-pointers against Big 12 teams. Higgins also has hit 31 of her 51 3s in the last 11 games.

As a team, Oklahoma is averaging 74.2 points and 41.7 rebounds per game, compared to its opponents 59.8 ppg and 34.5 rpg.

BAYLOR (19-6, 7-5 BIG 12)
Baylor (19-6, 7-5 Big 12) has gone 3-3 since last facing Oklahoma on Jan. 24. The Lady Bears lost to Kansas State (85-65), Texas Tech (62-59) and Iowa State (81-72) and defeated Nebraska (67-57), Missouri (83-59) and Oklahoma State (76-61).

Baylor is lead by sophomore forward Sophia Young's 15.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She is tied for fifth in the league for most double-doubles with six. Senior Steffanie Blackmon and freshman Emily Niemann account for 15.0 and 10.2 ppg, respectively. Quarterbacking this solid BU team is senior Jessika Stratton who averages 4.1 assists per game, eighth best in the conference. Stratton also tops the team with an .889 free throw percentage, which doesn't rank among the Big 12 best due to the min. of 2.0 made per game rule (1.92).

Baylor leads the league in scoring offense with 77.6 points per game, three-point field goal percentage (.393) and assists (19.24). The Lady Bears are shooting 46.6 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from the arc and 73.7 percent from the free throw line.

BU has a 3-5 record when facing top 25 teams and a 1-3 mark vs top 10 programs this season.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma returns to the Lloyd Noble Center to host Texas Tech on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. The Red Raider Network will televise the game back to Lubbock. TTU sports an overall record to 22-4 and a Big 12 mark of 8-4, which ties for third place in the league standings. Tech will host No. 1/2 Texas Sunday on ESPN at 1 p.m.

Texas Tech has escaped its last two opponents by narrow margins. The ninth-ranked Lady Raiders picked up a 73-68 win at Missouri and a 59-58 victory at Texas A&M. TTU lost its starting center, Cisti Greenwalt, for the season when she fractured her right ankle against Missouri Tuesday.

WHAT'S REMAINING
Oklahoma has four games to play before concluding the 2003-04 regular season schedule. However, they will not be easy as the Sooners are set to face three ranked Big 12 teams as well as go to Oklahoma State for Bedlam. OU travels to No. 19/24 Baylor (Sat., Feb. 21), host No. 9/9 Texas Tech (Wed., Feb. 25), go to Oklahoma State (Sat., Feb. 28) and host No. 1/2 Texas (Tues., March 2).

OU VS. RANKED TEAMS
Oklahoma is 1-2 against teams ranked in the top 10 and 3-4 vs. teams in the top 25 this season. Under Sherri Coale, the Sooners are 28-41 vs. top 25 programs; 5-25 vs. top 10; and 1-11 vs. top 5 teams.

The last time OU upset a top-10 team was earlier this season when the Sooners handed then No. 7 Texas Tech a 68-62 loss in Lubbock. It also marked the first time OU had defeated a top 10 team on its home court since beating then-10th ranked Baylor, 65-60, in Waco, Texas, on Feb. 5, 2002.

COALE WORKING TOWARD ANOTHER MILESTONE
Sooner Coach Sherri Coale looks to surpass another milestone in her coaching career this season. The eighth-year head coach has 149 career victories and will be going for her 150th win against Baylor Saturday.

THE RECORD TO WATCH - LOOKING TO BE ELITE
Senior Caton Hill surpassed the 1,500 point milestone (1,531) at Texas Tech on Feb. 10. She needs just 14 rebounds to reach 1,000 and three steals for 200. If she reaches the 1,000 rebound and the 200 steal marks she will become the ONLY Sooner in school history to score 1,500 points, collect 1,000 rebounds and pocket 200 steals in her career.

Molly McGuire is the only Sooner to hold the honor of being a 1,500 and 1,000 club member. She scored 2,187 points and grabbed 1,071 rebounds from 1980-1983.

VILLARROEL HAD CAREER GAME VS. COLORADO
Everybody knows about Maria Villarroel's transition game and how she scores her points. Even though that's extremely important to the Sooners, she has become a more well-rounded contributor to the team.

She's not just a transition player anymore. She is the fastest member on the team and has become one of the team's best rebounders, free throw shooters and stealers.

Against Colorado, Villarroel set career and season highs in numerous categories, including hitting a personal-best four 3s and scoring a season-high 28 points. She also set season-best in offensive rebounds (5), assists (5), field goals made (11) and attempted (15).

CAUFIELD SET TO RECEIVE 2,000-POINT BALL
Former Sooner great LaNeishea Caufield will be presented her 2,000-point basketball during the women's game against Texas Tech on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in Norman.

Caufield concluded her career as one of only three Sooners to have ever scored 2,000 points. The Ada, Okla., native registered 2,125 in four years.

The three-time All-Big 12 second teamer was named a Kodak District V All-American in 2002 and voted to the 2002 NCAA West Regional All-Tournament team.

The two-time Women's Basketball News Service Defensive Player of the Year (2001, 2002) holds the school records for most career steals (402), free throws made (693), attempted (826) and percentage (83.9%) plus minutes played (4,287).

She concluded her career as a Sooner by being the 14th overall WNBA draft pick by the Utah Starzz in 2002.

STAR POWER
For only the third time in Sherri Coale's tenure has her starting five produced 100 percent of the team's points in a single game. The Sooners accomplished this against Colorado Wednesday as all five starters accounted for OU's 78 points. OU won 78-58.

OU also achieved this in two other games: at Kansas State (2-4-98) and at Miami (12-19-98). Oklahoma won, 69-67, in Manhattan and lost, 62-60, in Coral Gables, Fla.

SOONERS & BEARS AMONG NCAA ELITE
Both teams have individuals that rank in the lastest NCAA Ranking Summary (Feb. 16, 2004). Baylor's Sophia Young ranks 23rd for best field goal percentage (56.9%), while OU's Maria Villarroel ranks 22nd in the category (57.0) and junior Dionnah Jackson ranks 44th in assists per game (5.2).

Team wise, both rank in the top 30 in scoring (BU 6th, OU 26th) as well as in the top 20 in scoring margin and rebounding margin. Statistics reflect time of NCAA release.

FRESHMEN PERFORMANCES VS. BAYLOR
For the past two years, Oklahoma has had two freshmen to step up against Baylor: Erin Higgins and Laura Andrews.

In the two teams first meeting of the season, Higgins connected on a career-high six three-pointers en route to scoring a personal-best 18-points in Norman.

Last year, Andrews connected on 53.3 percent (8-of-15) of her three-pointers taken against Baylor, including a personal-best five in Waco which aided in a career-best 21 points. She also shot and attempted personal bests in field goals made (7) and attempted (14) plus three-pointers attempted (10). The Washington, Okla., native has hit 10-of-18 3s (55.7%) while playing BU.

IT'S RAINING THREES
Redshirt-freshman Erin Higgins moved up to No. 2 on the Big 12 Conference list for 3-pointer field goals made per game with 2.58 vs. league opponents.

The Oklahoma City native nailed a career-best six 3s against Kansas (Feb. 14) and Baylor (Jan. 24). Higgins also attempted a career-high and school record 14 treys vs. KU, which also ties for first in the Big 12.

For the season, she's contributing 7.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game plus of her 49 field goals made, 44 have been threes.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Women Set To Face No. 19 Baylor Saturday in Waco

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