OU-Texas In Big 12 Title Game Saturday at 6 p.m.

Oklahoma (22-8) has played in the Big 12 Tournament championship game three of the last four years. The Sooners are set to face co-Big 12 champions and second-ranked Texas (28-3) on Saturday, March 13, inside Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.

OU won the 2002 Big 12 Tournament by defeating Baylor, 84-69, and finished second in 2001, losing to Iowa State, 68-65.

Live Big 12 Gametracker

Oklahoma will attempt to be the first team to claim the Big 12 Tournament title by winning four games in five days. Kansas State reached the finals as a No. 5 seed in 1997, while Texas advanced to championship day as a sixth seed in 2000.

OU is 9-6 in Big 12 Tournament action, including a 3-0 mark in semifinal games and a 1-1 performance in title matchups.

On its way to the final day of action, OU defeated 11th seed Texas A&M, 60-47, first round followed by a 63-56 quarterfinals victory over third seed Colorado Wednesday and a stunning 78-66 win over No. 2 seed and eighth-ranked Kansas State Thursday.

Big 12 Championship Game
#6 Seed Oklahoma (22-8) vs. #1 Seed Texas (28-3)

Event: 2004 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament
Location: Dallas, Texas
Dates: March 9, 10, 11 and 13, 2004
Site: Reunion Arena (16,500)
Tickets: Reserved (All Session) 11 Games...$75; General Admission (All Session)...$45; Single game tickets are also available by calling 214-373-8000.

Championship game: Sat., March 13 @ 6 p.m.
Opponent: Texas (28-3, 14-2 Big 12)
Seeds: OU is the sixth seed, while Texas is the top seed
Series Record: Texas leads 16-7
Radio: Sooner Sports Network - KOMA-AM (1520); Brian Brinkley (play-by-play) & Tara Robinett (analyst). All broadcasts also are available through the OU athletics web site.
TV: Fox Sports Net
Rankings: OU is ranked 19th in the AP poll and 20th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls ... Texas is ranked No. 2 in both polls.
Web Site: Oklahoma (www.SoonerSports.com), Texas (www.TexasSports.com)

PROBABLE STARTERS
OKLAHOMA (22-8, 9-7 BIG 12)                                     PPG       RPG
10   F   Caton Hill (6-1, Sr., Ada, Okla.)                          12.7       6.1
24   F   Leah Rush (6-1, Fr., Amarillo, Texas)                   8.3        4.4
34   G   Erin Higgins (5-9, Fr., Oklahoma City, Okla.)         6.9       2.4
35   G   Dionnah Jackson (5-9, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.)            12.1      6.0
05   G   Maria Villarroel (5-9, Sr., Margarita, Venezuela)   14.4      6.2

TEXAS (28-3, 14-2)                                                             PPG      RPG
33   F   Tiffany Jackson (6-3, Fr., Dallas, Texas)                12.6        7.6
21   F   Heather Schreibert (6-2, Jr., Windthorst, Texas)    12.7        6.1
41   C   Stacy Stephens (6-1, Sr., Winnsboro, Texas)        12.0        8.3
11   G   Jamie Carey (5-6, Jr., Thornton, Colo.)                   10.2        1.8
22   G   Nina Norman (5-6, So., Houston, Texas)                10.2        4.6

OU VS. TEXAS SERIES
Texas leads the all-time series 16-7 and has won the last five games between the two teams. UT swept the two-game series earlier this season, winning 63-58 in Austin (Jan. 10) and 57-54 in Norman (March 2). OU coach Sherri Coale is 7-10 vs. Texas.

OU VS RANKED TEAMS
Oklahoma even its record to 3-3 against teams ranked in the top 10 with its 78-66 win over Kansas State Thursday. OU also evens its record to 6-6 vs. teams in the top 25 this season. Under Sherri Coale, the Sooners are 31-43 vs. top 25 programs; 7-26 vs. top 10; and 2-12 vs. top 5 teams.

SOONERS STRONG ON NEUTRAL COURT
Oklahoma enters the Big 12 title game with a 5-0 record when playing on a neutral court including three victories this week.

22 AND COUNTING
Oklahoma collected its 22nd victory of the season with a 78-66 win over Kansas State Thursday, giving OU its most wins in two seasons.

The 2002 team collected a Big 12 and OU record 32 wins en route to the NCAA title game.

OU has had 10 20 win seasons, four under Coach Sherri Coale.

REBOUNDING WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Head coach Sherri Coale has said numerous times that rebounding wins championships. Well, OU is 20-0 this season when out rebounding its opponents and 3-0 this week.

OU has out rebounded Big 12 Tournament opponents, 119-77. The Sooners lead the tournament in fewest opponent offensive (39.7) and defensive (25.7) rebounds per game plus rebounding margin (+14.0). The Sooners also top the chart for most defensive rebounds with 28.7 per game.

SOONERS IN FAVOR STRIPES
Over a three game span this week, OU has shot an impressive 82.0 percent from the free throw stripe, hitting 41 of 50 attempts.

What's more impressive is OU's 20-of-23 performance, 87.0 percent, at the foul line with two-minutes or less to play this week. Three Sooners are flawless within this time span: Dionnah Jackson (9-0), Caton Hill (8-0) and Maria Villarroel (3-0). Erin Higgins has missed OU's three foul shots (vs. Colorado).

SHARING THE ROCK
Oklahoma has earned an assist on 44 of 68 field goals in Big 12 Tournament action. 64.7 percent of the Sooners field goals have been assisted.

HILL VS. LONGHORNS
Senior Caton Hill has scored 101 points against the Texas Longhorns. The Ada, Okla., native has produced five double-doubles in nine tries and averages 11.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game vs. UT. She shoots 41.1 percent from the field (37-90), 42.1 percent from the arc (8-19) and 76.0 percent from the free throw line (19-25).

STEPPING UP THE “D”
Oklahoma entered the Big 12 Tournament ranked fourth in the league in scoring defense. However, in Big 12 Tournament action the Sooners have stepped up their defensive pressure by holding opponents to a tournament low 56.3 points per game and 35.4 . OU also sports a tournament best +14.0 rebounding margin and +10.7 scoring margin.

The Sooners are also holding opponents to a tournament low 34.0 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from the arc (second best).

IT'S A RAINING 3S
Oklahoma has nailed a tournament-best 24 three pointers. OU is averaging 8.0 treys per game and shooting 42.9 percent from the arc in tournament play.

For the season, OU is shooting 33.1 percent from beyond the three-point line and averages 6.1 per game.

3-Point Bombers
Erin Higgins            8
Caton Hill                7
Maria Villarroel       4
Leah Rush             2
Laura Andrews     2
Dionnah Jackson   1

VILLARROEL WORTH A DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior Maria Villarroel has stepped up her production offensively and defensively as the 5-9 guard is averaging a double-double in Big 12 Tournament play. Villarroel accounts for 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game for the Sooners. She's also shooting 46.9 percent from the field (15-32) and 84.6 percent from the stripe (11-13).

The Margarita, Venezuela native grabbed a career-and game-high 14 rebounds against Colorado and collected 12 boards vs. Kansas State Thursday.

TERRIFIC TRIO CONTINUES TO LEAD SOONERS
Oklahoma's trio of seniors Maria Villarroel and Caton Hill plus junior Dionnah Jackson have scored 136 of OU's 201 points in Big 12 Tournament action (67.7%). The trio accounts for 45.3 points and 25.0 rebounds per game in three tournament games.

In 25 of 30 games, at least one of them has led OU in scoring and in 22 games one has been the top rebounder.

Against Colorado, they were responsible for 45 of the team's 63 points (71.4%) and 28 of 40 rebounds (70%). Against Texas A&M, the trio accounted for 76.7 percent of the Sooners' scoring (46 of 60 points) and 58.3 (21 of 36 rebounds) percent of the team's rebounds.

JACKSON REMAINS BACKBONE OF OU
Junior Dionnah Jackson continues to be solid for the Sooners. Jackson is averaging 15.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field in Big 12 Tournament action. She has also connected on 14-of-17 foul shots (82.4%).

DRIVES, DISHES, SCORES
Junior Dionnah Jackson accounts for 35.8 percent of OU's made field goals and assists. While driving to the basket, she has scored 129 field goals and dished out 152 assists in 30 games.

TWO-MINUTE STRETCH
Oklahoma sports a 71.3 free throw percentage in the final two minutes of the game. The Sooners have hit 72-of-101 attempted free throws down the stretch. Seniors Caton Hill and Maria Villarroel are perfect from the stripe in the final 120 seconds.

In Big 12 Tournament action, OU is 20-for-23 (87%) in the final 2-minutes.

Player Performances Under the Two-Minute Mark
Players                    FTM    FTA    Pct.
Caton Hill                    24        24    1.000
Maria Villarroel             7          7    1.000
Dionnah Jackson        26        32      .813
Leah Rush                     5          7      .714

HILL VS. LONGHORNS
Senior Caton Hill has assisted Oklahoma to 110 career victories, the most of any Sooner. Former OU standouts Stacey Dales-Schuman and LaNeishea Caufield was apart of 100 career wins.

Hill has also established an OU best 22 post season starts.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU-Texas In Big 12 Title Game Saturday at 6 p.m.

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors