Sooners Go For 12th NCAA Win on Saturday

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Oklahoma is clicking on all levels heading into its fifth straight and seventh overall NCAA Championships. The Sooners dominated the Big 12 Tournament as a sixth seed, upsetting three higher ranked teams and establishing a tournament best +18.2 rebounding margin. OU is on a four game winning streak and winners of six of its last seven. With four wins in Dallas last week, the Sooners moved to 6-0 when playing at a neutral site.

Third seeded Oklahoma will be shooting for its 12th NCAA win come Saturday (11-6). The Sooners went 0-1 in 2003, after advancing to the NCAA title game in 2002.

The Sooners are led by junior sensation Dionnah Jackson. Jackson has been the most consistent player for Coach Coale this season. The 5-9 point guard ranks among the Big 12's best in six categories including assists (5.0), steals (2.3), assist/turnover ratio (1.5), free throw percentage (.784), defensive rebounds (4.8) and points (12.4) per game.

2004 NCAA Women's Tournament | Printable Bracket

Leading the Sooners in overall scoring are seniors Maria Villarroel (14.6 ppg) and Caton Hill (12.6 ppg). The duo also leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 and 6.2 boards per game, respectively.

Redshirt-freshman Erin Higgins has become a more consistent scoring threat for opponents as she's averaging 2.0 three-pointers per game.

As a team, Oklahoma is averaging 72.0 points and 40.9 rebounds per game, compared to its opponents' 58.8 ppg and 33.9 rpg.

NCAA Women's Basketball Midwest Sub-Regional

#14 Seed Marist (20-10)
vs.
#3 Seed Oklahoma (23-8)

Event: 2004 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship
Host University: Arizona State University
Location: Tempe, Ariz.
Dates: March 20, & 22, 2004
Site: Wells Fargo Arena (14,141)
Tickets: All-Session Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, youth and seniors. Tickets are good for all three games (two on Saturday, March 20 and one on Monday, March 22).

OU's First Round Game: Sat., March 20 @ 8 p.m. CST
Opponent: Marist College (20-10)
Series Record: First Meeting
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: ESPN2; Dave Pasch (play-by-play) & Megan Keating (analyst).
Rankings: OU is ranked 11th in the AP poll and 13th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls ... Marist is not ranked.
Web Site: Oklahoma (www.SoonerSports.com), Marist College (www.marist.edu/athletics)

PROBABLE STARTERS
OKLAHOMA (23-8, 9-7 BIG 12)                                           PPG       RPG
10   F   Caton Hill (6-1, Sr., Ada, Okla.)                                  12.6      6.2
24   F Leah Rush (6-1, Fr., Amarillo, Texas)                         8.1        4.4
34   G Erin Higgins (5-9, Fr., Oklahoma City, Okla.)               6.8        2.4
35   G Dionnah Jackson (5-9, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.)                 12.4       6.2
05   G   Maria Villarroel (5-9, Sr., Margarita, Venezuela)       14.6        6.3

MARIEST(20-10, 13-5 MAAC)                                               PPG     RPG
22   F Stephanie Del Preore (6-0, Sr., Livington, N.J.)             14.1      8.4
33 F Maureen Magarity (6-1, Sr., Wappingers Falls, N.Y.)    12.9     5.0
35 G Kristen Vilardi (5-10, So., Fishkill, N.Y.)                         2.1     1.9
11 G Nina Vecchio (5-3, Sr., Holmdel, N.J.)                            5.6     1.7
02 G   Alisa Kresge (5-7, Fr., Holmdel, N.J.)                             2.0        3.6

OU VS. SUB-REGION TEAMS
Missouri, a member of the Big 12 Conference, is the only team Oklahoma has faced this season. However, OU is familiar with Stanford having faced the Cardinal once in postseason and twice in non-conference action. Marist is the only first time opponent for the Sooners.

SERIES RECORD
OU vs. Marist, First Meeting

OU IN WELLS FARGO ARENA & IN ARIZONA
Oklahoma has played inside Wells Fargo Arena once. OU lost the Arizona State, 87-76, on Dec. 29, 1997, marking the only time the Sooners have played in the state.

MARIST (20-10)
At tip time it will have been two weeks since Marist College played a basketball game. The Red Foxes earned the program's first ever MAAC Tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Championship on March 6 by beating Canisius College, 76-74. MC also tied for first for the league's regular season title with a 13-5 record. Marist is on a four game winning streak.

Marist will be one of four schools making its first NCAA appearance. Others are Colgate, Eastern Michigan, Lipscomb and Loyola Marymount.

Marist is lead by senior Stephanie Del Preore, the MVP of the MAAC Tournament. She averages 14.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Del Preore also shots 46.6 percent from the field and 81.1 percent from the free throw line. In the MAAC championship game, Del Preore scored game-highs of 30 points and 16 rebounds. Maureen Magarity added 18 points while Kristin Keller came off the bench to contribute 11.

DEFENSE STRONG
Oklahoma stepped up its defensive pressure during the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas, holding opponents to a tournament best 54.0 points and 26.3 rebounds per game. OU out rebounded each opponent by at least 10 boards per game and did not allow them to shoot better than 40 percent from the field. Only one team was able to hit 30 percent from the arc while the other three were 25 percent or worst, including Texas' 0-1 performance from the three-point line in the championship game.

SIXTH SEED STORMS BRACKET FOR TITLE
For the first time ever a sixth seed in the Big 12 Tournament won the title. Oklahoma stormed through the bracket by beating three teams ranked higher than the Sooners and establishing a tournament best +18.2 rebounding margin.

It also marked the first time in the tournament eight year history a team has won the title by winning four games in five days.

SOONERS AS A NO. 3 SEED
Oklahoma has never been a three seed in the NCAA Championships. The Sooners have ranged from a No. 1 to a No. 10 seed.

Seed Records
No. 1 seed      5-1
No. 2 seed      2-1
No. 4 seed       1-1
No. 5 seed       2-1
No. 7 seed       1-1
No. 10 seed   0-1

COALE COACHES 250TH GAME
Saturday marks Sherri Coale's 250th game as Oklahoma's head women's basketball coach.

MOVING THE HILL
Senior Caton Hill needs five points to move into the top 5 on OU's all-time scoring chart. She currently has 1,638 career points. She is also just nine offensive and 33 total rebounds short of the school records. Hill already holds the OU record for most defensive boards with 734 and for most games played (138) and started (137).

SOONERS DOMINATE ALL-BIG 12 TOURNAMENT TEAM
Oklahoma placed three members on the 2004 Big 12 All-Tournament team: junior Dionnah Jackson and seniors Maria Villarroel and Caton Hill. Together they combined for 70% of the team's points and 63% of the OU's rebounds. The trio also accounted for 46.8 points and 25.3 rebounds per game and hit 13 threes, as well as playing stifling defense over the four games.

JACKSON NAMED MVP
At the conclusion of the 2004 Big 12 Tournament, junior Dionnah Jackson finally got the respect and recognition she deserved. The 5-9 guard played outstanding defense on the opponent's top offensive threat, holding each to below their season average.

Jackson led the Sooners in scoring with 17.0 points and accounted for 8.3 rebounds per game. She also had 3.5 assists per game, while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 79.2 from the free throw line.

RUSH HAS STELLAR GAME VS. K-STATE
Oklahoma's Leah Rush stepped up big for the Sooners in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament against Kansas State (M11). Rush took the Wildcats for a career-high 18 points, 16 in the first half, while holding KSU's All-American Nicole Ohlde to just five first half points. the Amarillo, Texas, native also had three rebounds, shot 80 percent from the field (8-10) and 66.7 percent from the three-point line (3-5).

TERRIFIC TRIO
Oklahoma's trio of seniors Maria Villarroel and Caton Hill plus junior Dionnah Jackson have been OU's bread and butter this season. The threesome accounts for 40.0 ppg (55%, 1,227 points) and 18.6 rpg (45%, 576 rebounds) for the Sooners

In 26-of-31 games, at least one of them has led OU in scoring and in 24 games one has been the top rebounder.

OU VS. RANKED TEAMS
Oklahoma is 4-3 against teams ranked in the top 10 and 7-6 vs. teams in the top 25 this season. Under Sherri Coale, the Sooners are 32-43 vs. top 25 programs; 8-26 vs. top 10; and 3-12 vs. top 5 teams.

OU's win over nationally-ranked Texas Tech on Feb. 25 marked the first time in school history the women's basketball program swept a top-10 team during regular season action. OU also defeated then-seventh ranked Texas Tech, 68-62, Feb. 10 in Lubbock.

SOONERS PRODUCED 20TH WIN SEASON
Oklahoma earned its 10th 20-win season with a 60-47 victory over Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Dallas last week. OU have produced three 20-win season under Coach Sherri Coale. Coale's 2001-02 team captured a school record 32 victories, also marking the only 30-win season for OU women's basketball.

TWO-MINUTE STRETCH
Oklahoma sports a 67.5 free throw percentage in the final two minutes of the game. The Sooners have hit 52-of-77 attempted free throws down the stretch. Seniors Caton Hill and Maria Villarroel are perfect from the stripe in the final 120 seconds.

When playing Texas Tech, OU is a solid 80.0 from the stripe, hitting 20-of-25 foul shots down the stretch.

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              27               33            .818
Leah Rush                          5                7              .714

SINGLE GAME RECORD CHANGES...
Maria Villarroel currently holds the school record for most points per game of players that have only played two seasons for OU. Villarroel has scored 925 points in 62 games for a per game average of 14.9 ppg. The previous record of 13.0 ppg held by Vickie Green (1985, 1986).

Erin Higgins tied the school record for most attempted three-pointers in a single game when she launched 14 against Kansas (Feb. 14).

THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED....
Maria Villarroel currently ranks No. 12 on OU's single season field goal percentage chart, shooting 54.8 percent.

Erin Higgins now ranks fifth on OU's single season chart for most made treys with 57. She also ranks sixth for most attempted 3s with 161.

Caton Hill now ranks No. 2 on the single season list with an solid 85.2 free throw percentage. Leah Rush also rank among the single season best for her performance at the stripe. Rush ranks eighth with a 82.3 free throw accuracy.

In the first game of the Big 12 Tournament, junior Dionnah Jackson advanced to the No. 13 spot on the single season steals list. Jackson's 156 assists is sixth best on OU's single season chart this year.

BABY SOONERS
Nine of OU's 13 active players are underclassmen who have been contributing to the team's offensive and defensive production. The baby Sooners currently account for 41.4 percent of the team's points (925 points), 42.9 percent of its rebounds (545) and 52.4 percent of its minutes (3,247) played.

SOONERS STRONG WHEN...
Oklahoma has hit 50 percent or better from the field in eight games, producing a perfect 8-0 record. The Sooners are also undefeated, 21-0, when collecting more rebounds than their opponents.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Go For 12th NCAA Win on Saturday

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