OU Set to Face Texas A&M In First Round of Big 12 Tournament

Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket Set

The University of Oklahoma will be the sixth seed in the upcoming 2004 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament that will be hosted inside Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas next week. The Sooners first opponent will be 11th seed Texas A&M on Tuesday, March 9, at 8:30 p.m. The Aggies concluded the regular season with an overall record of 9-18 and a Big 12 mark of 2-14, while the Sooners went 19-8 and 9-7.

Oklahoma, who's ranked 17th in the AP poll and 19th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, swept the two-game series between the two teams this year, but both were tough games for the Sooners.

Texas A&M forced OU to play an extra period before winning, 65-56, in College Station on Jan. 14. The Sooners also took the second, 56-46, in Norman on Feb. 7. Oklahoma leads the all-time series 17-8 and has won 11 of the last 12 games and 13 of the past 16.

Seniors Maria Villarroel and Caton Hill leads the OU with 14.4 and 12.4 points per game, respectively. Junior sensation Dionnah Jackson adds 11.7 ppg and a team-best 5.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game. This trio makes up 53 percent of OU's scoring and 43 percent of its rebounds.

Texas A&M is lead by senior Toccara Williams who leads the nation in steals per game (4.2) and ranks sixth in assists (7.2) per game. She also averages 15.7 ppg.

OU is scoring 72.8 ppg, while TAM registers 60.7 ppg. The Sooners also hold the edge on the boards with a +6.8 rebounding margin to the Aggies' -5.1.

Texas and Kansas State have been crowned 2004 co-Big 12 Women's Basketball champions after posting 14-2 records in conference play. The title is the second consecutive for Texas and the first Big 12 women's basketball crown for Kansas State. Texas won the head-to-head tiebreaker over K-State and enters the 2004 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament as the No. 1 seed. KSU is the No. 2 seed, followed by No. 3 Colorado and No. 4 Texas Tech. The top four seeds earn a bye in the first round.

The remaining seeds are: No. 5 Baylor, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Missouri, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 Iowa Sate, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Texas A&M, and No. 12 Kansas.

The tournament will be played Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday, March 9-11 and 13 at Dallas' Reunion Arena. For ticket information, contact Ticketmaster: www.ticketmaster.com

2004 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament
March 9-11, 13; Dallas, Texas (Reunion Arena)

Tuesday, March 9
Game 1: No. 9 Iowa State vs. No. 8 Nebraska, 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 12 Kansas vs. No. 5 Baylor, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 10 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Missouri, 6 p.m.
Game 4: No. 11 Texas A&M vs. No. 6 Oklahoma, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 10
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 1 Texas, 12 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 4 Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 2 Kansas State, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 3 Colorado, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 11
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 6 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 13
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.

For Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com or www.dallassports.org
All-Session Ticket Prices: $75 reserved, $45 general admission