OU Battles A&M in First Round of Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament

Oklahoma enters this year's Big 12 Tournament as the sixth seed and will be playing on the opening day of tournament action for the second consecutive year. Oklahoma looks to become the first team in Big 12 Tournament history to win the title by playing four games.

Follow the Game Live
(Click on "Gametracker" beginning at 8:30 p.m. in the column to the right of the OU-Texas A&M game information)

Only top four seeded teams in conference tournament history have won the title. Kansas State (No. 5 seed in 1997) and Texas (No. 6 seed in 2000) are the only two teams that have advanced to the championship game that did not receive a first round bye. UT lost to top seed Iowa State, 75-65, while third seed Colorado defeated K-State, 54-44.

The Sooners (19-8, 9-7 Big 12) have appeared in the tournament title game twice (2001, 2002), both as top seed. OU became the first team to march through the tournament bracket with a 15-plus points victory margin in 2002. Oklahoma defeated Oklahoma State, 87-56 (+31), Kansas State, 69-49 (+20) and Baylor (84-69 (+15) for the school's first women's basketball Big 12 post season trophy. OU used the tournament as a tune up to its impressive run to the 2002 NCAA Championship game.

If Oklahoma wins its opening game against Texas A&M (9-18, 2-14 Big 12) on Tuesday, March 9, OU will face third-seed Colorado (22-6, 11-5 Big 12) on Wednesday, March 10, at 8:30 p.m., marking the fourth time the two teams have faced each other in Big 12 Tournament play. The Sooners won the regular season meetings against TAM and Colorado. OU swept the two-game series against Texas A&M and defeated CU, 78-58, in Norman.

Texas A&M Aggies
(9-18, 2-14 Big 12)
vs.
17/19 Oklahoma Sooners
(19-8, 9-7 Big 12)

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.

OU's first game: Tues., March 9 @ 8:30 p.m.
Opponent: Texas A&M Aggies (9-18, 2-14 Big 12)
Seeds: OU is the sixth seed, while TAM is the 11th seed
Series Record: OU leads 17-8
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: None
Rankings: OU is ranked 17th in the AP poll and 19th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls ... TAM not ranked.
Web Site: Oklahoma (www.SoonerSports.com), Texas A&M (www.AggieAthletics.com)

Probable Starters
Oklahoma (19-8, 9-7)                                                       PPG    RPG
10   F   Caton Hill (6-1, Sr., Ada, Okla.)                             12.4      6.1
24   F   Leah Rush (6-1, Fr., Amarillo, Texas)                    8.1        4.7
34   G   Erin Higgins (5-9, Fr., Oklahoma City, Okla.)          6.7        2.3
35   G   Dionnah Jackson (5-9, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.)             11.7      5.8
05 G   Maria Villarroel (5-9, Sr., Margarita, Venezuela)    14.4     5.7

Texas A&M (8-12) PPG RPG
04 F   Janae Derrick (5-11, Sr., Trotwood, Ohio)               6.3      5.9
55   C   Lynn Classen (6-3, Sr., San Antonio, Texas)           7.0     4.0
01   G   Toccara Williams (5-9, Sr., Hollywood, Fla.)           15.7   5.7
03   G   Charlette Castile (5-8, Jr., Duncanville, Texas)        6.8      1.8
20   G   Erica Roy (5-8, So., Little Rock, Ark.)                       5.9      3.9

OU vs. Tournament Field
Colorado, Oklahoma State and Kansas State are the only teams that Oklahoma has faced more than once in Big 12 Tournament action. OU is 1-1 against KSU and OSU and 1-2 vs. Colorado in tournament play. The Sooners have never faced the Aggies in tournament action.

Possible Second Round Opponent
Waiting the winner of the OU-Texas A&M game is third seed Colorado (22-6, 11-5 Big 12). CU will take to the court for the first time on Wednesday, March 10, at 8:30 p.m. OU handed the then-13th-ranked Buffs a 20-point loss, 78-58, in Norman on Feb. 18. Since then, CU has gone 3-1 with wins over Oklahoma State, Kansas and Nebraska. The Buffs lost to Texas Tech.

The quarterfinal games will be televised by Fox Sports Net.

OU in Reunion Arena
Oklahoma is 1-1 inside Reunion Arena. The Sooners defeated Nebraska, 71-52, in the first round of the 2003 Big 12 Tournament before losing 73-68 to Colorado in the quarterfinals.

OU-Texas A&M Series
Saturday will mark the 26th meeting between Oklahoma and Texas A&M. OU leads the all-time series 17-8 and have won 11 of the last 12 games and 13 of the past 16.

OU swept the two-game series earlier this season but by a slim +9.5 margin of victory. The Sooners handed the Aggies a 56-46 loss on Feb. 7 in Norman after slipping out of College Station with a 65-56 overtime win on Jan. 14. In that victory freshman forward Leah Rush produced her first collegiate double-double with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds while playing a personal-best 37 minutes. She also made and attempted a career-high 9-of-11 free throws, including four in overtime. The Amarillo, Texas, native scored six of OU's 10 points in OT.

Series Record
OU vs. Texas A&M OU leads 17-8
OU vs. Colorado Colorado leads 33-15

Fox Sports Appreciates Sooners
Fox Sports Net has millions of Sooner fans watching. The OU-Texas telecast on Tuesday (March 2) drew a 3.5 rating in Oklahoma City, which was the highest-rated Big 12 women's game this season. In four appearances on FSN, the Sooners averaged a 2.1 local rating, also best on FSN.

Fox Sports Net will broadcast seven games from the Big 12 Tournament -- the quarterfinal games Wednesday, the semifinals March 11 and championship game March 13.

Sooners Looking For 20-Win Season
Oklahoma will be going for its 10th 20-win season in its first game of the Big 12 Tournament. The Sooners have picked up 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. Coale's next win will tie her for the most 20-win seasons in program history. Former coach Maura McHugh produced four and never had fewer than 17 wins in a single year.

All-Academics
Five women's basketball student-athletes were placed on the 2004 Academic All-Big 12 first and second teams. Senior Caton Hill, a zoology major, earned her third first team honor, while junior Lauren Shoush and sophomore Antoinette Wadsworth repeated their first team all-academic honors from a year ago. Among the first time honorees were sophomore Laura Andrews, an education major, and redshirt-freshman Erin Higgins. The duo was named to the second team.

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 38.5 ppg (53%) and 17.6 rpg (43%) for the Sooners

In 22 of 27 games, at least one of them has led OU in scoring and in 20 games one has been the top rebounder.

Hill Makes Name For Herself
Senior Caton Hill became the ONLY OU player, male or female, to score more than 1,500 points, grab 1,000 plus rebounds and pocket 200 or more steals in a career.

She surpassed this milestone with nine rebounds, 18 points and three steals against Oklahoma State on Feb. 28.

To date, she has netted 1,583 points, 1,011 rebounds and 208 steals.

55% Of OU's Field Goals Are Assisted
Oklahoma has had 55 percent of its field goals assisted this season. Of OU's 716 field goals scored this season, 394 have been assisted.

OU vs. Ranked Teams
Oklahoma is 2-3 against teams ranked in the top 10 and 4-6 vs. teams in the top 25 this season.

Under Sherri Coale, the Sooners are 29-43 vs. top 25 programs; 6-26 vs. top 10; and 2-12 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.

Drives, Dishes, Scores
Junior Dionnah Jackson accounts for 35.6 percent of OU's made field goals and assists. While driving to the basket, she has scored 113 field goals and dished out 142 assists in 27 games.

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                        16        16      1.000
Maria Villarroel                 4          4      1.000
Dionnah Jackson            17        22        .773
Leah Rush                        5         7        .714
Kendra Moore                   3          4        .750

OU Earns 13th Season With 18-plus Wins
With the 64-53 victory over Texas Tech on Feb. 25, OU earned its 13th season with 18-plus victories.

The Sooners established a school-best 32 wins in 2002 (32-4) and OU Head Coach Sherri Coale has coached five teams to 18 or more victories (three of Coale's teams ultimately won 20-plus games).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Battles A&M in First Round of Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament

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