Sooners Face Cyclones Saturday

No. 18/17 Iowa State (15-2, 5-1 Big 12)
At
Oklahoma (11-6, 3-3 Big 12)

Date: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2005
Location: Norman, Okla.
Arena: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000)
Tip: 1 p.m.
TV: none
Radio: KOKC (1520 AM)
Series: Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 24-16.
Tickets: Sooner fans can purchase single game tickets for $8 and $5.
Up Next: OU travels to Kansas on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

Game Notes in PDF | Order Tickets

SOONERS SET FOR BIG 12 CHALLENGE
For the second consecutive game, Oklahoma faces a top 25 program. The Sooners will host Iowa State at 1 p.m. Saturday inside Lloyd Noble Center. ISU is currently in third place in the Big 12 Conference with a 5-1 record, while OU is tied for fifth at 3-3. The Cyclones are 15-2 overall but recently lost to No. 16 Kansas State, 74-52, in Manhattan. OU also looks to bounce back from a disappointing 83-71 overtime loss to No. 15 Texas Wednesday night in Norman. The Sooners are 11-6 overall.

Sooner fans can listen to Brian Brinkley and Tara DeGiusti call the action on KOKC-AM (1520). The game will also be broadcast via radio and video on the O-Zone at www.SoonerSports.com.

Saturday is Norman Elementary Day and OG&E Trading Cards will be distributed. The Sooners will host an autograph session following Saturday's game.

Single game tickets can still purchase for just $8 (adult) and $5 (youth). Reserved seating is also available for $10. Group tickets are an option, but must be purchased 24 hours prior to the game. Group of 10 or more is $3 per ticket, while group of 100-plus is just $2 per ticket. To order your group tickets or for more information, please call the OU Athletics Marketing Department at (405) 325-5482.

PROBABLE STARTERS
OKLAHOMA
24   F    Leah Rush (6-1, So., Amarillo, Texas, 14.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
34   G   Erin Higgins (5-9, So., Oklahoma City, Okla., 8.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
35   G   Dionnah Jackson (5-9, Sr., St. Louis, Mo., 13.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg)
11   G   Laura Andrews (6-0, Jr., Washington, Okla., 4.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
00   G   Chelsi Welch (5-9, So., Plainview, Texas, 8.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg)

IOWA STATE
21   F   Katie Robinette (6-2, Sr., S. Sioux City, Neb., 14.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
11   G   Mary Fox (6-0, Sr., Lakewood, Ohio, 10.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
12   G   Anne O'Neil (5-11, Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 17.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
14   G   Lyndsey Medders (5-9, So., Los Angeles, Calif., 9.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
31   G   Megan Ronhovde (6-1, So., Barrett, Minn., 10.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

OKLAHOMA (11-6, 3-3 BIG 12)
Oklahoma's duo of senior All-America candidate Dionnah Jackson and sophomore forward Leah Rush has guided the Sooners to a 11-6 overall record and 3-3 mark in the Big 12. The pair leads the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals.

Jackson, the team's most consistent player, has produced one triple double and seven double doubles on the season. She leads the Big 12 in conference games in assists per game (8.3) and defensive rebounds (10.2). She also ranks second in overall rebounds, averaging 10.2 per game.

Rush as scored 20-plus points in five different games, including three in Big 12 action. She's averaging 18.0 ppg and 6.2 rebounds against league teams and shooting 51.7 percent from the field.

The Sooners defense and offensive excution have been the keys to OU's success this season. Oklahoma is holding its Big 12 opponents to just 36.1 percent from the field, 13th best in the nation, and 24.2 percent from the arc, a Big 12 best.

OU's 18.5 assists per game ranks 13th best in the NCAA and leads the league. In six Big 12 games, 71.2 percent of Oklahoma's field goals have been assisted (111 assists/156 FGM).

Overall, Oklahoma is averaging 71.0 points and 41.6 rebounds per game. The Sooners are shooting 32.1 percent from the three-point range and 43.1 percent from the field. OU also holds a +4.2 edge on the boards, 41.6-to-37.4.

IOWA STATE (15-2, 5-1 BIG 12)
Iowa State is a dangerous team as the Cyclones have five different players that rank among the NCAA's best. ISU opened the season winning its first three games before losing to Iowa on Dec. 1. OU also lost to the Hawkeyes in the Junkanoo Jam on Nov. 27. After the Iowa lost, ISU won 12-straight games before suffering its first conference loss of the season to Kansas State, 74-52, in Manhatten, Kan. The Cyclones enter Saturday's game with a 15-2 overall record and 5-1 Big 12 mark.

Senior Anne O'Neil ranks second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 52.2 percent. She's 36-of-69 from the arc. O'Neil also ranks 46th in the nation in scoring with 17.0 ppg, while Lyndsey Medders is 27th with 5.5 assists per game. Senior forward Katie Robinette is 41st in field goal percentage, shooting 51.9.

Senior guard Mary Fox appears twice in the NCAA rankings. She's 36th in 3-point field goal percentage (38.9) and 46th in 3s per game (2.2). Teammate Megan Rohnovde also ranks 46th in 3s per game.

As a team, ISU ranks second in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (8.8), third in scoring (79.2) and rebounding margin (+9.2) as well as sixth in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 34.1 percent. Iowa State averages 23.2 treys per game. NCAA rankings were posted on Jan. 24.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the 41st meeting between Oklahoma and Iowa State. Oklahoma leads the all-time series 24-16. However, the Sooners have not been extremely successful against the Cyclones as of late. OU is 15-3 when playing in Norman. Head Coach Sherri Coale is 1-8 against ISU. OU won the 2003 meeting, 61-48, in Norman.

HEAD COACHES
Sherri Coale (Oklahoma Christian, 1987) is in her ninth season as the head coach at Oklahoma. Coale has built an outstanding resume in that time, leading the Sooners to post season action the last six years, as well as one Final Four and three Big 12 regular-season titles. She has posted a 167-101 career record and coached in the national championship game in 2001-02, falling to undefeated Connecticut, 82-70. Since her arrival in 1996, more than 1 million fans have watched an OU women's basketball game. Before taking over the reigns of the OU program, Coale was the head coach at Norman High School from 1990-96, winning two Oklahoma 6A state titles in that time.

Iowa State is coach by Bill Fennelly (William Penn College, 1979). Coach Fennelly has led Iowa State to seven post season tournaments, including six consecutive NCAA appearances from 1996-2002. The Cyclones advanced to the WNIT Final Four last season and tied for seventh in the Big 12 Conference.

A YEAR AGO VS. IOWA STATE
Oklahoma suffered a 69-51 loss to Iowa State in Ames in 2004. The Sooners shot 34.0 percent from the field, including a 2-of-20 performance from the three-point line. OU was also edged on the boards, 33-32, and was forced into 23 turnovers. ISU shot 43.6 percent from the field and hit 8-of-16 threes in front of 7,010 fans inside Hilton Coliseum.

SOONER NOTABLES VS. IOWA STATE
   Chelsi Welch did not play against ISU last season. In OU's 2003 victory, she scored eight points, had three rebounds, three assists and hit all three attempted foul shots. Welch went 1-of-6 from the arc.
   Lauren Shoush has nine points and nine rebounds vs. ISU. She's played in three games and started one (2003). In the game she started she scored nine points and had seven rebounds in 31 minutes.
   Leah Rush had a double double of 12 points and 12 rebounds in her only game against the Cyclones.
   Erin Higgins has faced ISU once, hitting two threes.
   Iowa State layed off Dionnah Jackson in 2003 to try an stop Maria Villarroel. However, Jackson took ISU for a then-career high 20 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the arc. Her five 3s made still stands as a personal best. She also had seven rebounds and seven assists in OU's win. Jackson averages 13.0 ppg and 4.3 rpg vs. ISU.

OU VS RANKED TEAMS
Under Sherri Coale, the Sooners are 33-48 vs. top 25 programs; 8-28 vs. top 10; and 3-13 vs. top 5 teams. Iowa State is the sixth ranked opponent for the Sooners this season. OU is 1-4 vs top 25 this season.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Oklahoma is 7-1 inside the Lloyd Noble Center this season. OU has produced a home court record of 75-15, an 83.3 winning percentage, over the last seven years. The Sooners have had four perfect non-conference home records and have only lost three non-conference games during the past seven years (Connecticut 2000 (84-68), SMU 2003 (71-68) and Tennessee 2004 (71-55)).

OU STILL AMONG NATION'S ELITE IN HOME ATTENDANCE
OU currently ranks No. 18 on the unofficial 2004-05 women's basketball home attendance rankings compiled by the University of Wisconsin. The Sooners currently draw 5,092 fans to home games.

IN SEARCH OF 500TH PROGRAM WIN
Oklahoma is NINE wins shy of reaching its 500 career victory. The 31-year old women's basketball program has 491 wins.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Oklahoma is one of the best defensive team in the Big 12 Conference. The Sooners are holding their conference opponents to just 24.2 percent (23-of-95) from three-point range and 36.1 percent from the field (137-of-379).

No opponent has shot 50 percent or better against OU this season. Only six teams have hit better than 40 percent (SEMO, Texas State, Iowa, SMS, Baylor, Texas). In addition, only four teams have shot better than 30 percent from three point land (Texas, Baylor, SMS and SEMO).

Oklahoma has shot 40 percent or better from the field in 10-straight games and 14 total, including two 50 percent or better performances.

BIG 12 CONFERENCE LEADERS
OU currently leads the Big 12 Conference in league games in assist/turnover ratio (+1.26) and assists per game (18.40). The Sooners have dished out 92 assists to their 73 turnovers. The Sooners are averaging 14.6 turnovers over in Big 12 play. OU averaged 19.8 turnovers in its first five games and 17.3 in non-conference action.

JACKSON MOVES UP ON DOUBLE-DOUBLES LIST
Oklahoma senior guard Dionnah Jackson is tied for 11th for most OU career double-doubles with 11. She's recorded six this season and has produced one triple double.

Caton Hill holds the school record with 33 double-doubles, followed by Phylshea Whaley's 25. Both players played under current coach Sherri Coale. Angie Welle of Iowa State (1999-02) is the Big 12 record holder for most DD with 54. Hill ranks eighth and Whaley 11 on the Big 12 list.

I SEE YOU
Senior Dionnah Jackson was one short of setting a Big 12 Conference record for most assist in a single game. The 5-9 guard assisted a teammate on a made field goal 16 times, which established a Texas A&M Reed Arena record at for most assists in a single game.

Jackson's performance was the best assist distribution under current Coach Sherri Coale. Stacey Dales-Schuman held the previous best of 14 assists. OU's school record is 19 held by former Sooner Sharee Mitchum against ORU (2-10-94). The Big 12 record is 17 held by Texas Tech's Melinda Schmucker vs. Grambling (3-13-98).

ASSISTING OTHERS THE SOONER WAY
Head Coach Sherri Coale will be the first to tell you that one of the things she looks for on the stats sheet is the assists to field goals made ratio. Coale was pleased with the distribution at Texas A&M as 25 assists were credited to 28 field goals made. That was OU's best performance, under Coale, as 89.3 percent of the Sooners field goals were assisted

Coach Coale also had 16 assists to 18 field goals made (88.9%) against Iowa State on Feb. 22, 2003.

Coale teams have had 21 games where five or fewer field goals were unassisted and six games where three or fewer field goals were unassisted.

Oklahoma leads the Big 12 Conference in assists to field goals made ratio. OU is the ONLY team in the Big 12 that has at least 70 percent of its field goals assisted. OU has 296 assists to its 414 field goals made for 71.5 percent assist to field goals made accuracy.

RUSH HOUR
Sophomore Leah Rush has stepped up her game against tougher competition this season. She's has scored a career-high 26 points twice and produced one double-double.

She's averaging 18.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game vs. OU's better opponents. Five of the opponents are or were ranked at the time OU played them.

HIGGINS BOMBING AWAY
Sophomore guard Erin Higgins broke into OU's all-time record book when she hit her first three-pointer against Southeast Missouri State in the opening game of the season.

Since then, the 5-9 Oklahoman has nailed 36 treys to rank ninth on OU's most career threes made chart. She's connected on 103 threes and is 71 shy of top honors.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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