Completed Event: Women's Basketball at #23 Alabama on February 15, 2026 , Win , 79, to, 71
Final
Women's Basketball
79
at #23 Alabama
71
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Land at No. 25 in Coaches Poll
November 02, 2005 | Women's Basketball
NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma women's basketball team is slotted at No. 25 in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll, which was announced on Wednesday morning. It marks the sixth consecutive year that the Sooners have been ranked in an official preseason poll.
OU is one of four Big 12 teams in the coaches poll. Also of note is the fact that the Sooners have regular season games scheduled with five teams among the top 13.
Oklahoma has also been ranked in the top 25 by four other preseason publications. The highest recognition came from the Women's Basketball News Service, which ranked OU at No. 17. The Associated Press Top 25 Poll has not yet been released.
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The high praise can be credited to the return of three starters, six other veterans with starting experience and the addition of a nationally-touted recruiting class.
The Sooners' lineup will be drastically changed by the addition of 6-4 freshman center Courtney Paris. The true power center's arrival allows junior Leah Rush to move back to the forward position where she could be paired early and often with 6-3 freshman forward Ashley Paris. Along with Rush, junior Erin Higgins is a sure fire bet for the starting lineup where she should extend her streak of 49 consecutive starts.
The OU coaching staff believes Chelsi Welch will return to her freshman year form of 12.1 points per game. A more slashing and agile Welch would jump start an OU offense that will begin in the post for the first time in Coale's tenure. The point guard battle brewed through the summer and fall and is still too close to call.
The reliable Britney Brown was a named a preseason captain in August and hopes to build on her impressive finish to 2004-05. Junior Kendra Moore, who showed tremendous improvement in leadership during the offseason, is a quicker point guard with a flare for the dramatic.
Seniors Laura Andrews and Beky Preston will carry crucial leadership roles on and off the court. Both have averaged 15-plus minutes a game during their careers and should see similar, if not increased, numbers this season. Fellow senior Antoinette Wadsworth tore the ACL in her right knee during off-season conditioning and will be out for the remainder of the season. Wadsworth will not apply for a medical redshirt.
The Sooners will begin the 2005-06 season with an exhibition game against Oklahoma Christian tomorrow at 7 p.m. The doors at the Lloyd Noble Center will open at 5:30 p.m., with a $5 charge for all levels of tickets. Additionally, OU students with valid identification will be admitted at no cost.
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