OU Tips Off Regular Season Thursday

NORMAN, Okla. -- After cruising to a 63-point victory in their only exhibition game, the Sooners took eight days to prepare for the Preseason WNIT and opening-round opponent Wisconsin Milwaukee. With the exhibition season in the rearview, both teams will tip off the regular season at the Lloyd Noble Center on Friday at 7 p.m.

The Preseason WNIT field is composed of 16 teams, which will compete on campus only sites for the duration of the tournament. The Sooners and Golden Panthers are competing for rights to play SMU or Louisiana Lafayette in the second round. If OU wins it will host the second round at the Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.

Also in the Sooners end of the bracket are Eastern Washington, Cal, New Mexico and Oral Roberts. The opposite end of the bracket is highlighted by east coast schools UConn and Boston College. Another east coast school, Notre Dame defeated Ohio State in the 2004 Preseason WNIT Championship. Nine of the 16 teams in this year's field reached postseason play in 2004-05. A complete bracket is available on page six of this release.

Watch Live (O-Zone) | WNIT Bracket

Expect a similar gameplan as the one employed against Oklahoma Christian when OU's offense began on the inside. Wisconsin Milwaukee has five players at 6-0 or taller and only one above 6-1. That player is freshman center Traci Edwards, who stands 6-3 and averaged 16. 5 points and nine rebounds in the first two exbibition games of her career. Senior forward Nichole Drummond was second on the UWM squad in scoring during their exhibition season. She tallied 11. 5 PPG and 5.5 RPG.

UWM went 1-1 in the exhibition season for the third consecutive season. The Golden Panthers defeated Wisconsin-Parkside, 74-58, on Nov. 2 before falling to AAU Wisconsin, 71-70, on Monday evening. UWM had a 14-14 record in 2004-05, which included an 11-5 record and second place finish in the Horizon League.

Setting The Scene
Date: Friday, Nov. 11, 2005
Location: Norman, Okla.
Tipoff: 7 p.m.
Venue: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000)
TV: None
Webcast: O-Zone on SoonerSports.com
Radio: KOKC (1520 AM), Yahoo! Radio
Radio Talent: Brian Brinkley (Play-by-Play) & Tara Degiusti
Tickets: $10 reserved, $8 adults, $5 children, OU students free.
Series: First meeting
Promotions: Free schedule cards and posters

Player to Watch
Freshmen center Courtney Paris scored 25 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in her Lloyd Noble Center debut during last Thursday's exhibition against Oklahoma Christian. The 6-4 center needed just 19 minutes (six in second half) to collect the impressive double-double. The only UW-Milwaukee to stand above 6-1 is freshman center Traci Edwards, who averaged 16.5 points and nine rebounds in two exhibition contests.

Preseason Wrap Up
* Oklahoma is 13-0 in exhibition games since 2000.
* The 107-44 win marked the fifth consecutive season the Sooners have defeated Oklahoma Christian during the exhibition season.
* Over those five meetings, OU has defeated OC by an average of 36 points.
* OU only played one exhibition game this season, as opposed to the usual two, because of the possibility of playing four games in the Preseason WNIT. The WNIT tourney is preseason' only in name.All of the contests are sanctioned by the NCAA.

Oklahoma Christian Leftovers
Courtney Paris scored 25 points and pulled down 20 rebounds and Ashley Paris, who's 2 minutes older, added 20 points and 23 boards as Oklahoma beat Oklahoma Christian 107-44 Thursday, Nov. 3 in the exhibition debut for the two highly touted freshmen. They combined for 27 points and 20 rebounds in the first half, including all of Oklahoma's points as the Sooners outscored the Eagles 16-10 in one first-half span to build a 23-13 lead.

Leah Rush, Oklahoma's leading scorer a year ago, scored eight straight points as Oklahoma put away the game with a 12-1 run to close the first half. The Sooners led 51-26 at halftime and then scored the first 17 points of the second half.

Rush finished with 15 points and Chelsi Welch added 11 for Oklahoma, which outrebounded its NAIA opponent 65-27.

Notes:
* The crowd of 5,342 was the largest turnout for an exhibition since 2001-02.
* The Paris twins combined to outscore (45 to 44) and outrebound (41 to 27) Oklahoma Christian in the game.
* OU went 41-71 (.577) from the field and 4-14 (.286) from behind the experimental three point line.
* Chelsi Welch turned in five assists, which would have tied a career high if it were an official game.
* Only 28 percent (20-71) of OU's shot attempts, were from outside the lane.
An Immediate Impact
Coming into the season much was made of the potential impact of twin freshman post players Ashley and Courtney Paris. In their exhibition debut they fufilled the expectations with a pair of double-doubles.

Courtney Paris, who was the nation's consensus No. 1 recruit, poured in 25 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Ashley, a consensus top-10 recruit, came off the bench to score 20 points and collect 23 boards in 23 minutes. The duo did not attempt a shot outside of the paint while leading the post driven Sooner offense that only attempted 28 percent of its shots outside of the lane.

Although exhibition games do not count in the OU record books, Ashley's 23 rebounds were two short of the single game record of 25 held by Cathy Bassett since 1991.

Speaking of Debuts
Below are the top three freshman debuts in terms of points and rebounds in OU history:

Points

Erin Higgins 18   vs. Tennessee 2002

Margaret McKeon   14      vs. Texas-San Antonio 1986

Four players 13

Rebounds

Angie Guffy 12 vs. Texas-San Antonio 1991

Leah Rush 11 vs. Oral Roberts 2003

Kris Hanson 9 vs. Texas-Pan American         1988

Season Tickets Sales Surpass Record
Two weeks ago season tickets sales for OU women's basketball games were on a record pace. As of Monday, Nov. 7, the brisk sales have a set a program record. At the beginning of the week, 3,712 season tickets had been sold surpassing the old record, set in 2002-03, by over 200 seats. Season and single game tickets still remain for the entire 2005-06 schedule. Reserved level season tickets are $107 and general admission level are $80.

Experimental Rules
The NCAA Rules Committee is enforcing two experimental rules during all Division I women's basketball exhibition games and selected tournaments, including the Preseason WNIT.

The 3-point line has been moved back nine inches (20 feet, 6 inches from rim) and is marked by a three-inch line. Players can shoot a legal 3-pointer from beyond or on top of that line, but the shot will be worth two points if any portion of the foot crosses the inside of the line.

The second experimental rule is the 10-second backcourt rule that is utilized in men's college game. Teams have 10 seconds to get the ball across half court after a made basket or change in possession.

Wadsworth Calls It A Career
Senior-to-be Antoinette Wadsworth suffered an ACL tear in her right knee during off-season conditioning and will not play this season. The Grand Prairie, Texas native is expected to graduate in May, 2006 and will not seek a medical redshirt, effectively ending her collegiate career. Wadsworth suffered a similar injury during the 2001-02 preseason and was sidelined for duration of that season.

Wadsworth's finishes her Sooner career with averages of 7.9 minutes per game, 2.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG.

Coale & Coaches vs. Cancer
Sherri Coale will be featured in the intros to the 2005 Coaches vs. Cancer men's and women's games on Dec. 5 and 6 at 6 p.m. , Central. Coale, who penned an online journal for SoonerSports.com and ESPN.com about the cancer battle of former player Jamie Talbert, spoke with producers about her relationship and support for the Sooner alum. Talbert recently completed chemotherapy for ovarian cancer and is in the early stages of recovery.

Points
Erin Higgins	18	vs. Tennessee	2002
Margaret McKeon	14	vs. Texas-San Antonio	1986
Four players	13

Rebounds
Angie Guffy	12	vs. Texas-San Antonio	1991
Leah Rush	11	vs. Oral Roberts	2003
Kris Hanson	9	vs. Texas-Pan American	1988

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