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
Saturday, December 10
Springfield, Mo.
1:35 PM
University of Oklahoma
68
at
57
Missouri State
Sooners Snap Missouri State Streak, 68-57
December 10, 2005 | Women's Basketball
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Freshman Courtney Paris scored 15 second-half points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead No. 16 Oklahoma (9-1) to a 68-57 win over Missouri State (3-2) on Saturday.
Oklahoma (9-1) saw a 16-point first-half lead shrink to 46-42 with 9:36 left after a basket by Missouri State's Kari Koch. Oklahoma, which committed 25 turnovers, responded with a 14-3 run to push its lead to 60-45 with 4:08 left.
Paris was held scoreless in the first half, missing her only two attempts. Missouri State (3-2) shot 34 percent (20-for-59) from the field for the game. Oklahoma hit 22 of 42 for 52 percent.
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Leah Rush led Oklahoma with a season high 21 points. Erin Higgins added 13 and Kendra Moore finished with 11.
Koch finished with 24 points and Tahnee Balerio had 18.
The Sooners were able to snap the Lady Bears nine-game home winning streak.
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Game Notes
OU Team Notes
OU is off to a 9-1 start, which is its best since 2001-02 when the Sooners started 10-0 and eventually reached the Final Four. Missouri State fell to 3-2 on the season and had its nine-game home winning streak snapped. The Sooners will prepare for finals with an eight-day break before traveling to play Illinois on Sunday, Dec. 18 at Noon CST.
OU raced out to an 25-9 lead thanks to 9-13 shooting and 6-8 from 3-point range. Erin Higgins knocked down all three of her 3-point attempts, while Leah Rush hit a pair and Kendra Moore contributed one.
OU held Missouri State to .339 (20-59) shooting from the field making the Lady Bears the eighth OU opponent that has failed to shoot over .400. Conversely, the Sooners shot .524 (22-42) from the floor.
Erin Higgins Notes
Erin Higgins was 3-for-7 from 3-point range and increased her Big 12-leading leading season total to 27. Higgins is 26-53 from 3-point range over the last eight games and has made at least three from long range in four consecutive contests.
Higgins started her team-leading 59th consecutive game.
Kendra Moore Notes
Kendra Moore started for the first time this season and just the second time in her career. Her other start came at Nebraska last season.
Moore scored 11 points and reached double figures for the second consecutive game and third time this season. Moore also played 31 minutes and committed just three turnovers. She has committed just seven turnovers in 91 minutes of play over the last three games.
Moore also tied a season-high with four steals. She had previously set the mark against San Francisco.
Courtney Paris Notes
Courtney Paris was held scoreless in the first half but still finished with her Big 12 leading seventh double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds. The freshman from Piedmont, Calif., has scored in double figures in every game this season. Paris had collected 15 or more rebounds in half (five) of OU's games this season.
It marked the first time this season that Paris failed to score in the first half.
Paris' 18 rebounds increased her weekly total to 40 rebounds. She set an NCAA Division I season high with 22 boards against No. 22 UCLA on Monday night.
Paris had two blocks to move to 31 on the season, which is the seventh-best single season total in OU history. She passed Cathy Bassett (1990-91) on Saturday and is one swat short of Jo Mosley (1988-89).
Leah Rush Notes
Leah Rush set a season high with 21 points and is averaging 16.2 points over the last five games. Last season, Rush led OU in scoring with 15.5 PPG.
Rush has made three 3-pointers in each of the last three games, which is a career best. Prior to the current streak, she had never made three from long range in consecutive games. She is 9-13 from long range in the last three games and has upped her season average to .481 (13-27), which leads OU.
Rush also played a season-high 38 minutes.
Krista Sanchez Notes
Krista Sanchez, who did not play against No. 16 UCLA, came off the bench in the second half to score four points and dish out two assists in eight minutes of action.
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