Marquee Matchup at LNC Tonight

NORMAN, Okla. -- Facing its third Big Ten team of the season and its third ranked opponent, the No. 16 Oklahoma women's basketball team (9-2) will look to get back on a winning track when it faces No. 11 Michigan State on national television Wednesday. The match up of top-20 teams will air live on Fox Sports (Cox channel 37 in OKC area) with Kevin Eschenfelder on play-by-play and Debbie Antonelli on color commentary.

The contest will also air live on KOKC (1520 AM) with Brian Brinkley on play-by-play and Tara DeGiusti on color commentary. Toys for Tots will be on hand until halftime collecting gifts from fans. In exchange, the first 500 fans with gifts will receive a free OU santa hat. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on hand for pregame pictures as well.

The contest between the Sooners and Spartans is one of the national marquee pre-conference games of the 2005-06 season. Last season Michigan State lost to Baylor in the National Championship Game. The Spartans return three starters and are led by senior forward Liz Shimek (21.3 PPG) and senior guard Lindsay Bowen (14.4 PPG). MSU is 7-2 on the season and 0-2 against ranked teams. Both of their losses came to top-10 teams, Tennessee (83-55) and Maryland (75-61).

OU Game Notes | Order Tickets | Basketball Gameday Central

The Sooners are coming off their second loss of the season, a 86-75 upset at the hands of Illinois. The Sooners are undefeated at home this season (4-0) and 1-1 against ranked teams, including an 83-78 home defeat of No. 22 UCLA on Dec. 5. OU will rely on freshman Courtney Paris and her averages of 21.7 points and 14.1 rebounds. Second options Erin Higgins (10.5 PPG) and Leah Rush (12.0 PPG) have come on strong offensively in the last six games.

Family pack tickets have sold out for the highly-anticipated match up, although single game and group tickets remain. To order call 1-800-456-GoOU or click on the Order Tickets link above.

The Sooners will have five days off for the Christmas holiday after facing the Spartans. OU will return to the hardwood on Dec. 30 when it makes its second trip of the season to The Pit to face No. 18 New Mexico.

Setting The Scene
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2005
Location: Norman, Okla.
Tipoff: 7 p.m. CST
Venue: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000)
TV: Fox Sports Net
TV Talent: Kevin Eschenfelder (Play-by-Play) & Debbie Antonelli
Webcast: None
Radio: KOKC (1520 AM)
Radio Talent: Brian Brinkley (Play-by-Play) & Tara Degiusti
Tickets: (800) 456-GoOU
Ticket Office Holiday Hours: Dec. 26 - closed; Dec. 27 - 10-2; Dec. 28 - 1-5; Dec. 29 - 10-2; Dec. 30 - 10-2; Dec. 31 - Closed.
Promotions: Pregame presentation from USA Basketball to Courtney Paris. Pregame pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Toys for Tots at entrances, first 500 fans with a gift receive a free OU Santa hat.

Player To Watch
Courtney Paris meet Liz Shimek, Michigan State's leading scorer and a player of the year candidate. While they probably won't guard each other, Courtney Paris' help defense and scoring ability will get a serious challenge from Shimek, who is leading the Big Ten in scoring (21.3) and is third in rebounding (8.7). Paris has out done her high standards in the last three games with averages of 22.0 points and 19.7.

Illinois Leftovers
Oklahoma hadn't paid much attention to Danyel Crutcher in scouting Illinois for Sunday's game because she was averaging a meager three points per game coming off the bench this season. The No. 15 Sooners are regretting that decision.

Crutcher scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to spark the Illini to an 86-75 upset Sunday. Janelle Hughes scored 11 straight points during a 16-4 run in the second half as Illinois (6-3) snapped a seven-game losing streak against teams ranked in the AP Top 25.

Courtney Paris scored 27 points and grabbed 19 rebounds for Oklahoma (9-2), but she didn't get a lot of help and when her fourth foul forced her to the bench with 12:36 to go, Illinois was poised to strike.

Erin Higgins was 3-of-4 from 3-point range and had 11 points for Oklahoma. Laura Andrews added 10.

Notes
OUs' offense was clicking at a high percentage in the first half, shooting 53 percent (19-36) from the field and 57 percent (4-7) from 3-point range. Illinois countered by making all four of its 3-point attempts and 17-of-19 at the free-throw line.

Paris picked up her fourth foul with 12:36 to play in the second half and OU went up 58-50. She went to the bench with 20 points and 13 rebounds marking her Big 12 leading eighth double-double in 11 games this season.

Paris moved up to sixth on the OU single season blocks list with three swats, which increased her season total to 34. She passed Jo Mosley (32 in 1988-89) and trails Angi Guffy (35 in 1991-92).

Laura Andrews collected 10 points, all in the first half, in 23 minutes of action. She was only able to get off one shot attempt in nine second-half minutes. Andrews season high was 11 in the opener against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Erin Higgins was 3-of-4 from three point range to increase her Big 12 leading season total to 30. She is shooting .440 (30-65) from long range this season. With 164 career makes, she is 11 shy of setting the OU career record. Higgins also started her 60 consecutive game.

Fan Support At Record Levels
Off to a 9-2 start and ranked No. 15, the Oklahoma women's basketball team is enjoying record support from Sooner fans this season.

Season tickets sales are at an all-time high with 4,013 packages already sold. In mid-October the fan support helped OU race past the previous record of 3,512 season tickets, which was set the season (2002-03) after OU reached its first Final Four. It took only a few weeks for the sales to surpass 4,000 and set a new standard for Sooner support.

The season ticket sales have helped OU set an attendance record this season. All four of OU's regular season home games this season have been attended by 5,000 or more fans. It marks the first time in OU history that it has drawn 5,000-plus for four pre-January games. Currently, OU is ranked No. 12 nationally in average attendance.

The women's hoops team is also receiving record support from fans that can't make it out to the arena. Some 200-plus viewers tuned into the O-Zone's live webcast of the Dec. 5 game against No. 22 UCLA. It marked a record turnout for any event, regardless of sport, for the O-Zone, which is the premium pay-site connected to SoonerSports.com.

Michigan State Tidbits
No. 11 Michigan State comes to Norman riding a five-game winning streak and a 7-2 record. The Spartans are yet to play a close game. Both of their losses came to top-10 teams, Tennessee and Maryland, by an average of 21 points, while they have won by an average of 20.2 points in their seven victories.

Last season was a record year for MSU that was topped off with the program's first Final Four and National Championship Game appearances. MSU set a record with 33 wins, while claiming the Big Ten Tournament title and victories over 13 ranked teams last season.

The 2005-06 edition is led by Wade Trophy Candidate Liz Shimek, who is leading the Big Ten in scoring (21.3) while ranking third in rebounds (8.7) and field goal percentage (.616). The senior guard comes into the game on fire, averaging 29.5 points over the last four games. The work of senior point guard Lindsay Bowen gives MSU one of the most deadly duos in the country. Bowen is the fourth leading scorer in Spartan history and the best 3-point shooter in Big Ten history. The Wooden Award candidate is averaging 14.4 points per game. Outside of its two awards candidates, MSU relies on a consistent rotation of six players. The seventh and eighth players, Myisha Bannister and Tiffanie Shives, are pitching in just over 11 minutes per game.

The battle for the boards could decide the game. Shimek and OU's Courtney Paris are two of the nation's best rebounders, while both teams rank at the top of their conference in rebounding margin (8.8 for MSU and 13.8 for OU).

Wednesday will mark the first meeting between the programs. OU is 8-5 all-time against Big Ten teams, while MSU is 7-7 against the Big 12.

Scouting The Big Ten Race?
One might think Oklahoma was entering the Big Ten race with the number of conference foes they play this season. OU has already defeated Iowa and lost to Illinois last Sunday. The Sooners face Michigan State on Wednesday and Ohio State in the next month. The Sooners drew the top-two teams in conference preseason poll, Ohio State (1) and Michigan State, in addition to No. 5 Iowa and No. 9 Illinois. All-time, the Sooners are 8-5 against the Big Ten.

Board Work
Oklahoma is the top team in the Big 12 in terms of rebounding margin at +13.8. OU is averaging 44.8 rebounds per game as compared to the opponents 31.0. In 11 games, OU has out-rebounded opponents by a minimum of 14 boards on six occasions, including four of the last six contests. The season high was a +36 effort against SMU. Connecticut has been the only team to out-rebound the Sooners this season.

The Moore The Better
Junior point guard Kendra Moore has played more minutes, 127 to be exact, in the last four games than any stretch in her career. Those minutes have never been more efficient for the Ardmore native, who has dished out 22 assists and 10 turnovers for a 2.2 assist -to-turnover ratio.

Moore, whose minutes have partly increased as a result of several nagging injuries to Britney Brown, dropped career-bests of eight assists against Oral Roberts and No. 22 UCLA, as well as setting personal best in points (13) and minutes (33) against the Bruins.

Moore was playing 19+ minutes a game before the recent three-game stretch.

Hot Start for Higgins
Erin Higgins has already knocked down 30 three-pointers this season and is shooting 46 (30-65) percent from long distance. The hot start is in contrast to last season when she started the season by making 11 of her first 50 attempts (22 percent).

There are a number of factors behind her improved accuracy. Perhaps the biggest effect has been the open space created by OU's inside game. Higgins also believes she has become a more consistent shooter, while Coach Coale credits her improved dribble and drive ability. Higgins has hit a number of bombs off the dribble, a skill she polished during the off-season.

Higgins is racing up the OU career 3-point charts and is within striking distance of the record. Currently, she is ranked No. 2 with 164 makes and only trails Etta Maytubby (174). Higgins is also second in career attempts (431) and fourth in percentage (.381).

The Rush Is On
Leah Rush has averaged 15 points over the last six games, up from her 8.7 average over the first five games of the season. Rush switched positions to small forward during the off-season and is beginning to flourish in the new position. Last season Rush averaged 15.5 PPG and earned All-Big 12 honors while spending the majority of her time at power forward and center.

The change in positions is allowing her to show off her outside shooting ability. She is second on the team and seventh in the Big 12 with a .452 three-point field goal percentage. She has hit 14-of-31 attempts this season and 10-of-17 in the last four games.

Charity Worker
Junior Chelsi Welch made her first 25 free throws this season to extend her career best streak to 28 consecutive free throws dating back to the Kansas State game on Feb. 13, 2005. She missed her eighth attempt against Oral Roberts but finished the game 11-12 from the charity stripe. On the season she is 29-30 with a Big 12 leading .967 percentage

For her career, Welch is an .842 (154-183) shooter. Her career percentage would top the OU record books, but she is 17 attempts short of the 200 minimum.

Welch isn't the only exceptional free throw shooter on the OU squad. Leah Rush is shooting at an .815 (194-238) percentage, which is currently the second best mark in OU history. Krista Sanchez, Kendra Moore and Erin Higgins also have career percentages of .700 or better.

Stingy Sooners
OU is holding opponents to a .383 shooting percentage this season, which is 99 points lower than OU's mark of .481. The Sooners have held seven of their 11 opponents under .400 from the field with a season best mark of .194 against SMU.

Records Set
Below are the records that freshman Courtney Paris has set in 11 games:
* The fastest player to 100 and 200 points in OU history, she needed five games to eclipse the century mark and 10 to reach 200.
* The fastest player to 100 rebounds in OU history, she needed nine games to reach the century mark.
* Set an OU freshman single game record with 22 rebounds against UCLA.
* Owns the best 10-game freshman scoring average, 21.0, in OU history (previous was 13.2 by Angie Guffy, 1991-92).
* Owns the best 10-game freshman rebounding average, 13.6, in OU history (previous was 8 by Angie Guffy, 1991-92).
* Set an OU record by becoming the first player to record a double-double in the first three games of her career.
* Set an OU record by becoming the first player to score 10 or more points in the first 11 games of their career.
* Set an OU record by recording double figure rebounds in the first three games of her career.
* Owns the seventh best single season block total with 31 blocks.
* Set an OU freshman debut record with 24 points in the opener against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
* Set a Preseason WNIT single game record with 20 rebounds in the second round game against SMU. Also set the tournament rebound record with 54 total boards in four games

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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