Top-25 Action at Lloyd Noble Monday

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 19/20 Oklahoma women's basketball team (7-1) will host its first ranked opponent of the season when No. 23 UCLA (4-2) comes to Norman for a Monday night showdown at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners and Bruins will tip at 7 p.m., with the game being broadcasted on SoonerSports.com's O-Zone and locally on KOKC (1520 AM).

UCLA boasts a trio of All-America candidates at the guard positions. Leading that threesome is senior Lisa Willis, who is scoring 20.3 per game and grabbing 5.3 rebounds. Also up for national awards are Noelle Quinn (17.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG) and Nikki Blue (12.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.2 APG).

The Sooners will counter with their own trio of Courtney Paris (21.4 PPG, 12.0 RPG), Leah Rush (10.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG) and Erin Higgins (9.6 PPG, 3.1 APG). Paris, a two time winner of Big 12 Rookie of the Week, is coming off a 19 point, five rebound performance in 13 minutes against Oral Roberts. Rush and Higgins were the catalyst for the Sooners 31-point win over the Golden Eagles thanks in large part to their combined 32 points, 21 of which came in the second half.

O-Zone Live

The UCLA game could be the first of three games against ranked opponents this month. After the Bruins, OU will travel to Missouri State (12/10) and Illinois (12/18) before returning to host 2005 national runner-up Michigan State (12/21) and finally closing the calendar year with a return trip to No. 21 New Mexico (12/30). The non-conference portion of the schedule with come to a close with a Jan. 9 trip to No. 5 Ohio State.

After Monday night, the Sooners will have a five-day break to prepare for finals week and Missouri State. The Lady Bears and Sooners will tip from the notoriously-loud Hammons Center on Saturday at 1:35 p.m.

Setting The Scene
Date: Monday, Dec. 5, 2005
Location: Norman
Tipoff: 7 p.m. CST
Venue: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000)
TV: None
Webcast: O-Zone
Radio: KOKC (1520 AM)
Radio Talent: Brian Brinkley (Play-by-Play) & Tara Degiusti
Tickets: (800) 456-GoOU
Promotions: It is Mascot Picture Night and fans can get their pictures taken with Boomer and Sooners prior to the game on the Upper South Concourse. Additionally, the OU Athletics Department and UPS have teamed up for the Sooner Salute, in which long time season ticket holders will be honored prior to tip-off.

Player To Watch
Off to the best start of career, junior Erin Higgins has been a major contributor on both ends of the court. One of the most deadly 3-point shooters in the country, Higgins leads the Big 12 with 20 makes from behind the arc. Just this season she has made four 3-pointers in four different games. On the defensive end, Higgins has been saddled with guarding the opponents best guard. So far the results have been impressive. Both of Higgins roles will be vital as OU faces UCLA and its three guards that are billed as All-America candidates.

Oral Roberts Leftovers
Erin Higgins scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half to help Oklahoma pull away for a 107-76 win against Oral Roberts at the Bertha Teague Classic on Saturday.

Higgins was one of six Sooners to score in double figures for OU, which tallied 107 points, its highest output since a 113-72 win over Baylor in 1991.

Courtney Paris led OU in scoring (19 points) despite only playing 13 minutes - 3 in the second half - before fouling out. Leah Rush (16), Chelsi Welch (11), Ashley Paris (15) and Beky Preston (10) also contributed to the offensive outburts.

OU led 47-43 at the half before mounting an early 20-3 run to put the game out of reach.

Notes
*OU had six players score in double figures, topping the previous season high of four set against Wisconsin Milwaukee.

* OU turned in season high percentages from the field (.569), 3-point range (.538) and the free throw line (.810). OU's 34 free throws were also a season high.

* Higgins moved to No. 2 on the OU career 3-pointers list with 154. She only trails record holder Etta Maytubby (1993-96), who made 174 from long range.

* Courtney Paris entered the OU single season top-10 for blocks with two first half swats, which increased her season total to 27. The OU single season record is 78 by LaNae Jones in 1995-96.

* Chelsi Welch made her first seven free throws of the game to extend her steak of consecutive makes to 28. She missed her eighth free throw before finishing 11-for-12 at the line. She is currently 29-of-30 (.967) from the charity stripe this season.

Stingy Sooners
OU is holding opponents to a .369 shooting percentage this season, which is 112 points lower than OU's mark of .481. The Sooners have held six of their eight opponents under .400 from the field with a season best mark of .194 against SMU.

In the Big 12 ranks, OU is No. 4 in field goal percentage defense (.369) and No. 6 in scoring defense (62.9).

The Rush Is On
Leah Rush has averaged 13.7 points over the last three games, up from her 8.7 average over the first five games of the season. Her scoring has been important with Courtney Paris fouling out in two of the last three games. Last season Rush averaged 15.5 PPG.

UCLA Tidbits
UCLA is off to a 4-2 start and like OU, comes into Monday night's contest in the midst of a four-game winning streak. UCLA has defeated Georgia, Charlotte, UC Irvine and Clemson since dropping its first two games of the season to Baylor and BYU.

OU will have to pay special attention to the guard trio of Lisa Willis, Noelle Quinn and Nikki Blue. The threesome combines for 50.6 points per game for the high scoring Bruins, who are averaging 81.8 points per game. Additionally, the guards account for more than 50 percent of their teams rebounding with a combined average of 21.3.

Only six players on the UCLA roster are averaging more than 10 minutes per game with Willis, Quinn and Blue all averaging 30-plus minutes per game. That is in stark contrast to OU, which has 10 players averaging 10 or more minutes per game and only one, Erin Higgins, in the 30-minute range.

The Bruins are coached by Kathy Olivier, who is in her 13th year and owns a 185-166 record.

Monday will mark the second all-time meeting between the programs and the first since 1982 when UCLA won 82-63 in Los Angeles.

The two programs have few ties. The most significant tie is with the Paris twins, who were recruited by UCLA. The Paris twins are also acquaintances with several players on the UCLA roster thanks to years of playing AAU ball around the state of California.

Higgins Off To Hot Start
Erin Higgins has already knocked down 20 three-pointers this season and is shooting 43 (20-46) percent from long distance. The hot start is in contrast to last season when she was shooting 22 percent (11-49) after eight games.

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 154 makes and only trails Etta Maytubby (174). Higgins is also second in career attempts (413) and fifth in percentage (.373).

Hack-A-Courtney
Horned Frog head coach Jeff Mittie admitted that TCU intended to make Courtney Paris earn her points from the free throw line last week. TCU was the first team to use an approach many were expecting to see sooner rather than later.

Against TCU, Paris answered with a 6-of-9 first-half effort and a final line of 8-11. In the last four games Paris is 19-27 (.704) from the charity stripe. That stretch follows a 10-22 (.454) mark in the first four games of the season.

On the season Paris is shooting .592 (29-49) from the free throw line.

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 .811 (184-227) 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.

Board Work
Oklahoma is the top team in the Big 12 in terms of rebounding margin at +13.9. OU is averaging 45.5 rebounds per game as compared to the opponents 31.6. In eight games, OU has already topped 50 rebounds on two occasions, an accomplishment achieved only once last season. OU had a season-high 66 boards against SMU and 50 against TCU.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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