Sooners Host Upset-Minded Raiders

NORMAN, Okla -- Oklahoma (13-4, 3-0 Big 12) has taken an early lead in the Big 12 race and sits as the only undefeated team remaining in the conference, but its standing faces a tough challenge in the next four contests when the Sooners face all four Texas schools. That stretch begins with Texas Tech (7-7, 2-1 Big 12) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. , at the Lloyd Noble Center. The contest will be broadcast live by the Sooner Sports Network on KAUT-UPN (Cox channel 16 in OKC-metro area) with Mark Rodgers on play-by-play and Patti Phillips on color commentary.

Tech, which was picked second in the coaches preseason poll, begins a stretch for OU that features games against top-three teams from the Coaches Preseason Poll. After the Lady Raiders, OU travels to preseason favorite Baylor this weekend before hosting No. 2 Texas next Wednesday. Texas A&M, who was picked seventh in the preseason, wraps up the stretch in College Station next weekend.

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The Lady Raiders come to Norman after claiming their biggest win of the season on Sunday night, a buzzer beating win over No. 5 Baylor in Lubbock. TTU began the season ranked in the top-15 nationally but has struggled to a 7-7 overall mark. With the skills of senior All-America candidates Erin Grant and LaToya Davis, Texas Tech remains a deadly threat against any team in the country.

Oklahoma will turn to Courtney Paris (20.9 PPG, 14.8 RPG) and Chelsi Welch (8.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG), who have carried the scoring load over the last five games.

OU returns to the road for the seventh time in the last 10 games when it travels to defending national champion Baylor (12-2, 2-2) on Saturday for a 7 p.m. game at the Ferrell Center.

Setting The Scene
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006
Location: Norman, Okla.
Tipoff: 7 p.m. CST
Venue: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000)
TV: Sooner Sports Network - KAUT-UPN (Cox Channel 16)
TV Talent: Mark Rodgers (play-by-play), Patti Phillips
Webcast: O-Zone
Radio: KOKC (1520 AM)
Radio Talent: Brian Brinkley (Play-by-Play) & Tara DeGiusti

Sooner Sports Network Affiliates
KAUT-UPN in OKC (Cox 16)
Cox 78 in Tulsa
KSWO-Lawton
KOMI-Woodward

Player To Watch
Over the last five games Britney Brown has averaged 6.2 points and 6.4 assists per game. The Sooner junior was reinserted into the starting lineup at the start of the 4-1 run and has since established herself as the Sooners' primary point guard. The most recent development for Brown is her improved scoring, 9.5 points over the last two games when she has shot 70 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. Brown's defense will be tested on Wednesday when she matches up with Texas Tech point guard and All-America candidate Erin Grant.

Bedlam Leftovers
When Oklahoma's 3-point shooters are on their game, Courtney Paris can afford to slow down her prolific scoring pace.

Leah Rush scored 15 points, Chelsi Welch added 13 and No. 16 Oklahoma used a 3-point barrage to beat Oklahoma State 85-51 on Saturday.

The Sooners, who matched their season low with two 3s in a 75-71 loss to Ohio State on Monday, hit 13-for-28 to equal their best performance of the season against Iowa State in their Big 12 opener on Jan. 4.

Seven different Sooners hit 3-pointers, and five had at least two apiece. Welch, who was 3-for-6, had the most.

Paris tied her season low with 12 points, but the Sooners got plenty of scoring elsewhere. Laura Andrews had a season-high 12 points off the bench and Britney Brown and Kendra Moore had 10 apiece.

Paris added 16 rebounds for her nation-best 14th double-double. She's on pace to break Oklahoma's school records in scoring, rebounding and several other categories.

Postgame Notes
Courtney Paris had five blocks in the contest to improve her season total to 51, which is the fourth best single-season mark in OU history. She is two shy of LaNae Jones' at the third spot.

Powered by three first half 3-pointers, Chelsi Welch reached double figures (13) in scoring in the first half to extend her consecutive streak of 10+ games to five. It is the longest stretch for the Sooner junior since her freshman season (2002-03) when she was named co-Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Britney Brown had a season-high 10 points, which comes on the heels of her previous best of nine against Ohio State. Brown had four assists and has tallied 32 over the last five games

Six Sooners were in double figures in points (C. Paris, Welch, Andrews, Rush, Brown, Moore) marking the third time five or more players have hit the double figure mark. OU also had six players with 10-plus points against Oral Roberts in the Bertha Teague Classic, which also took place at Gallagher Iba Arena.

Big 12 History
The Oklahoma Sooners went 8-8 in the Big 12 last season and finished in a tie for sixth place. All-time, OU has a 84-63 (.571) Big 12 record under head coach Sherri Coale. The Sooners have won three regular season titles and two conference tournaments. The Sooners were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll this season, behind No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Texas Tech.

Oklahoma is 3-0 in conference, which is its third best start to Big 12 play. They can tie the second best mark of 4-0 (set in 2001-02) with a win on Wednesday. The best start in program history was 9-0 in 1999-2000.

Overall, OU is 47-26 in Big 12 games played at the Lloyd Noble Center and 37-37 in conference road contests.

Junior Leah Rush was named to the Coaches Preseason All-Big 12 Team and freshman Courtney Paris was selected by the coaches as the Preseason Freshman of the Year.

Paris In Primetime Launched
The Oklahoma athletics media relations office launched a promotional campaign supporting Courtney Paris for national player of the year and national freshman of the year. The email based Paris in Primetime campaign will highlight Paris' accomplishments and preview the Sooners upcoming national TV games.

Texas Tech Tidbits
Texas Tech enters the game with a 7-7 overall record and a 2-1 Big record. The fourth-place Lady Raiders have defeated Baylor and Texas A&M since dropping their opener at Kansas State. A buzzer beating bank shot by Alesha Robertson sealed a two-point win over the Bears on Sunday. Since dropping to 2-5 in the early going, the Lady Raiders have won five of seven.

Texas Tech is led by head coach Marsha Sharp, who is 564-182 in 24 seasons at the helm. Last season the Sharp led squad finished the Big 12 season 12-3 and advanced to the Sweet 16.

Point guard Erin Grant is wrapping up an illustrious career at Texas Tech. This season she is averaging 13.0 PPG and 6.5 APG. She is benefitting from the consistent offense of LaToya Davis in the post, who is third in the Big 12 with 19.8 PPG, second in rebounding (11.2) and leading in field goal percentage (.616). Other consistent offensive producers are Erin Myrick (8.2 PPG), LaVonda Henderson (7.7 PPG) and Alesha Robertson (10.9 PPG).

OU has won seven of the last 11 meetings between the programs, but still trails in the all-time series 21-10. Tech won both meetings last season, including a 83-70 decision in Norman. The Lady Raiders have taken eight of 14 meetings in Norman.

OU junior Leah Rush is the only Sooners that has averaged double figure points against Tech. In four games, Rush is averaging 12.3 PPG and 6.3 RPG. Chelsi Welch set her career high of 23 points against Tech as a freshman, a mark that she tied this year against Iowa State. Last season LaToya Davis averaged 21 points against the Sooners, while Grant averaged 13. The Lady Raiders have been hurt by the season long injury (ACL) to Chesley Dabbs.

Texas Tech Ties
Chelsi Welch is a Plainview, Texas, native that grew up minutes from Lubbock and was recruited by the Lady Raiders ... Fellow juniors Erin Higgins and Leah Rush were also recruited by Texas Tech, as was senior Laura Andrews ... Texas Tech has no Oklahoma natives on its team ... Erin Grant and LaToya Davis played with Welch during the 2003 World University Games Team.

Getting A Rush on the Competition
Leah Rush, who is ranked fifth in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage at .404, is deadly when she makes her first attempt of the game. She has done so in 11 contests and shoots .54 percent (19-36) when she hits her first from long range. OU is 10-1 those contests with the lone loss coming to Illinois.

Threes the Key?
Oklahoma is shooting 39.5 percent (94-for-238) from 3-point range in its 13 wins and 17.6 percent (12-for-68) in its four losses.

Board Work
Oklahoma is the top team in the Big 12 in terms of rebounding margin at +12.2 and ranked third nationally as of Jan. 9. OU is averaging 44.4 rebounds per game as compared to the opponents 32.2. In 17 games, OU has out-rebounded opponents by double figures on 12 occasions, including all three Big 12 games this season. The season high was a +36 effort against SMU. Connecticut and Michigan State are the only teams to out-rebound the Sooners this season.

Guess Who's Back
It was a hot topic of conversation leading up to the 2005-06 season; whether or not Chelsi Welch would be able to return to the form that earned her Co-Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors in 2002-03.

The junior has reestablished herself as consistent scoring threat in the last five games. She has reemerged to average 16.0 points and 5.0 rebounds during the run.

Welch has tallied 54 percent (80-of-147) of her points this season in the last five games.

Welch refound her stroke at the right time for OU. The Sooners were coming off a two-game losing streak, during which the missing piece was a secondary scorer alongside freshman phenom Courtney Paris. Coincidentally, the five-game outburst coincided with her return to the starting lineup. She started the first four games of the year before coming off the bench in the next eight contests.

Welch tore the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in her left knee prior to her sophomore season (2003-04). She returned last year to average 5.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game last season. As a freshman she averaged 12.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

The Best of All-Time
It was only a matter of time before Erin Higgins took the spot at the top. On January 7th she became the OU career leader in 3-pointers made by knocking down two against Colorado to improve her career total to 176. She has since increased the total to 180.

Higgins hit five 3-pointers against Iowa State on Jan. 4, to move into a first place tie with Etta Maytubby on the OU career list. Both players had 174 career treys, although it took Higgins 84 less attempts to reach the mark. Now the Oklahoma City native has the remainder of this season and next year to build on the record.

Higgins is also fourth in career 3-point percentage at .381 (180-473) and second in attempts with 473. At her current pace, Higgins will finish her career with 296 treys.

Hot Start for Higgins
Erin Higgins has already knocked down 46 three-pointers this season and is shooting 43 (46-107) percent from long distance. The hot start is an improvement over last season when she impressed by shooting 37 percent (67-181) on the year. Higgins is on pace to make 87 threes this season, which would tie the single season record held by Carin Stiles (1990-91)

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.

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. The streak was three short of breaking into the NCAA records books as one of the top-20 streaks of all-time.

On the season she is 51-53 with a Big 12 leading .962 percentage and recently had a streak of 23 consecutive makes end.

For her career, Welch is an .854 (176-206) shooter, which is the best mark in OU history. She isn't the only exceptional free throw shooter on the OU squad. Leah Rush is shooting at an .815 (203-249) percentage, which is currently the third best mark in OU history. Krista Sanchez, Kendra Moore and Erin Higgins also have career percentages of .700 or better.

Records Set
Below are the records that freshman Courtney Paris has set in 17 games:
* The fastest player to 100, 200 and 300 points in OU history, she needed five games to eclipse the century mark and 10 to reach 200 and 14 to reach 300.
* The fastest player to 100 and 200 rebounds in OU history, she needed nine games to reach the century mark and 14 to reach 200.
* Owns the OU single season record with 14 double-doubles.
* Owns the OU freshman rebounding record with 251 boards.
* Set an OU freshman single game record with 22 rebounds against UCLA.
* In the midst of OU record streak of nine consecutive double-doubles.
* 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 17 games of their career.
* Set an OU record by recording double figure rebounds in the first three games of her career.
* Owns the fourth-best single season block total with 51 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.
* Tied for No. 8 on the OU career double-double list with 14.

NCAA Impact
Courtney Paris is putting together one of the best freshman seasons in NCAA history and if she continues her current pace the record books will show it. Stretched out over a 31-game season, which includes the regular season and one Big 12 tournament game, she is on pace collect 458 rebounds, which would top the current record of 443 by Ida Johnson (Delta State, 1982). She is also on pace for the sixth best scoring season by a rookie in NCAA history. Her projected total is 647, which would fall just short of the top five that is headlined by Tamika Catchings at No. 3 with 711.

Four-Time Rookie Winner
Courtney Paris (Oklahoma) was awarded the first two Big 12 Rookie of the Week awards for the 2005-06 season and then claimed another on Jan. 3 and a fourth on Jan. 16. She was also named Co-Big 12 Player of the Week on Jan. 3.

On Jan. 16, Paris garnered the rookie honor after averaging 17.5 points, 15 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in games against Ohio State and Oklahoma State.

On Jan. 3 Paris was given rookie and player honors for averaging 26.5 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks against top-20 teams Michigan State and New Mexico.

On Nov. 28 Paris was selected for leading Oklahoma to a perfect 2-0 record and the Odwalla Classic Championship while averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

On Nov. 21 Paris won the first honor of the season after leading OU to a 3-1 start and the championship game of the Preseason WNIT by averaging 22 points and 13.5 rebounds.

Setting The Standard
Oklahoma's non-conference schedule is one of the toughest in the country and the numbers show it may have been the most treacherous in the Big 12. OU has played more ranked teams, five, than any other Big 12 school.

Texas is the only other Big 12 team to play at least three ranked non-conference opponents.

As a whole the Big 12 posted a 5-12 non-conference mark against ranked teams with OU being responsible for two of those wins (UCLA and New Mexico) and three of the losses (Connecticut, Michigan State and Ohio State). OU is the only Big 12 team with two wins against ranked non-conference opponents.

Fan Support At Record Levels
Off to a 13-4 start and ranked No. 16, 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 4,000-plus 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 six 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 more than three pre-January games. Additionally, the Sooners turnout of 8,727 for the game with Michigan State was the third highest pre-January turnout in program history. Currently, OU is ranked No. 12 nationally in average attendance. Every home game this season has ranked among the top-45 attendance crowds in program history with Michigan State ranking the highest at No. 10 all-time.

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.

Stingy Sooners
OU is holding opponents to a .390 shooting percentage this season, which is 79 points lower than OU's mark of .469. The Sooners have held 11 of their 17 opponents under .400 from the field with a season best mark of .194 against SMU.

Rare Misses
Leah Rush went 3-8 from the free throw line at New Mexico on Nov. 16. It was just the ninth time in her career that she has missed two free throws in the same game and the first time since Feb. 16, 2005, at Colorado that she had missed consecutive attempts. SHe has not missed two in a game since. Rush is a career .815 (203-249) shooter from the charity stripe, which ranks as the third best percentage in OU history.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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