OU Aims at Records on Wednesday

NORMAN, Okla. -- Winners of seven straight, the No. 9 Oklahoma women's basketball team (19-4, 9-0) begins a two-game home stand on Wednesday night at 7 when Kansas comes to the Lloyd Noble Center. KOKC (1520 AM) will broadcast the game on the radio dial with Brian Brinkley (play-by-play) and Tara DeGiusti (color commentary). Additionally, fans who have subscribed to the premium O-Zone on SoonerSports.com can watch a live webcast of the game.

The Sooners will attempt to become the first Big 12 team to begin the conference season with 10 consecutive wins on Wednesday. OU is the only school to start 9-0 and it has done it twice. The other occurrence was during the 1999-00 Big 12 season.

Courtney Paris will be chasing a record of her own when she attempts to notch her 21st double-double of the season. She is currently tied for the Big 12 single season record with Angie Welle of Iowa State, who had 20 in 2000-01. The Wooden Award Candidate also carries an OU and Big 12 record streak of 15 consecutive doubles. The freshman phenom is averaging 21.3 points and 14.7 points per game, both of which rank in the top-5 nationally.

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Kansas will counter with its own prolific scoring post in Crystal Kemp. Kemp is fourth in the conference in scoring (19.5 ppg) and seventh in rebounding (8.4 rpg). The senior post helped KU snap a three-game losing streak with 19 points, including the game winner, against Iowa State on Saturday.

The finale of the short home stand is Sunday at 2 p.m. against No. 12 Baylor. The game is expected to be a sellout and fans are encouraged to purchase tickets before they arrive at the arena. Fox Sports Net will broadcast the game nationally with Kevin Eschenfelder on play-by-play and Debbie Antonelli on color commentary.

Setting The Scene
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006
Location: Norman, Okla.
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

Player To Watch
On the verge of setting a new Big 12 standard for double-doubles, Courtney Paris remains in the spotlight for Oklahoma. Paris has 20 double-doubles this season, including 15 straight, and needs one to break out of a tie with Angie Welle of Iowa State for the highest single season total in conference history. On Wednesday Paris will also be responsible for KU leading scorer Crystal Kemp, who is averaing 19.1 points per game.

Sign of the Times - Ninth
Oklahoma returned to the top-10 of the Associated Press Poll this week when they jumped two spots to No. 9. It marks the first time in three and one-half seasons that OU has been in the top-10. The last occurrence was in the final poll of the 2001-02 when the Sooners were ranked No. 2.

WhiteOUt A Sellout?
The Feb. 12 women's basketball game between No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 12 Baylor has officially sold out according to the Oklahoma Athletics Ticket Office. It marks the second time in program history that a women's game has sold out prior to the event.

There remains the possibility that seats will become available after the doors open an hour and one-half before the 2:30 p.m. tip off time. In that case those restricted general admission tickets will be sold at the North and East ticket windows for $8 dollars each.

The OU Athletics Department is bringing back the popular WhiteOUt the Lloyd Noble Center' promotion for the contest with the defending National Champion Lady Bears. Every ticket holder in attendance will receive a free OU “Cheer Like a Champion” white t-shirt will be placed in every seat in the Lloyd Noble Center. Fans are encouraged to wear the t-shirt during the match up of the Big 12's top-two teams.

Fans, especially groups, with general admission tickets are encouraged to arrive early to ensure appropriate seating.

The free T-shirts have been provided by Carl's Jr., USA Screenprinting and the Hudiburg Auto Group.

Missouri Leftovers
(AP) Courtney Paris recorded her 15th straight double-double with 27 points and 16 rebounds to help No. 11 Oklahoma end Missouri's 11-game home winning streak with an 88-73 victory on Saturday night.

The 6-foot-4 freshman has 20 double-doubles, tying a Big 12 record set by Angie Welle of Iowa State in 2001-02, in the first 23 games for Oklahoma (19-4, 9-0 Big 12). The consecutive games streak already is a conference record.

Paris, who missed much of the second half after getting her fourth foul and also was rested during the Sooners' dominant first half, entered the game leading the nation with 14.7 rebounds per game and averaging 21 points.

LaToya Bond scored 30 points and Christelle N'Garsanet 16 for Missouri (16-5, 6-3), which had the longest home winning streak in the conference. The Tigers, who were the first also-ran in the last Top 25 poll, shot only 34 percent in the first half.

Missouri's home streak was the third ended by Oklahoma in the last three games. The Sooners previously halted perfect runs of 13 games at Texas A&M and 25 games at Baylor, and earlier in the season ended streaks of 21 games at Iowa State and 16 at New Mexico.

Chelsi Welch added 17 points and was 3-for-4 from 3-point range for Oklahoma, which has won seven in a row overall. Paris' twin sister Ashley had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Courtney Paris nearly had a double-double after the first 8 1-2 minutes when she had 10 points and eight rebounds, before getting rested late in the half. The Sooners shot 51 percent and ended the half with a midcourt shot at the buzzer by Kendra Moore after the last of Missouri's 11 turnovers for a 47-27 lead.

Postgame Notes
OU improved to 8-0 when two players score 15 or more points this season. The Sooners are also undefeated, 10-0, when scoring 80 or more points.
Kendra Moore was three points off a career high with 11 in the first half, including a buzzer beating 3-pointer from one step inside the half court line that ended the half.
Chelsi Welch posted 17 points. Welch also knocked down three 3-pointers, marking the third time this season she has knocked down at least three treys in a game.
Paris moved up to No. 4 on the Big 12 single-season rebounding list. She has 339 and is shy of No. 3 Danielle Crockrom of Baylor (2000-01). Paris also moved up to second on the OU single season offensive rebound list with 108. She passed Cathy Bassett, who had 105 in 1990-91.

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 91-63 (.590) Big 12 record under head coach Sherri Coale. The Sooners have won three regular season titles (2000, 2001, 2002) and two conference tournaments (2002, 2004). 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 9-0 in conference, which is a Big 12 record for consecutive wins to start league play. OU is the only conference team to accomplish the feat, having done so in 1999-00 as well. OU's longest conference winning streak is 14, set during the 2000-01 season.

Overall, OU is 50-26 (.658) in Big 12 games played at the Lloyd Noble Center and 41-37 (.526) 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.

Kansas Tidbits
After posting an unblemished 11-0 non-conference mark, the Kansas women's basketball team has struggled to a 3-6 record in Big 12 play. KU has defeated Oklahoma State, Texas and most recently on Saturday night, Iowa State. The Jayhawks are 0-4 on the road this season while OU enters winners of seven straight and eight of nine at home this season.

Kansas is led by second year head coach Bonnie Henrickson, who owns a combined record of 184-84 (.696) in nine seasons as a head coach, including seven at Virginia Tech. While with the Hokies Henrickson led her teams to postseason play every season. In her inaugural season in Lawrence, KU went 12-16 and missed out on the postseason.

Kansas is led by 6-2 senior forward Crystal Kemp, who is fourth in the Big 12 in scoring at 19.1 points per game. Kemp also ranks seventh in rebounding (8.4), seventh in field goal percentage (.537) and 11th in free throw percentage (.778). Second on the KU team in scoring is senior Kaylee Brown, who is tallying 13.3 ppg. Also in double figures is senior guard Erica Hallman at 13.2 ppg.

Erin Higgins has averaged 12 ppg in two career meetings with Kansas. She tied a career high with six 3's against KU as a freshman. All-time Higgins is 8-19 (.421) from three-point range against KU. Leah Rush has averaged 9.5 points per game with a personal best of 15 last season in Lawrence.

Kansas leads the all-time series 27-21 but OU has won seven straight meetings dating back to 1999. OU owns a narrow advantage, 10-9, in games played in Norman, which includes three straight triumphs at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Conference Only
Several Sooners are at or near the top of the Big 12 conference only stats ... Erin Higgins leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.86, which is 1.6 higher than her closest competitor ... Chelsi Welch is fourth in 3-point percentage at 48.3 ... She also leads the league in free throw percentage at 90.6 ... Laura Andrews is eighth in 3-point percentage at 41.7 ... Courtney Paris leads the league in six categories.

Board Work
Oklahoma is the top team in the Big 12 in terms of rebounding margin at +11.2 and ranked fourth nationally as of Jan. 31. OU is averaging 43.9 rebounds per game as compared to the opponents 32.7. In 23 games, OU has out-rebounded opponents by double figures on 15 occasions, including six of nine 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.

What Brown Can Do For OU
Junior point guard Britney Brown's improved play since the start of the Big 12 season has been a major factor in OU's surge to the top of the league standings. Brown is averaging 8.4 points and 4.4 assists per game in Big 12 play. Both marks trump her non-conference averages (3.5 and 2.8) by hefty margins (4.9 in points, 1.6 in assists). The Norman native has taken advantage of opponents sagging defense by increasing her offensive output, especially lately when she has scored in double figures in three of the last four contests.

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 a consistent scoring threat and a regular contributor during the Big 12 season, during which time she has averaged 12.4 points per game. She averaged 7.1 prior to the start of the Big 12.

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 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 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 and setting her career mark at 176. She has since increased the total to 192.

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 38.1 (192-504). She recently set an OU record of 19 consecutive games with a three-pointer. At her current pace, Higgins will finish her career with 296 treys.

Higgins Lights It Up From Outside
Erin Higgins has already knocked down 58 three-pointers this season and is shooting 42 (58-138) percent from long distance. The hot start is an improvement over last season when she made 37 percent (67-181) on the year and ranked 14th in the Big 12.

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 72-77 with a Big 12 leading 93.5 percentage, which led the NCAA as of Jan. 31. Welch has also had a streak of 23 straight makes this season.

For her career, Welch is an 85.6 (197-230) 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 80.9 (213-263) percentage, which is currently the third best mark in OU history. Krista Sanchez and Erin Higgins also have career percentages of 70 percent or better.

Records Set
Below are the records that freshman Courtney Paris has set in 23 games:
* Owns the OU freshman rebounding record with 339 boards and counting.
* Owns the OU single season record with 20 double-doubles.
* Owns the OU single season record with 229 defensive rebounds and counting.
* In the midst of OU record streak of 15 consecutive double-doubles.
* Owns the OU freshman scoring record with 489 points and counting.
* The fastest player to 100, 200, 300 and 400 points in OU history, she needed five games to eclipse the century mark and 10 to reach 200,14 to reach 300 and 20 for 400.
* The fastest player to 100, 200 and 300 rebounds in OU history, she needed nine games to reach the century mark, 14 to reach 200 and 21 for 300.
* Set an OU record by becoming the first player to score 10 or more points in the first 23 games of their career, which is the third best streak in program history.
* Set an OU freshman single game record with 22 rebounds against UCLA.
* Tied an OU single game freshman scoring record with 32 points against Texas. She shares the honor with LaNeishea Caufield (1999 vs. Missouri).
* 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 recording double figure rebounds in the first three games of her career.
* Owns the second-best single season block total with 72 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.
* No. 4 on the OU career double-double list with 20.
* Set Big 12 record with eight weekly awards in the same season. Also tied Big 12 record with five Big 12 Rookie of the Week awards this season.

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 to collect 456 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 660, which would fall just short of the top five that is headlined by Tennessee legend Tamika Catchings at No. 3 with 711. She is also on pace to set the NCAA freshman blocks record with a projected total of 96.

90 & 50
Oklahoma became the fourth team in the Big 12 to claim 90 regular season conference victories with its defeat of Oklahoma State on Jan. 31. The win was also the 50th conference triumph at the Lloyd Noble Center for OU. Only Texas Tech, Texas and Iowa State have more regular season league wins than OU.

Home Court Advantage
OU has posted an 8-1 record on its home floor, the Lloyd Noble Center, this season and a 85-19 (.817) mark since the start of the 1998-99 season.

Sorry Pam Pennon
Sorry Pam Pennon (1995-96) but your name was just erased from the OU record books, at least in one category. Pennon had held the No. 10 spot in career 3-pointers (88) until Chelsi Welch knocked down three treys at Missouri on Feb. 4. Welch currently has 89 career 3's and is 38 shy of No. 9 Melissa Richie (1992-95). Laura Andrews and her 85 career makes is just behind Pennon and Welch at No. 12 on the career list.

Paris Owns Big 12 Weekly Honor Mark
Courtney Paris has won five Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week awards and three Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the week award this season. The combined total of eight weekly awards is a single season conference record. The five rookie awards ties the single season record held by three others.

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, a fourth on Jan. 16 and a fifth on Jan. 23. She was also named Co-Big 12 Player of the Week on Jan. 3 and Feb. 6, while taking sole possession of the award on Jan. 30.

On Feb. 6, she shared the award with Missouri's LaToya Bond after averaging 22 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in wins over Oklahoma State and Missouri.

On Jan. 30, Paris took the accolades after recording-setting performances helped Oklahoma remain undefeated in Big 12 play. In OU's two wins (Texas and Texas A&M) she averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 assists.

On Jan. 23, Paris earned the award after averaging 20 points, 15 rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game against Texas Tech and No. 8 Baylor.

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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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