OU Seeks Title Sweep on Saturday

DALLAS -- After two classic battles during the regular season, Baylor (24-5) and Oklahoma (28-4) will meet for the third time with the title of the Big 12 Championship on the line at Reunion Arena in Dallas on Saturday at 6 p.m. CST.

Kevin Eschenfelder (play-by-play), Debbie Antonelli (color) and Ceal Berry (sideline reporter) will announce the national broadcast for Fox Sports Net. The game will also be available on the local radio station KOKC (1520 AM) with Brian Brinkley and Tara DeGiusti.

Seven points and one overtime separated the Sooners and Lady Bears in the two regular season meetings. Both of those contests went down as impressive wins during Oklahoma's unprecedented 16-0 run to the Big 12 Regular Season Championship.

OU has won 16 straight games and can tie a program record with a win on Saturday. Baylor has won seven straight, including two tough wins by a combined six points over Kansas State and Texas A&M in the conference tourney. After a final minute defeat of Iowa State, the Sooners rolled to an easy 75-54 win on Thursday. OU was able to give its starters an extended amount of rest, with Leah Rush and Britney Brown being the only starters to log more than 20 minutes.

Championship Central

All-time OU is 13-7 in the Big 12 Championship and 7-1 as the top seed. The Sooners are 2-1 in the title game of the league tourney with the wins coming in 2002 and 2004, while the lone loss came in its first appearance in 2001. Baylor and OU actually met in the 2002 title game, with the Sooners coming away with a 84-69 win in route to the Final Four that season.

After Saturday, the Sooners will have to wait until Monday for their NCAA postseason seeding and placement. The NCAA Selection Committee will announce the bracket on ESPN's Selection Monday Show at 6 p.m. In studio for the hour-long broadcast will be Trey Wingo, Stacey Dales-Schumann and Kara Lawson. The network will do a live shot with Sherri Coale and Courtney Paris from the head coach's Norman residence.

Setting The Scene
Date: Saturday, March 11, 2006
What: Title Game - Big 12 Championship
Location: Dallas
Arena: Reunion Arena
Opponent: No. 2 Seed Baylor
Tipoff: 6 p.m. CST
Venue: Reunion Arena
TV: Fox Sports Net
TV Talent: Kevin Eschenfelder (Play-by-play), Debbie Antonelli (Color) & Ceal Berry (Sideline)
Radio: KOKC (1520 AM)
Radio Talent: Brian Brinkley (Play-by-Play) & Tara DeGiusti
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com

Player To Watch
Courtney Paris has taken it to another level against Baylor this season, averaging 27 points, 15 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and two assists in two intense battles. All eyes will be focused on Paris and Baylor's Sophia Young, who have split Big 12 Player of the Year awards to this point. Young has equalled Paris with an average of 27 points, on top of a rebounding average of 11.5.

Semifinals - Missouri Leftovers
(AP) - Courtney Paris scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds as No. 8 Oklahoma won its 16th straight game, 75-54 over Missouri in the Big 12 tournament semifinals Thursday night.

Oklahoma (28-4) scored the game's first 13 points and led 46-17 at halftime. The Sooners, who were the first team to go undefeated in Big 12 play, won their 18th straight conference game.

Paris, who scored a tournament-record 36 points against Iowa State on Wednesday, was 8-of-11 from the floor in 17 minutes. Erin Higgins added 12 points off the bench for the Sooners and Chelsi Welch had 11.

Missouri (21-9) was playing in its first Big 12 tourney semifinal game.

Tiffany Brooks scored 24 points for the Tigers. LaToya Bond, Missouri's top scorer at nearly 18 points a game, didn't score in the first 30 minutes and was held to six points on 1-of-5 shooting.

Oklahoma will play the Texas A&M-Baylor winner in the championship game Saturday night. The Sooners advanced to their third title contest in five seasons.

After rallying in the final minute to beat Iowa State in the quarterfinals, Oklahoma dominated from the opening tip.

The Sooners hit their first four 3-point attempts of the game and shot 59 percent in the first half. Missouri missed its first six shots and turned the ball over twice before Brooks hit a short jumper with 14:37 left in the half to give the Tigers their first points.

Missouri called three timeouts in the game's first 10 minutes to try and slow Oklahoma's momentum. But it didn't help as the Sooners kept building their lead before pulling their starters midway through the second half.

Postgame Notes
Oklahoma
No. 1 seeds are 9-1 in Big 12 Championship semifinal game.

Is 4-0 in the semifinal round and 13-7 overall in the Big 12 Championship. The No. 1 seed has reached the title in nine straight tournaments.

Oklahoma will be making it's fourth appearance in a Big 12 Championship title game, the most of any Big 12 team.

OU head coach Sherri Coale is tied for the second-most wins (13) by a coach in Big 12 Championship play.

Courtney Paris
Recorded a double-double for the 24th-straight game and 29th in 32 games this season; finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Has scored in double figures every game this season.

Moves to second on the OU single-season free-throw attempts list with 223 attempts from the line this season.

Ashley Paris
Scored in double figures for the seventh time this season; finished with 10 points.

Recorded fourth double-double of the season; finished with 10 points and 11 boards.

It marked the fouth time this season that Courtney and Ashley Paris have recorded double-doubles in the same contest.

Chelsi Welch
Scored in double figures for the 16th time this season, third-straight game; finished with 11 points.

Erin Higgins
Scored in double figures for the 13th time this season; finished with 12 points.

Knocked down four 3's, markig the seventh time this season and the 24th time in her career that she has made four or more in a game.

Coale Notches Win No. 200
The Sooners semifinal win over Iowa State clinched win No. 200 for Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale. The Sooner mentor owns a career record of 201-112, which translates into a winning percentage of .642 Her career win total ranks sixth among Big 12 coaches.

600, 400 & 100
Courtney Paris is the only player in Big 12 history to collect 600 points, 400 rebounds and 100 blocks in a season.

700, 500 & 100
Courtney Paris is on pace to become the only player in NCAA history to collect 700 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks in a season. Currently she has 681 points, 471 rebounds and 107 blocks. The milestone is well within reach considering she averages 21.3 points and 14.7 rebounds per game.

Only two players have collected 500 rebounds in the 25-year history of the NCAA. Wanda Ford of Drake had 534 rebounds in 1984-85 and 506 rebounds in 1985-86. Anna Donovan had 504 boards in 1983.

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 97-63 (.606) Big 12 record under head coach Sherri Coale. The Sooners have won four regular season titles (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006) 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.

This season Oklahoma became the first team in Big 12 history to run the table to a perfect 16-0 record in league play. OU has won 17 straight conference games dating back to 2004-05. The Sooners own the conference winning streak record of 18, which was set from 2000-01 to 2001-02.

Overall, OU is 54-26 (.675) in Big 12 games played at the Lloyd Noble Center and 44-37 (.543) in conference road contests.

OU is 13-7 overall in the Big 12 Championship and 7-1 as the No. 1 seed. OU is 2-1 in the title game of the Big 12 Championship and 1-0 when meeting Baylor in the final game.

Streaks
3 Wins over ranked teams
7 Road Wins
6 NCAA Tournament Berths
8 Road Big 12 wins
8 Home Big 12 wins
8 Home wins
8 Winning seasons
16 Wins
17 Big 12 regular season wins
18 Consecutive wins over Big 12 teams
21 Starts for Britney Brown
18 Weeks in AP and Coaches Polls
18 The Big 12 record, set by OU (2001 to 2002) for consecutive conference wins over two seasons
24 Double-Doubles for Courtney Paris
32 Double figure scoring games for Courtney Paris
32 Starts for Courtney Paris
82 Starts for Leah Rush
93 Games with a made 3-pointer

Trends
Erin Higgins is shooting 56 percent from long range over the last four games when she has hit 14 of 25 attempts ... She is OU's second leading scorer during that period at 11 points per ... She has moved up to No. 2 on the single season 3-point makes list with 78 ... The record is 87 ... Courtney Paris is averaging 5.5 blocks during the last four games ... Paris has averaged 23.5 points and 15.3 rebounds against ranked teams this season ... OU has won three straight against ranked teams, two of those being Baylor.

Keep An Eye On...
Courtney Paris already has the NCAA freshman single season rebounding and blocks record and she has a chance at the bigger prize as well. The NCAA single season rebounding record is 534, a number that would take Paris five games to reach at her current pace (14.7 RPG). Paris currently has 471 and is 62 shy of tying the mark.

The NCAA lists the top-13 single season rebounders in the official record books and every one of them came during the 1980's.

Paris entered that list after the March 8 game against Iowa State and is currently has 471 boards this season. She is right behind basketball legend Cheryl Miller, who had 474 at USC in 1984-85.

One For The Books
Oklahoma is one win shy of tying the program record for consecutive wins. The Sooners have won 16 in a row. The record of 17 was set in 2000-01.

Their streak is the fifth longest in the country behind Chattanooga (26), Coppin State (19), Ohio State (19) and Bowling Green (17).

Board Work
Oklahoma is the top team in the Big 12 in terms of rebounding margin at +11.2 and ranked third nationally as of March 9. OU is averaging 44.7 rebounds per game as compared to the opponents 33.5. In 32 games, OU has out-rebounded opponents by double figures on 21 occasions, including 10 of 16 Big 12 regular season games and both tourney games. The season high was a +36 effort against SMU. Connecticut, Michigan State and Texas Tech (in the second meeting) are the only teams to out-rebound the Sooners this season.

Record Breaking Performance
Courtney Paris produced 36 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks in her Big 12 Championship debut against Iowa State on March 8. All totaled she broke 12 different OU and conference records for play during the Big 12 Championship. A list of the records is below:

OU & Big 12 Records
- Points (36)
- Rebounds (16)
- Defensive Rebounds (11)
- Field Goals Made (16)
- Field Goals Attempted (26)
- Blocks (6)

Bracketology
According to the NCAA bracket prediction by Charlie Creme on ESPN.com, the OU women's basketball team is currently slated to receive a No. 3 seed in the Cleveland Regional. OU is slated behind No. 2-seed Rutgers and consensus No. 1 team North Carlina. Creme has OU opening with Southeast Missouri State in the first round at Denver.

The Bracketanica predictions on CSTV.com also has OU as 3-seed in the Cleveland Regional, but they have OU heading to Tucson for the opening round.

A Look Back
Game One - Oklahoma at Baylor
Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale didn't call timeout with the score tied and the clock winding down. Instead, she let her players do what they're taught in practice.

Kendra Moore made that a winning decision - and ended No. 8 Baylor's 25-game home winning streak.

After Baylor tied the game on Angela Tisdale's layup with 7.2 seconds left, the 17th-ranked Sooners pushed the ball up the court. With Erin Higgins covered, Moore found an opening on the right wing and hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to give Oklahoma a 73-70 victory.

Moore scored the last eight points for the Sooners including another 3-pointer with 17 seconds left.

Moore's first 3-pointer of the game put Oklahoma up 70-68 before Tisdale's driving basket for Baylor. Coale then let play continue, and the players knew what to do.

Baylor, the defending national champion, lost at home for the first time since a 69-55 loss to Texas on Jan. 22 - a year ago Sunday. Jordan Davis' desperation inbound pass was knocked down at midcourt as time expired.

Courtney Paris had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Oklahoma. Paris, a 6-foot-4 freshman center, entered the game second in the Big 12 in scoring with a 20.7 average and tops in rebounding at 15.0. Moore finished with 14 points and Higgins had 11.

Postgame Notes
OU snapped Baylor's 26-game home winning streak. It marks the fourth significant home streak OU has snapped this season. OU snapped an Iowa State streak of 21, a New Mexico streak of 16 and a Missouri State streak of nine.
OU has made 34 three-pointers in three Big 12 road games this season and is shooting 45.3 percent from long range in those contests.
Courtney Paris recorded her NCAA best 16th double-double and extended her double-double streak to 11 games, both of which are OU records. Her 23 points were also her best effort since the beginning of the Big 12 season.
At the 18:37 mark of the second half Paris had clinched her 19th straight double-figure scoring game with 10 points. The streak is tied with Stacy Dales as the fourth best streak in OU history. It includes every game of her career.

A Look Back
Game Two - Baylor at Oklahoma
(AP) Courtney Paris had 31 points and 19 rebounds, and hit two key free throws to keep No. 9 Oklahoma ahead in the final minute of an 81-77 overtime win against 12th-ranked Baylor on Feb. 12.

After three straight lead changes, Leah Rush put Oklahoma ahead 76-75 with a layup set up by Baylor's double-team of Paris. Paris then rebounded Erin Higgins' missed 3-pointer and put it back to give Oklahoma a three-point lead.

Sophia Young responded with a right-handed basket in the lane, then knocked the ball out of bounds off Paris at the other end. However, Young couldn't connect on a jumper in the lane, and Jordan Davis fouled Paris without the ball to send the 53-percent free-throw shooter to the line.

Paris made both her shots with 19.4 seconds left, stopping to let out a yell after the first went down. Chameka Scott missed a potential tying 3-pointer from the left wing, and Britney Brown hit one of two free throws to give Oklahoma a four-point lead. Baylor (17-5, 7-4) didn't get another shot off as the game ended with a scrum on the floor for the ball.

Young scored a career-high 36 points and added 14 rebounds to set a Big 12 record with her 54th career double-double.

Rush scored 12 points to become Oklahoma's 19th player to surpass 1,000 in her career. Krista Sanchez and Brown had 11 points apiece, and Paris' sister, Ashley, had 10 rebounds for Oklahoma, which had a 52-38 rebounding edge.

Courtney Paris notched her 17th straight double-double and her 22nd of the season, extending her Big 12 records in both. Oklahoma's start is the best in Big 12 history.

Postgame Notes
OU played in front of a record crowd of 12,112. The previous record was 12,080 against Tennessee in 2003.
OU improved to 5-3 in overtime under Sherri Coale and 3-1 at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Leah Rush is the ninth fastest player to reach 1,000 points in OU history.
Krista Sanchez has scored 34 points in Big 12 play and 21 of those have come in the last two games.
Ashley Paris had 10 rebounds, marking the fifth time this season she has reached double-figures in boards.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors