Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Oklahoma Christian (EXH) on October 29, 2025 at 6 PM
6 PM
Women's Basketball
vs Oklahoma Christian (EXH)
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Mississippi State OU's Next Target
November 22, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2007
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The Sooners are relishing their first victory of the season against Arizona State while the Lady Bulldogs look to bounce back after suffering their first loss against Iowa Thursday.
The game tips at 1 p.m. Central and will be broadcast by radio on KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City and on the internet at SoonerSports.com All-Access elsewhere.
PREVIEWING MISSISSIPPI STATE
Mississippi State (4-1) will be hungry coming off its first loss of the season against Iowa on Thursday.
Starting guards Alexis Rack and Marneisha Richard are confident ball handlers who will expose gaps in the lane. However, they sometimes lose the handle as was the case Thursday as the duo combined for five of the Bulldogs' nine turnovers.
Assisted shots are few and far between for a team that takes as many 3-pointers as shots in the paint.
Mississippi State's defense runs man-to-man almost, if not always, the entire game, but will look to keep the ball around the perimeter when defending Oklahoma.
It is the first meeting between Oklahoma and Mississippi State.
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RECAPPING ARIZONA STATE
Courtney Paris had 16 points and 19 rebounds, and sister Ashley scored a career high 21 points to help Oklahoma (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) win for the first time this season, 69-57 over Arizona State (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) on Thursday in the Caribbean Challenge.
Courtney Paris had her 69th double-double in 72 career games.
Danielle Robinson added a career high 18 points for Oklahoma (1-2), which opened the season with losses to No. 3 Maryland and No. 1 Tennessee.
Briann January and Dymond Simon scored 16 points each for Arizona State (2-2).
Oklahoma shot 60.6 percent from the floor and took a 40-18 lead with 2:58 left in the first half on Courtney Paris' basket, and held the Sun Devils without a field goal for nine minutes until Sybil Dosty scored with 1:34 remaining.
Arizona State closed the first 20 minutes on a 8-4 run to left the score 44-24.
The Sun Devils continued their strong defense in the second half and held Oklahoma without a field goal for nearly 4 minutes to close to 67-54. Robinson scored to end the drought and Oklahoma held on for the 69-57 win.
Freshman Phenom
Danielle Robinson's third career game saw her score in double figures for the third time, this time with a career best 18 against Arizona State. For the third straight game, she was OU's second leading scorer. Robinson shot 9-for-11 from the field.
Finally, A Win
After dropping a heartbreaker with a three-point loss to No. 1 Tennessee, Oklahoma bounced back to dominate Arizona State.
At No. 10 in the Associated Press poll, the Sooners who opened the season with a loss to No. 3 Maryland, were the highest ranked 0-2 team in the history of the poll.
D-Robbing
Against Maryland, freshman guard Danielle Robinson (nickname: D-Rob) counted six of her 15 points the easy way, by converting all three of her steals into uncontested layups.
Against Tennessee, Robinson had a game-leading four steals, which OU converted into five points. An off game against Arizona State saw her grab only one steal, which she grabbed off an inbounds play and successful turned into a made jumper.
Second Chance Success
On the season, Oklahoma has converted 44 offensive rebounds into 36 points.
TOWERING TANDEMS
It was a battle of the bigs when 6-4 Courtney Paris met 6-6 Kirsten Thompson Thursday when OU and Arizona State hit the hardwood.
It was the 20th time Paris matched up against a player with equal or greater height. Paris averages 20 points and 15.3 rebounds, just under her career averages, when the opposing team's starting forward/center is 6-4 or taller. Conversely, an opponent of equal or greater height to Paris averages just 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Paris has matched up with several 6-4 and 6-5 forwards and centers, but just once against a 6-6 player -- Texas Tech's Patrice Edwards, who scored 16 and had five rebounds in OU's 70-67 win in Lubbock, Texas, last season. Edwards came off the bench in Tech's meeting in Norman for 12 points and 10 boards.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK, ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
After her performance against No. 1 Tennessee, Danielle Robinson earned Co-Rookie of the Week honors from the Big 12 Conference. She shared the weekly award with Texas forward Kathleen Nash.
Robinson was also honored Wednesday, Nov. 14, as the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame Female High School Athlete of the Year at the hall of fame's induction ceremonies. Robinson was unable to attend due to preparation for Thursday's game against Tennessee in Tampa, Fla.
BIRTHDAY GIRL
Amanda Thompson celebrated her 20th birthday Sunday, Nov. 18, night in Norman. Teammates took her out for a special dinner and Nyeshia Stevenson picked up the tab.
SEASON TICKET UPDATE
As of Monday, Nov. 19, the OU Athletics Ticket Office had sold approximately 6,561 season ticket packages. The number breaks the record of 6,465 season tickets bought for OU women's basketball last season.
Though reserved level season tickets have sold out, general admission season tickets remain and fans are encouraged to purchase them prior to the start of the season. GA season tickets are available for $115.
Group and single game tickets became available Monday, Nov. 19.
Single game tickets for all home games are $8 for adults and $5 for youths (K-12).
The Sooner fan base is one of the nation's fastest growing. The Oklahoma women's basketball team ranked No. 4 in attendance last season, averaging 10,437 fans. That was an increase of 37 percent from the 2005-06 season when Lloyd Noble Center games averaged 7,630, which was an increased of 35 percent over the previous season.
Fans can purchase season tickets by calling th OU Ticket Office at (800) 456-GoOU or online at SoonerSports.com.
TEAM CAPTAINS
Since Britney Brown, Erin Higgins and Leah Rush -- the captains for the past two seasons -- have departed, new leaders must take control. The 2007-08 captains, as voted by team members, are Ashley Paris, Courtney Paris, Jenna Plumley and Amanda Thompson.
THE NATION'S TOUGHEST START
Oklahoma will play 11 regular-season games, among eight different teams, ranked in the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Coaches' Poll. That is not the toughest schedule in the nation as No. 1 Tennessee will look to earn its way back to the national title game with 12 games among 11 preseason Top 25 teams.
However, OU will face a tougher start than any other team in college basketball with its first three games among teams in the top 12, including No. 1 Tennesee and No. 4 Maryland -- the past two national champions. All three of these games will be played at neutral sites.
FRESHMAN FACTS
After losing six seniors, the OU women's basketball team should be expected to look and play much differently this season than past Sherri Coale-coached teams have played. However, while these freshmen are very talented and will make their names known quickly, they do draw comparisons to some familiar faces.
Danielle Robinson | 5-9 | G | San Jose, Calif.
Robinson was the Sooners' surprise pickup of the 2007 recruiting class. After acknowledging OU was off her radar until her official visit, Robinson made the decision to be a Sooner before she checked her bags for the return flight home. The speedy guard will see time both on and off the point and draws comparisons to Dionnah Jackson.
Carlee Roethlisberger | 6-1 | F | Findlay, Ohio
Having the third most recognizable surname speaks to the star power on the Sooners' roster. Yes, Carlee is the sister of Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben, but she may the family's best athlete. Roethlisberger is leanest Sooner and the one with the greatest ceiling in terms of untapped basketball potential. Her play resembles another lean forward in former Sooner Leah Rush.
Jenny Vining | 5-9 | G | Marshall, Ark.
This Arkansas high school star will remind fans of former Sooner Erin Higgins because of her 3-point range and accuracy, although Vining's may prove to be better in both cases. Head coach Sherri Coale says that Vining might be the best freshman she has ever coached because of her ability to quickly learn from mistakes and make correct adjustments in practice.
Lauren Willis | 5-11 | G | Overland Park, Kan.
Willis was an all-stater in Kansas and walked-on to the OU program. She has been a stellar defender in practice as was quite the spark in OU's preseason intrasquad scrimmage as she went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in limited action. Willis is the daughter of Steve Willis, a placekicker on Kansas State football's first ever bowl team, and the former Lois Groen, an All-American and Big Eight Conference track and field champion at Iowa State.
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SOONERS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN BIG 12 Texas A&M, the 2006-07 Big 12 co-champions with Oklahoma, received seven of 12 first-place votes to edge the Sooners, who received five first-place votes, in a split decision between the two teams. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team. PARIS PRESEASON BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR The 6-4 center, who averaged 23.5 points and 15.9 rebounds, was last season's Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Sooners to title defenses of the conference's regular season and tournament championships. Ashley Paris was an honorable mention for the All-Big 12 team. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SOONERSPORTS.COM BLOG
Even though she was out of the country, Courtney Paris kept everyone at home up to speed on her progress with USA Basketball via the OU Women's Basketball Blog on SoonerSports.com.
OU head coach Sherri Coale submits regular postings and this season several OU players will enter the cyberspace realm with their own unique contributions.
PARIS A PRESEASON WOODEN AWARD CANDIDATE
Courtney Paris was named one of 30 preseason candidates for the 2007-08 Women's Wooden Award announced by the John R. Wooden Award committee Wednesday, Oct. 31.
Paris, a two-time Wooden All-American, was also a preseason nominee last year and was one of 16 finalists for the 2007 Women's Wooden Award. Tennessee's Candace Parker was the 2007 recipient of the honor.
The award is named for the three-time college basketball All-American, 1932 National Player of the Year and 10-time national championship coach John Wooden.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (1979), Michael Jordan (1984), Tim Duncan (1997), and last year's recipients, Kevin Durant of Texas and Candace Parker of Tennessee.
PARIS AND TEAM USA QUALIFY FOR OLYMPICS
Courtney Paris missed 30 days of the Sooners' preseason training...and head coach Sherri Coale probably couldn't have been more pleased with the result.
Courtney Paris, one of two collegians playing for the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team, swept through the FIBA Americas Zone Tournament in Valdivia, Chile, winning the gold medal against Cuba on Sept. 30 and, more importantly, clinching a berth for the United States in next year's Olympic Games.
Paris was a role-player for the U.S., as one of very few post players her size in international basketball. She averaged nine minutes per game as the Americans went through the tournament undefeated at 5-0.
It was Paris' seventh gold medal as part of a USA Basketball team.
PARIS AND U21 TEAM WIN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Paris earned twice as much gold this summer as she helped the USA Basketball Women's Under 21 Team to a World Championship title in July.
The U.S. defeated Australia, 96-73, in the title game in Moscow, Russia, to give Paris and Team USA its fourth straight gold in age-group basketball.
Paris played 39 games with USA Basketball in age group contests and never lost.
She averaged 10.9 points and 8.0 rebounds in eight contests during the World Championships.
WBB Highlights: OU 96, Iowa 62
Monday, March 24
WBB Highlights: OU 81, Florida Gulf Coast 58
Saturday, March 22
WBB: March - Where Dreams Become Reality
Friday, March 21
WBB Highlights: OU 69, Kentucky 65
Friday, March 07
