OU Handles Miss. State, 88-73

Nov. 23, 2007

Final Stats | Quotes Head Coach Sherri Coale

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) -- For teams who will have to defend the Sooners, picking your Paris is like picking your poison.

Ashley Paris, twin sister of Courtney, scored 24 points and No. 10 Oklahoma used a 10-0 second-half run Friday to beat Mississippi State 88-73 in the Caribbean Challenge.

Ashley Paris added eight rebounds for the Sooners, who are 2-2 after dropping their first two games. Nyeshia Stevenson added 17 points and Courtney Paris 16.

"It's been good for the team to pick the two wins," said Ashley Paris, who had 21 points Thursday in a victory over Arizona State. "On a personal level, I'm happy with my self because I'm starting to accomplish goals to help my team, and Courtney."

Imesia Jackson led Mississippi State with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Bethany Washington had 16 points.

The Lady Bulldogs started the season 4-0, but have dropped two games in Mexico, against Iowa and Oklahoma.

The Sooners started the game on a 12-2 run and surged ahead 31-11 with 9:03 remaining in the first half. But the Lady Bulldogs did not allow a field goal for more than three minutes, closing to 40-33 with a 3-pointer by Danielle Rector.

"We started out great," OU head coach Sherri Coale said. "Punched them in the mouth to start off and looked like we did against Arizona State (Thursday). Then we got a little passive and they knocked down some shots, which we weren't really expecting. Kind of took us on our heels, but we responded."

In the second half, Oklahoma used a 10-0 burst, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Jenna Plummey and Stevenson, to pull away 67-48. Mississippi State drew to 78-68 with 4:40 remaining, but Ashley Paris scored eight of the last 10 points of the game to seal it.

"I was pleased on how we battled for 30 minutes," Mississippi State coach Sharon Fanning said. "But the first 10 minutes, we get in a hole and then battled the whole way. We cut it and then we gave a 3. You cannot do that against a good team."

Courtney Paris had an off day by her standards and missed a double-double by two rebounds, ending her record streak at 64 games.

"They a have a bunch of athletic people and they made a tough match," Paris said. "It was a slow game for me. It's not too often in college basketball to play back-to-back games, so I did not do great, but we got the win. That's all that matters."

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