Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus North Carolina on November 2, 2026 at TBA
TBA
Women's Basketball
vs North Carolina
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Lady Indians Visit Sunday at 2 p.m.
November 30, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2007
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Sooner Sports Network will have the TV and radio broadcasts of the game. In Oklahoma City, tune to KAUT-TV Channel 43 or KOKC 1520 AM. In Tulsa, watch it on the Cox Channel.
Tip off is scheduled for 2:08 p.m.
PROMOTIONS FOR SUNDAY
Sunday's game (Dec. 2) versus Arkansas State is Norman elementary school day presented by OG&E at the Lloyd Noble Center. About 2,000 students are expected to attend, including many of the classes that women's basketball team members spend time weekly visiting in an effort to promote education.
OU's athletics marketing office will also distribute the fourth in a series of five OU women's basketball posters to the first 3,000 fans through the Lloyd Noble Center doors. The final poster will be available at the Dec. 20 game versus Central Arkansas.
PREVIEWING ARKANSAS STATE
Arkansas State (4-3) is reeling after two straight losses to Washington and Oklahoma State followed a four-game winning streak.
The Lady Indians return just two starters from a team that went 21-13 overall and 11-7 in the Sun Belt Conference last year, losing in the second round of the WNIT.
Oklahoma and Arkansas State have met three previous times. OU won a Nov. 25, 1989, matchup in Norman, 102-73, but lost 76-63 on Dec. 20, 1992, in Jonesboro, Ark. The last time the two teams met was for the NWIT Championship Title in Amarillo, Texas. The Sooners prevailed after a 69-65 win.
Arkansas State could prove to be an handful for the Sooners as the team will be well accustomed to Oklahoma by tip off time Sunday. The Lady Indians have been in Oklahoma since Wednesday, preparing for their Thursday night game with Oklahoma State, and have been practicing in Norman since Friday.
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ROOKIE OF THE WEEK, AGAIN
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.
After games against No. 14 Arizona State and Mississippi State, Robinson shared nothing. She earned sole possession of Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors after scoring a career high 18 points against the Sun Devils and totaling seven points, three rebounds and a career high five assists against the Lady Bulldogs.
SEASON TICKET UPDATE
As of Friday, Nov. 30, the OU Athletics Ticket Office had sold approximately 6,580 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.
RECAPPING NORTH TEXAS
Oklahoma's home opener provided a 37-point victory that was essentially spoiled by sloppy ballhandling as the two teams combined for 50 turnovers, including 24 for the Sooners.
Courtney Paris scored 19 points, grabbed 22 boards and earned another OU record. The 6-4 center blocked five shots in the contest to pass LaNae Jones (1993-96) for OU's career blocked shots record, which now stands at 246.
OU freshman Danielle Robinson scored in double figures for the fourth time in five college games and had six of OU's 19 total steals.
Freshman Phenom
The two-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week saw her first start against No. 1 Tennessee and hasn't looked back since. Danielle Robinson has scored in double figures in four of her five collegiate games and has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in all five.
Against North Texas, Robinson had an off day shooting-wise, scoring 10 points on 4-of-10 field goal attempts, but contributed well in other ways after totaling a single-game best six steals.
Robinson leads Big 12 freshmen in scoring average (12.8), field goal percentage (.596), assists per game (4.0), steals per game (2.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82).
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.
Robinson took stealing to a new level when she counted six, including four in the second half, against North Texas.
The Best 0-2 Team Ever?
At No. 10 in the Associated Press' Week Two poll, the Sooners who opened the season with losses to No. 3 Maryland and No. 1 Tennessee, were the highest ranked 0-2 team in the history of the poll.
Second Chance Success
On the season, Oklahoma has converted 80 offensive rebounds into 77 points.
3-Point Feast or Famine
An 0-4 performance from beyond the arc against Arizona State on Nov. 22 was the Sooners' first game in 132 contests, dating back to Nov. 24, 2003, against Southeast Missouri State, that an Oklahoma team did not make a 3-point shot.
The drought did not last quickly however, as OU was 8-for-14 (.571) from 3-point range the next day, Nov. 23, against Mississippi State, including a 4-for-4 effort from Nyeshia Stevenson.
After shooting 2-for-11 (.182) from 3-point range as a freshman, Stevenson, whose 3-point field goal percentage is .714, is ranked second in the Big 12 Conference in the category.
Against North Texas on Dec. 2, the Sooners held their opponent to 0-for-11 on 3-pointers, OU's first time holding an opponent scoreless from beyond the arc in 24 games since Baylor shot 0-for-13 in a 76-63 win against the Bears on Jan. 10, 2007.
ANOTHER RECORD FOR PARIS
Having already locked up OU's career records for defensive rebounds and total rebounds in the 2007-08 season, junior center Courtney Paris set her sights on the program's career blocks record against North Texas, Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Trailing LaNae Jones (1993-96) by two blocks for a share of the career record, Paris blocked five shots to set the new OU record at 246.
After Review, Double-Double Streak Intact
After an official review of the Oklahoma-Mississippi State game by officials from both teams, 36 scoring errors were corrected based on indisputable video evidence.
Among the corrections, Courtney Paris, who originally was credited with 16 points and eight rebounds, thus ending her consecutive double-double streak at 64 games, was correctly given an additional two rebounds after the review.
Presently, Paris' double-double streak is 66 games. The NCAA does not keep records of women's double-doubles, though it is believed the streak far surpasses any previous record.
The longest streak among men's college basketball players is 40 straight games by North Carolina's Billy Cunningham from 1962-64. Paris' streak is twice as long as Oscar Robertson's longest -- a 33-game run from 1958-60.
Paris, who set the NCAA season rebounding mark with 539 in the 2005-06 season, wasn't the only one whose stats were changed. The original box score from the Mississippi State game showed Oklahoma with a 34-32 rebounding edge, but the new one had the Sooners outrebounding the Bulldogs 38-30. Oklahoma was credited with three additional missed shots and Mississippi State had one additional miss.
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.
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