Completed Event: Women's Basketball at #23 Alabama on February 15, 2026 , Win , 79, to, 71
Final
Women's Basketball
79
at #23 Alabama
71
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Seek Sixth Straight at Tulsa
December 07, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2007
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The game will be televised on the Sooner Sports Network (KWTV in OKC; KQCW in Tulsa) with Bob Carpenter calling the play-by-play and Kenny Mossman providing analysis.
Brian Brinkley and Tara DeGiusti will have the radio call on the Sooner Sports Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC).
Tip-off is scheduled for 3:08 p.m.
PREVIEWING TULSA
The youthful Sooners (5-2) face another youthful team in Tulsa (2-7). Neither squad has a senior member and Tulsa has just one junior, who is new to the team after transferring from Alabama.
In all, just three of the Golden Hurricane played for last year's 11-19 squad that bowed out in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament.
6-foot-3 sophomore center Larrissa Williams draw the responsibility of guarding Courtney Paris. Williams leads TU with 11.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Williams had just two points and two rebounds against the Sooners last year.
Norman native Kara Vaughan was inserted into the lineup for the past two games and has led the Golden Hurricane in minutes played with averaging 5.5 points and five rebounds in those two contests.
Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Tulsa 22-2. After dropping the first meeting in 1976, OU won 21 striaght before falling to the Golden Hurricane, 67-59, at the Mabee Center in Tulsa on Dec. 4, 2004.
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PARIS BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Courtney Paris was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Tuesday morning, by a media voting panel for games played from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2.
It was the 17th time in her career that Paris earned either player of the week or rookie of the week honors from the Big 12, extending her conference record.
Paris averaged 20.5 points and 18.5 rebounds as she led Oklahoma past North Texas, 79-47, and Arkansas State, 93-36, in OU's first home games of the season. Paris played just 47 minutes in the two games, but scored 41 points and grabbed 37 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line.
D-ROB, MOST VAUABLE FRESHMAN
Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson is the only freshman on a Top 25 program to lead her team in assists and steals and have a scoring average in double digits.
Robinson scored eight of her 14 points against Illinois in a 16-3 run in the second half, lifting the Sooners to a 70-57 lead with 3:36 remaining. Robinson also had back-to-back steals for layups in the stretch. The Sooners won, 77-67, as Robinson recorded a career high seven steals to give her 22 on the season.
Of her 82 points scored this season, 24 (30 percent) have come by way of the fast break, including 10 of her 18 against Arizona State.
The following is a look at the production of some of the nation's top freshmen guards.
| Production by the Nation's Top Freshmen | |||||
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Player |
Team |
GP |
Points |
Assists |
Steals |
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Angie Bjorklund |
Tennessee |
7 |
10.1 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
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Sydney Colson |
Texas A&M |
7 |
5.7 |
1.7 |
2.3 |
|
Cetera DeGraffenreid |
North Carolina |
10 |
12.1 |
3.3 |
2.4 |
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Maya Moore |
Connecticut |
7 |
17.4 |
3.0 |
1.9 |
| Angela Puleo | Georgia |
8 |
7.9 |
2.8 |
1.1 |
| Danielle Robinson | Oklahoma |
7 |
11.7 |
4.0 |
3.1 |
| Alli Smalley | Auburn |
9 |
10.4 |
2.6 |
1.3 |
|
Marah Strickland |
Maryland |
12 |
8.8 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
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.
After games played through Dec. 6, Oklahoma's strength of schedule was rated No. 4 in the RPI.
LAST TIME VERSUS TULSA
Courtney Paris scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds for her 34th straight double-double and sparked a late run that boosted No. 3 Oklahoma to a 72-49 victory over Tulsa on Saturday.
Tulsa cut a 22-point deficit to single digits after Paris picked up three quick fouls in the second half and had to leave the game after getting her fourth foul on a post move by Jillian Robbins with 16:09 to play.
Paris returned with Oklahoma ahead 54-45 at the 5:34 mark and immediately put the Sooners back in control. She converted a layup, then followed Chelsi Welch's 3-pointer with a layup off an offensive rebound. Paris' three-point play with 3:56 left extended Oklahoma's lead to 64-47, and Leah Rush stretched it past 20 with a short jumper from the left side.
Rush, who contributed a season-high 18 points, also picked up her fourth foul during Tulsa's run and re-entered with Paris.
Oklahoma outscored Tulsa 18-4 after Paris and Rush came back.
Welch added 12 points for the Sooners (6-0), who won their 11th straight road game to tie the Big 12 record set by the Sooners from 2000-01.
Robbins finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks to lead Tulsa (3-4), the defending Conference USA champions.
Robbins, the Conference USA player of the year last season, scored seven points during a 20-7 run that brought the Golden Hurricane back within 54-45 after Robbins' reverse layup with 7:18 left.
Rush, who scored 14 points in the first half, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start a 10-0 run that put the Sooners up 37-16 late in the first half.
QUICK HITS
• Oklahoma is 50-63 all-time against ranked opponents. OU is 44-35 all-time when ranked and facing another ranked team. OU is 0-5 all-time versus No. 1.
• OU leads the all-time series with Tulsa, 22-2, with a 10-1 advantage in Tulsa. The last meeting, Dec. 2, 2006, provided a 72-49 win for the Sooners. After losing the first meeting in the 1975-76 season, OU stormed past the Golden Hurricane 21 striaght times before suffering its next defeat, a 67-59 loss at the Mabee Center on Dec. 4, 2004.
• Oklahoma is 33-11 all-time against current Conference USA teams. The Sooners have matched up with seven C-USA teams -- Houston, Memphis, Rice, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa and UAB -- in their history.
• The last meeting between OU and Tulsa saw Courtney Paris escape early second-half foul trouble to lead the Sooners by scoring 12 of her 24 points on a 25-4 run in the final five minutes of the game.
• After Oklahoma's torrential start to the season, opening against then-No. 3 Maryland, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 14 Arizona State at neutral sites, the Sooners have found the last three straight victories somewhat easier to come by. The Sooners have been statistically dominant in the past three games:
- In OU's first three contests, the Sooners were outscored by one point and held an average rebounding margin of +8. In its past three games against unranked opponents, the Sooners are outscoring opponents by an average of 35 points and outrebounding by 21.
- Despite its competition, OU is shooting better than 40 percent from the field in all seven games in 2007-08. The Sooners started the 2006-07 season with a streak of 18 games above 40 percent, the best start in six seasons. Counting the 18 games the Sooners shot 40 percent or better to end the 2005-06 season, a multi-season streak of 36 games is the Sooners' best under Sherri Coale.
- OU's .824 (14-of-17) free throw success against Arkansas State was its best, when attempting 10 or more shots from the charity stripe, since the final game - a span of 105 - of the 2005 season against Arizona when the Sooners made 15-of-17 (.882) free throws.
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
Courtney has braces? Find out what prompted her sudden dental work by reading 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.
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