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 Host Huskers Wednesday
January 15, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2008
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The Sooners host Nebraska (13-3, 2-0) at the Lloyd Noble Center Wednesday, Jan. 16. Oklahoma has not lost to a Big 12 North opponent since falling at Nebraska on Feb. 6, 2005 -- a streak of 19 games.
The game airs on the Sooner Sports Network (KAUT-TV and KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City). Tip-off is 7 p.m.
A limited number of tickets remain for Wednesday's game. Call the OU Athletics Ticket office at 325-2424 or (800) 456-GoOU or buy tickets online at SoonerSports.com.
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Ticket Information |
General Admission - $8 for adults and $5 for youths
Group Tickets - $5 (minimum of 10 people; must order 24 hours in advance)
OU Students - free admission with valid student ID
PREVEIWING OU-NEBRASKA
The Nebraska Cornhuskers arrive in Norman to face an angry Oklahoma Sooners basketball team following OU's 82-63 Bedlam loss to Oklahoma State last Saturday.
Nebraska features two of the top forwards in the conference in Danielle Page and Kelsey Griffin. Griffin has been hampered by a rib injury, but has played 25 minutes and been her team's leading scorer in both of NU's conference games, leading the Huskers to a 2-0 start in the Big 12.
Nebraska started the conference slate with two home games and upset Texas 56-45 before posting a convincing, 71-51, victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.
The Huskers have held its two conference opponents below 34 percent field goal shooting.
Oklahoma has not started Big 12 play 1-2 since the 2004-05 season when it bookended a win against Texas A&M with road losses to No. 13/12 Texas Tech and No. 2/3 Baylor.
The last time Oklahoma started 13-3, the Sooners won the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships and 18 straight games before losing to Stanford in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
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THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Oklahoma leads the series with Nebraska 24-22, with four straight victories in Norman. The last time the Sooners and Huskers met was Jan. 6, 2007, in Norman, a 77-69 decision for OU.
In Norman, the Sooners reign supreme with 15 victories to five for Nebraska. Under Sherri Coale, OU lost its first three meetings against the Big Red, but since have fallen just once in the last nine meetings.
Coale, who has coached the Sooners since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, is 8-4 against Nebraska. Her first win against NU came Feb. 5, 2000, in her fourth season. Under Coale in Norman, OU is 4-1.
Oklahoma has won 19 straight games against Big 12 North opponents.
NATIONAL ATTENDANCE LEADER
Oklahoma set a program record for attendance last season and, if early indications prove true, another record should be set in 2007-08.
After four home games, OU's per game attendance average stands at 9,882, currently No. 3 in the nation for average home game attendance.
Oklahoma was No. 4 in national attendance last season and No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference with an average of 10,437 in the seats for OU's 12 home games.
BENCHMARK GAMES AHEAD
Currently Sherri Coale has 242 victories in her 12th year as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. Coale could reach her 250th victory as soon as Feb. 9, at home, against Colorado.
“Cheer Like a Champion Night”
Sunday, Jan. 20, at 2 p.m., Baylor visits the Lloyd Noble Center to face the Oklahoma. Support the Sooners as they look to defend their consecutive Big 12 titles in front on a nationally televised audience on ESPN2. The OU Athletics Marketing office will distribute a special edition white “Cheer Like a Champion” t-shirt in every seat of the Lloyd Noble Center for fans to wear during the game.
“Think Pink” Week
Fans should come out to support the Sooners in raising breast cancer awareness by coming to the Lloyd Noble Center for “Think Pink Night” as the OU women's basketball team hosts 2007 Big 12 Co-Champions Texas A&M on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m.
1,000th Game in Sooner History
Oklahoma started its women's basketball program for the 1974-75 season and is approaching its 1,000th game. To date, the Sooners are 19 games shy of 1,000 in program history. There are 15 games left in the regular season, which would mean that if OU failed to get a first-round bye for the Big 12 Tournament, the first opportunity to play 1,000 would be in the Championship Game.
49 WEEKS...AND COUNTING
With Oklahoma's placement in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls this week, the Sooners have appeared in both for 49 straight polls (including preseason polls).
OU's record for consecutive Top 25 poll appearances is 59 in the AP (from week 11 of the 1999-2000 season to week 11 of the 2002-03 season) and 60 in the Coaches (from week 11 of the 1999-2000 season to week 13 of the 2002-03 season).
Both stints including 26 consecutive weeks being ranked in the Top 10. OU also had a 19-week run in the Top 10 of the AP Poll and 20-week run in the Top 10 of the Coaches Poll over the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
For the first time this season, Oklahoma has fallen out of the Top 10 of the AP Poll. The Sooners were in the Top 10 of the Coaches' Poll for seven straight weeks before dropping to No. 11 this week.
RECAPPING BEDLAM
Andrea Riley scored a career-high 45 points and Oklahoma State (No. 24 ESPN/USA Today, No. 25 AP) ended its longest losing streak ever in the Bedlam rivalry by knocking off Oklahoma, 82-63.
With the teams both in the Top 25 for the first time ever in the 80-game series, Riley and the Cowgirls were in control from the beginning.
Riley scored all 14 of Oklahoma State's points during one second-half stretch, extending the lead to 57-38 with a 3-pointer from the left wing. The lead reached as many as 23 at one point.
Riley got both of Oklahoma's point guards in deep foul trouble with drives to the basket and was equally deadly from long range, going 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Late in the game, Oklahoma (10-3, 1-1) tried to double-team the speedy guard as she brought the ball upcourt but it only resulted in more fouls 30 feet away from the basket.
By the time the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half had passed, Riley had sent Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson and Jenna Plumley to the bench with four fouls apiece. Sooners coach Sherri Coale said she didn't come in with a Plan C.
Riley's 45 points were the most ever scored by a Cowgirls player at Gallagher-Iba Arena and the second-most in school history, behind Donna Ridling's 51 against Tulsa in 1978.
Fans stormed the court after the game, and Budke -- who wore a bright orange sportcoat -- shouted into a microphone to thank the crowd of 13,611.
Courtney Paris, who scored 41 points in Oklahoma's win last season in Stillwater, had 15 points and 19 rebounds for her 74th consecutive double-double. Amanda Thompson added 18 points and Nyeshia Stevenson scored 10.
FANTASTIC FOUR MINUTES
Oklahoma walked away from East Lansing, Mich., with a victory thanks in large part to how it opened the second half. It's been a trend of Sherri Coale-coached teams to come out from the locker room much more intense than their opponents.
Considering that a four-minute interval is 10 percent of a game, during the first four-minute interval following halftime…
• Oklahoma holds a statistical advantage over its opponent in all categories except free throw percentage.
• Oklahoma is scoring 13 percent of its points. Opponents are scoring 11 percent.
• Oklahoma's assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.8, twice as positive as its season average of .89.
• 56 percent of Oklahoma's field goals are assisted compared to just 51 percent for the rest of the game.
• OU is making 18 percent more shots than its opponent during this span, but only 12 percent more during the rest of the game.
• Oklahoma has taken the same number of field goals (87) as its opponent during this span, but has made 16 more.
• Oklahoma blocks 18 percent of its shots while opponents tally six percent. In raw numbers, OU has 12 blocks while opponents have just three.
• Oklahoma counts 13 percent of its steals while opponents count 10 percent.
• Oklahoma is outrebounding opponents during this span 52 to 35.
D-ROB, MOST VAUABLE FRESHMAN
Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson is one of only two freshmen (the other is UNC's Cetera DeGraffenreid) on Top 25 program to lead her team in assists and steals.
Robinson broke out in OU's win against Illinois, scoring eight of her 14 points during 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.
Of her 157 points scored this season, 46 (30 percent) have come by way of the fast break, including 10 of her 18 against Arizona State, six of 12 at Michigan State and eight of 20 versus South Carolina.
The following is a look at the production of the nation's top freshmen guards.
| Production by the Nation's Top Freshmen | |||||
Player |
Team |
GP |
Points |
Assists |
Steals |
Angie Bjorklund |
Tennessee |
15 |
10.4 |
1.5 |
1.3 |
Sydney Colson |
Texas A&M |
16 |
4.1 |
1.9 |
1.6 |
Cetera DeGraffenreid |
North Carolina |
17 |
11.4 |
3.5 |
2.6 |
Maya Moore |
Connecticut |
15 |
16.6 |
3.7 |
1.7 |
| Angela Puleo | Georgia | 16 |
8.9 |
3.0 |
1.2 |
| Danielle Robinson | Oklahoma | 13 |
12.8 |
4.2 |
2.2 |
| Alli Smalley | Auburn | 17 |
10.7 |
2.8 |
1.4 |
Marah Strickland |
Maryland |
21 |
8.8 |
1.1 |
0.5 |
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR STEVENSON
Nyeshia Stevenson may not be starting, but she is one of the Sooners most important contributors.
After shooting 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from beyond the arc all last season, Stevenson is the Big 12 Conference leader in 3-point field goal percentage at 50 percent (17-of-34).
Stevenson broke out with a 4-for-4 3-point effort to spark the Sooners in a victory against Mississippi State and hasn't looked back since.
The Little Rock, Ark., native averages 8.8 points per game, fourth best on the team and most by a reserve. After starting the season opener, she has the OU's leading off-the-bench scorer in 10 of the last 12 games.
NO. 3's COMPANY
Since she first put on a Sooner jersey, it has been rare when Courtney Paris was not Oklahoma's leading scorer after a game. But that scenario is becoming more common as the talent around her and the double- and triple-teaming defenses increase. Paris has not been OU's leading scorer for the past five games.
Danielle Robinson's 20 points against South Carolina (Dec. 30) marked the fourth consecutive game in which a different Sooner was the team leader in points scored (Courtney Paris, 17 at Tulsa; Amanda Thompson, 14 at Michigan State; and Jenny Vining, 20 vs. Central Arkansas). This came after Ashley and Courtney Paris spent the first eight games of the season splitting games as the team's leading scorer with Ashley getting the honor three times and Courtney five.
Until this season, Courtney never missed two games without being her team's leading scorer until Ashley posted the high number in OU's two games in Cancun against Arizona State and Mississippi State.
Last season, Courtney Paris was OU's leading scorer in all but five games. Jenna Plumley, Leah Rush and Chelsi Welch were the others that scored. During her freshman season, C. Paris led in all but five games with Rush, Welch and Erin Higgins also getting leading scoring honors during the year.
The last time four different Sooners were the leading point scorers in consecutive games was during the 2003-04 season when it happened in games 3 through 6.
Danielle Robinson was OU's leading scorer against Iowa State with a career-high 23 points and Amanda Thompson led at OSU with 18.
CHAIRWOMAN OF THE BOARD
As a freshman, Courtney Paris set the NCAA single-season record with 539 rebounds and neared the mark as a sophomore with 526.
As a junior, Paris is averaging 16.4 boards, better than her 15.0 rate as a freshman.
Paris has owned OU's offensive rebounds record since last season and took over as the No. 1 rebounder in the Sooners' season opener. She passed Caton Hill for No. 1 on OU's defensive rebounding list with seven defensive boards versus Mississippi State (Nov. 27).
Paris currently has 1,278 career rebounds with 433 coming off the offensive glass and 845 defensively.
Baylor's Sophia Young (2002-06) currently holds the Big 12 Conference record for total rebounds with 1,316. Young also owns the career offensive rebounds (489) record.
Paris claimed Young's Big 12 career record for defensive rebounds (827) with 10 in the game at Iowa State on Jan. 9.
No other Sooner in history has recorded 400 or more total rebounds in a single season.
A PERFECT '10'
Courtney Paris' 10 points against South Carolina (Dec. 30) was a career low, meaning she has never scored outside of double figures in her career. Only two other NCAA Division I players – LaToya Thomas, Mississippi State (1998-2002) and Chandi Jones, Houston (2000-04) – have finished their careers scoring in double figures in every game.
The most double-figure scoring games was accomplished by Sophia Young of Baylor (2003-06), who scored 10 or more points in 130 of her 139 career games.
Paris' 10 points were 10.5 percent of OU's total 95 against South Carolina, marking her lowest percent contribution since her career began. However, Paris did manage to grasp 24 rebounds, two from her personal best and the second most in a single game by a Division I player this season.
Paris' second lowest percentage contribution came one game before against Central Arkansas, when she provided 14 of the team's program record 121. Paris played only 22 minutes in the game.
Most Consecutive Double-Figure Scoring Games
125, LaToya Thomas, Mississippi State (1998-2002, 125 games)
Most Double-Figure Scoring Games
130, Sophia Young, Baylor (2003-06, 139 games)
Scored in Double Figures Every Game of Career
*130, Denise Curry, UCLA (1977-81)
125, LaToya Thomas, Mississippi State (1998-2002)
114, Chandi Jones, Houston (2000-04)
*Pre-NCAA record.
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.
Jennie Baranczyk, Payton Verhulst, and Raegan Beers Postgame vs South Carolina
Saturday, March 28
Jennie Baranczyk, Sahara Williams, Aaliyah Chavez, and Raegan Beers Media Availability - 3/27/26
Friday, March 27
WBB Highlights: OU 77, Michigan State 71
Sunday, March 22
Jennie Baranczyk, Raegan Beers, and Payton Verhulst Postgame vs Michigan State
Sunday, March 22
