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
Big 12's Top Ranked Teams Meet
January 19, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2008
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Sunday is "Cheer Like a Champion" Day as 12,000 limited edition white T-shirts distributed for fans in attendance will brighten the Lloyd Noble Center. A capacity crowd is expected.
The game airs on ESPN2 with Pam Ward and Kara Lawson on the call.
Tip-off is 2:02 p.m. Central.
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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
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OU vs. Baylor | Jan. 20, 2008 |
No. 11 Oklahoma faces its sixth ranked team of the season and the third of the past three national champions as No. 7 Baylor visits the Lloyd Noble Center.
The Sooners started the season with Maryland and Tennessee, but the Lady Bears pose the toughest challenge since. The Lady Bears returned four starters from last year's team that finished third in the Big 12 to OU and Texas A&M.
OU coaches say that Baylor's starting five is one of the best in the nation and, with all five averaging double-digit scoring, it may be true.
Angela Tisdale leads the Lady Bears, scoring 14.3 points per game, and Rachel Allison, Jhasmin Player and Danielle Wilson average 12 points or more. Wilson is the team leader in field goal percentage at 54.9.
Jessica Morrow sat out one game due to disciplinary reasons and played the reserve role in another last week, but may start against Oklahoma. Morrow averaged 13.3 points against the Sooners last season.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey is in her eighth season. She has a 4-13 record against the Sooners.
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THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Oklahoma-Baylor series has been all about streaks. The series started with four straight wins by OU, followed by four straight for Baylor. After an OU 11-win run that began in 1999, OU lost the four meetings in 2004 and 2005. Since then, OU has rattled six striaght wins.
Oklahoma leads the series with Baylor 21-8. The last time the Sooners and Lady Bears met was March 8, 2007, at the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City, a 78-64 decision for OU.
In Norman, the Sooners reign supreme with eight victories to four for Baylor.
Under Sherri Coale, who is 17-8 against Baylor, OU lost its first four meetings against Baylor, but then won the next 11. Under Coale in Norman, OU is 7-4 against Baylor.
RECORD WATCH
Courtney Paris is the nation's leading rebounder at 16.0 boards per game and is 27 shy of former Baylor star Sophia Young's Big 12 career rebounds record.
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 five home games, OU's per game attendance average stands at 9,526, 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 243 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 18 games shy of 1,000 in program history. There are 14 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 NEBRASKA
With her player of the year resume, Oklahoma center Courtney Paris doesn't get to see many one-on-one matchups anymore.
She reminded Nebraska why Wednesday night, scoring three baskets in a decisive second-half surge that pushed the Sooners (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) to an 80-72 victory.
Danielle Robinson scored 22 points, but it was Paris who led the way as Oklahoma (11-3, 2-1 Big 12) finally put away a persistent Huskers bunch that fought back to tie it after trailing by 12 in the first half.
Paris, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds for her 75th straight double-double, made three baskets in a 17-2 run that gave the Sooners a 66-50 edge.
Coale resorted to an offensive set with four players on the perimeter and Paris alone inside after Paris' twin sister, Ashley, went to the bench with foul trouble. It ended up looking like sheer genius.
Paris went 7-for-13 from the field to end a stretch of six straight games in which she had failed to make more than half of her shots. Paris, a 6-foot-4 center who takes most of her shots from around the basket, was 32-for-77 (42 percent) during a monthlong shooting slump.
She was 3-for-4 during Oklahoma's big run, putting back her only miss and also setting up Robinson's layup that finished the run.
Even with Oklahoma's offensive switch, Cornhuskers coach Connie Yori didn't intend for her team to have any defender isolated against Paris.
Amanda Thompson added 15 points and eight steals, and Jenna Plumley scored 11 as Oklahoma bounced back after a 19-point loss to rival Oklahoma State.
POSTGAME NOTES
• The Sooners produced 20 second-chance points off 16 offensive rebounds, while holding Nebraska to just six points from 12 offensive rebounds.
• Oklahoma extended its win streak versus Big 12 North Division opponents to 20 games.
• Seven Sooners appeared on the free throw line producing 19-for-20 (95 percent) and breaking the previous season high percentage of 82 percent, set Dec. 2, 2007, against Arkansas State.
Courtney Paris
• With 16 points and 11 rebounds, Paris extended her double-double streak to 75 consecutive games. Paris has 80 double-doubles in 83 career games.
Danielle Robinson
• Robinson's five rebounds in the first half were the most in a single half in her career. Robinson set a defensive rebounds personal best with six and matched her single-game best total of seven.
• Robinson had 12 points in the first half, a career best. Her best single half performance was 17 points in the second half at Iowa State.
Amanda Thompson
• Thompson's 11 first-half points was a career high for the first half. Thompson's best production in a half was 12 points against Oklahoma State on Jan. 12, 2008.
•Thompson had five steals in the first half -- all in the final 8:30 of the period. Thompson finished the game with eight steals. Her previous single-game career high was four. Thompson's eight steals were the most by an individual Sooner since Dionnah Jackson totaled nine against Iowa on Nov. 27, 2004.
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 188 points scored this season, 54 (29 percent) have come by way of the fast break, including 10 of her 18 against Arizona State, six of 12 at Michigan State, eight of 20 versus South Carolina and eight of 22 against Nebraska.
The following is a look at the production 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 |
16 |
10.1 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
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Sydney Colson |
Texas A&M |
17 |
4.0 |
1.8 |
1.6 |
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Cetera DeGraffenreid |
North Carolina |
18 |
11.8 |
3.4 |
2.6 |
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Maya Moore |
Connecticut |
16 |
16.4 |
3.6 |
1.7 |
| Angela Puleo | Georgia |
17 |
8.7 |
2.9 |
1.3 |
| Danielle Robinson | Oklahoma |
14 |
13.4 |
4.2 |
2.4 |
| Alli Smalley | Auburn |
17 |
10.7 |
2.8 |
1.4 |
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Marah Strickland |
Maryland |
22 |
9.3 |
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 47 percent (17-of-36).
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 8.6 points per game, fifth 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 11 of the last 13 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 six 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 (23) and Nebraska (22) 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 16.0 boards, better than her 15.0 rate as a freshman and 15.9 clip as a sophomore.
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 1,289 career rebounds with 437 coming off the offensive glass and 852 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.
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