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
Women Seek Fifth Straight Win
February 05, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2008
|
| |||||||||||||||||||
The game will be televised live on Fox Sports Net Midwest. COX customers in Tulsa can watch the game live on COX Channel 3. For COX customers in Oklahoma City, the game will be broadcast on COX Channel 7 on tape delay following the Hornets at Suns NBA game that ends approximately 10:30 p.m.
All other areas should check with their local cable provider for broadcast information.
Listen on the radio on the Sooner Sports Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City.) Brian Brinkley and Tara DeGiusti have the call.
Tip off is 7 p.m. Central.
PREVIEWING MISSOURI
No. 10 Oklahoma (15-4, 5-2) seeks its fifth straight win of the season and of the series against Missouri when it travels to Columbia, Mo., for Wednesday night's contest.
Missouri lost seven seniors from last year's squad and introduced five newcomers this year. Only six players from last year's 17-14 team returned.
Like the Sooners, the Tigers have no seniors and, with just two juniors, rely on very inexperienced players to carry the load.
Junior guard Alyssa Hollins is the Tigers' scoring leader, averaging 16.2 points. Jessra Johnson, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, and Shakara Jones, a 6-2 freshman, make up Mizzou's frontcourt. Both average in double figures, scoring 14.0 and 12.0 points per game, respectively.
The matchup pits the Big 12's No. 1 team in field goal percentage and No. 2 in scoring offense in Oklahoma versus the No. 12 team in field goal percentage and scoring defense in Missouri.
Missouri is looking to break a six-game losing streak.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Oklahoma meets Missouri for the 52nd time when the two teams tangle at the Hearnes Center Wednesday night.
The Tigers lead the overall series 28-23, including a 14-7 advantage in Columbia, Mo. However, OU has won the past four meetings by an average margin of 16.3 points.
The teams have met at least once a season since 1980. The first meeting was Jan. 4, 1977, a 66-46 win for Mizzou.
MU head coach Cindy Stein is 2-8 versus the Sooners. OU head coach Sherri Coale is 8-4 versus the Tigers.
Perhaps the most notable meetings between the two squads were during the end of the 1985 and 1986 seasons, when they faced each other for the Big Eight Championship in back-to-back years. Missouri won both games.
POINTS IN THE PARIS
Coined by Nancy Lieberman after witnessing OU's dominating inside game against Georgia, Oklahoma opponents can forget about outscoring the Sooners in the paint thanks to the Paris twins.
OU outscores opponents in the paint by an average of 42 to 21. Courtney supplies 13.3 per game (31 percent) in the paint while Ashley contributes 7.3 points (17 percent) in the paint per game. Together the sisters average just under 21 points in the paint -- nearly as much as the entire opposing roster and 48 percent of OU's total.
CP3's "D"
Lost in the marvel of Courtney Paris' double-double streak is her stellar defense. Paris has had an equally remarkable season defending the post as she had held her opposing matchup to an average of 6.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 35 percent field goal shooting.
Of those opposing players, only three have reached their respective season scoring averages and just one her rebounding average against Paris.
Against Paris and the Sooners, Maryland's Crystal Langhorne, Tennessee's Nicky Anosike and Georgia's Tasha Humphrey have made just 5-of-29 (17 percent) field goal attempts.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE SUPERLATIVES
Talk about Courtney Paris' double-double success gets stale, especially when she has had just three games in her career without one, the last being over 800 days ago. Consider this:
Double Double-Double
Paris has played eight career games in which she has reached 20 points and 20 rebounds.
Double-Double Animal Style
Paris has 25 career games in which she has reached a double-double and recorded five or more blocks. The last being her monster game versus Texas (Feb. 3) when she nearly had a triple-double in the first half.
BURNING LOTS OF RUBBER
With the speed and quickness Danielle Robinson flaunts, one can expect the Oklahoma freshman wears out shoes on a regular basis. The San Jose, Calif., native actually has quite a collection of over 50 sneakers -- and that number doesn't include dress shoes -- that she keeps in her dorm room in Norman.
OKLAHOMA'S MIDCOURT TAKING SHAPE
If dealing with Paris twins, D-Rob and J-Plum weren't enough, the January successes of forward Nyeshia Stevenson and Amanda Thompson and increased playing time of Carlee Roethlisberger have given OU's opponents three extra triple-threats on which to focus.
Thompson scored 13.1 points per game in seven January contests, up from 6.5 in her previous 21 starts. She also increased her defense as her blocks and steals per game to start the new year were nearly double that of her past one-and-a-half seasons.
Stevenson played a career high 32 minutes against Kansas and led the Sooners in scoring for the first time in her career with 15 points. She also had a game-high five assists.
Roethlisberger, who is regularly first or second off the bench, has played 14 minutes per game the past six contests, up from nine per game to start the season.
BEDLAM SOLD OUTThe second edition of Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma women's basketball has sold out 30 days in advance. The game, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. should provide another 12,000-plus crowd for a game televised by Fox Sports Net.
Only restricted admission tickets remain. Restricted admission tickets are $8 and go on sale when doors open at 11:30 a.m. The ticket provides entry but does not guarantee a seat.
The matchup in Stillwater was attended by 13,611 -- the most to watch a women's basketball game in the state of Oklahoma.
Read more...
PARIS A NAISMITH SEMIFINALIST
Oklahoma's Courtney Paris remains one of 31 candidates in women's basketball vying for the 2008 Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday.
This is the third season Paris has been a Naismith semifinalist. The 2007 National Player of the Year was one of four finalists for the award as both a freshman and sophomore.
COALE "MOST FUN TO WATCH"
OU head coach Sherri Coale was recently voted by members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) as the "Most Fun to Watch" head coach in the nation
BENCHMARK GAMES AHEAD
Coale's 250th Victory
Currently Sherri Coale has 247 victories in her 12th year as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. Coale could reach her 250th victory as soon as Feb. 12, at home, against Texas A&M.
"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 14 games shy of 1,000 in program history. There are 10 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.
RECAPPING TEXAS
Courtney Paris had 20 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks to help Oklahoma (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) beat No. 25 Texas 74-58.
Paris got her 80th consecutive double-double and Oklahoma used a 19-4 run in the final 10 minutes to blow the game open.
Ashley Paris scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Sooners (15-4, 5-2 Big 12), and guard Danielle Robinson finished with 14 points and five assists.
"For a young bunch on the road, in this environment, this win was huge," Oklahoma coach Sherri Cole said. "I am very proud of our effort, and I thought that Courtney [Paris] and Ashley [Paris] were tremendous from start to finish owning the paint."
With the game at 55-54 midway through the second half, Oklahoma capitalized Texas' miscues and went on a 19-0 run over the next eight minutes.
Texas' Niqky Hughes ended the Longhorns' (15-7, 3-5) drought on a layup with just over two minutes left in the game.
Earnesia Williams led the Longhorns with 14 points. Brittainey Raven added 12 points and five rebounds and Carla Cortijo finished with 10 points and four assists.
Texas trailed 42-33 at halftime, but climbed back into contention as Ashley Lindsey scored 10 points in less than eight minutes. The Longhorns were at the heels of Oklahoma in the second half, but never were able to take the lead.
"I think we expended a lot of energy getting to that point, and I don't know how much gas we had left in the tank when we needed to close the game out," Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said.
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 246 points scored this season, 70 (28 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, six of 16 against Baylor and six of 12 versus Georgia.
The following is a look at the production of the nation's top freshmen guards (through Feb. 4).
| Production by the Nation's Top Freshmen | |||||
|
Player |
Team |
GP |
Points |
Assists |
Steals |
|
Angie Bjorklund |
Tennessee |
21 |
10.2 |
1.5 |
1.1 |
|
Cetera DeGraffenreid |
North Carolina |
22 |
11.9 |
3.1 |
2.5 |
|
Maya Moore |
Connecticut |
21 |
17.0 |
3.5 |
1.6 |
| Angela Puleo | Georgia |
22 |
7.8 |
2.7 |
1.2 |
| Danielle Robinson | Oklahoma |
19 |
12.9 |
4.4 |
2.3 |
| Alli Smalley | Auburn |
21 |
10.6 |
2.8 |
1.3 |
|
Marah Strickland |
Maryland |
25 |
9.5 |
1.1 |
0.7 |
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 third in the Big 12 Conference in 3-point field goal percentage at 38 percent (21-of-55).
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 8.4 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 15 of the last 17 games. Against Kansas, Stevenson led OU in scoring for the first time in her career with 15 points.
NO. 3's COMPANY
Courtney Paris scored a season high 28 points in a losing effort to Baylor, but the scenario of Paris as OU's leading scorer is becoming less common as the talent around her and the double- and triple-teaming defenses increase.
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.
Danielle Robinson was OU's leading scorer against Iowa State (23) and Nebraska (22) and Amanda Thompson led at OSU with 18.
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.
BLOCK PARTY
Courtney Paris passed LaNae Jones (1993-96) as OU's blocks leader versus North Texas (Nov. 26). Paris entered the contest two blocks from Jones' record of 243 and counted five in the game to move past to 246.
Paris, who has OU's single-season record with 119 blocks as a freshman (and is No. 2 on the single-season list with 111 blocks as a sophomore) currently has 294 career blocks. She and Jones are the only two Sooners ever to record 100 blocks.
Paris is six blocks from the Big 12 career record held by Texas Tech's Cisti Greenwalt (121 games, 2002-05).
With a rate of 3.3 blocks per game and at least 37 games left in her career, Paris could break 400 career blocks by the time she leaves the college game.
TCU's Sandra Irvin (2002-05) has the NCAA record for career blocks with 480 in 127 games (3.78 per game).
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 15.2 boards, better than a 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 1,353 career rebounds with 456 coming off the offensive glass and 897 defensively.
Against Georgia (Jan. 27) Paris passed Baylor's Sophia Young (1,316 during 2002-06) for the Big 12 Conference record for total rebounds.
Young owns the league's 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.
|
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
