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
Autograph Night at LNC Saturday
February 08, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2008
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The game will broadcast on the Sooners Sports Network. On TV (KAUT-43 in Oklahoma City), Bob Carpenter will call the play-by-play and Patti Phillips will provide color analysis. Listen on the radio (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) as Brian Brinkley and Tara DeGiusti have the call.
Tip off is 7 p.m. Central.
AUTOGRAPH NIGHT AT LLOYD NOBLE CENTER
Shortly following the game, OU head coach Sherri Coale and the Sooner women's basketball team will available for an autograph session in the upper concourse of the Lloyd Noble Center. In order to satisfy demand, only one item per person will be signed.
PREVIEWING COLORADO
No. 10 Oklahoma (16-4, 6-2 Big 12) seeks its sixth straight win of the season and against Colorado (13-9, 2-7) Saturday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The Buffaloes returned four starters from last year's squad that posted a 13-17 overall record and went 6-10 in Big 12 Conference play to tie for seventh place.
Colorado presents two of the top post players in the Big 12 Conference in forwards Jackie McFarland and Brittany Spears.
The 2007 AP All-America honorable mention McFarland leads Colorado with 18.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Spears is the team's second leading scorer, averaging 13.5 points.
In conference games, Colorado has the seventh-ranked scoring offense and 12th-ranked scoring defense. The Sooners are No. 2 and No. 7, respectively.
Oklahoma ranks second and Colorado fifth in field goal percentage in Big 12 contests.
The Sooners have won five straight against the Buffaloes.
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THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Oklahoma meets Colorado for the 53rd time Saturday when the Buffaloes visit Norman, Okla.
CU leads the overall series 33-19, but OU has the advantage, though a slim one, with a 11-10 record in Norman.
The Sooners have won the last five meetings, averaging a 16.1 point margin of victory. A sixth consecutive win would give the Sooners their longest winning streak versus Colorado in series history, which dates back to Dec. 7, 1978.
OU head coach Sherri Coale is 11-5 against Colorado but has never lost to the Buffaloes in Norman.
CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller is 0-2 versus the Sooners.
AMANDA THOMPSON SOONER OF THE MONTH
Amanda Thompson was named the Oklahoma Athletics Department's Sooner of the Month for February. To qualify a student-athlete must be in good academic standing, be a member of an active sport and participate in community service events. Thompson has started all 20 games for the Sooners this season, averaging 10 points and seven rebounds.
ASHLEY PARIS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Ashley Paris, a journalism major, was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 6 First Team this week. She will now be eligible for Academic All-America consideration. To qualify, canididates must have a 3.20 cumulative GPA or better and at least one year of academic residency.
Read more...
KAY YOW/WBCA CANCER FUND AUCTION
Fans can bid on several items, including authentic equipment and apparel, that will be used in OU's "Pack the Place Pink Night" on Tuesday, Feb. 12, when Texas A&M visits during the WBCA's "Think Pink" Week.
Proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund to promote breast cancer research and awareness. Items can be bid online at SoonerSports.com. Click here...
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 43 to 21. Courtney supplies 14 per game (32 percent) in the paint while Ashley contributes eight points (18 percent) in the paint per game. Together the sisters average just under 22 points in the paint -- as much as the entire opposing roster and half 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 7.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 35 percent field goal shooting.
Of those opposing players, only three have reached their respective season scoring averages and just two their 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:
The Streak Turns 800 Days Old
Paris' streak started with a 22-point, 24-rebound effort versus UCLA on Dec. 5, 2007, and will be 800 days old when OU meets Colorado on Feb. 9, 2008.
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 seven 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 248 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 13 games shy of 1,000 in program history. There are nine 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 MISSOURI
Courtney Paris had 25 points and 17 rebounds for her 81st consecutive double-double and Danielle Robinson scored four of her nine points in the final minute of the No. 10 Sooners' 64-57 victory on Wednesday night.
Robinson hit two free throws with 18.8 seconds to go for a three-point lead and then clinched it with a steal and layup off the inbound pass with 17 seconds left for a 62-57 lead after Missouri's Toy Richbow slipped. Richbow also missed a free throw with 25 seconds to go and Missouri trailing by a point.
Paris, a 6-foot-4 junior, has 86 double-doubles in 89 games -- a streak that began Dec. 5, 2005, when she was a freshman. She extended her streak late in the first half for the Sooners (16-4, 6-2 Big 12) and sat out much of the final 11 minutes with four fouls.
Ashley Paris, Courtney's twin sister, had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma, which has won five in a row and has a 22-game winning streak against the Big 12 North. Oklahoma overcame 40 percent shooting by outrebounding Missouri 59-27.
Ashley Paris had six points in an 11-2 run that gave Oklahoma breathing room after Missouri (8-14, 1-8) had tied it 44-44 on a 3-pointer by Alyssa Hollins with 8:38 to go. Missouri rallied again, with Jessra Johnson's runner cutting the deficit to 58-57 with 47 seconds left.
The emergence of Courtney said Ashley Paris has been the key on a young team, which has no seniors.
Hollins had 19 points while going 4-for-11 from 3-point range for Missouri, which has lost seven in a row and 10 of 12. Shakara Jones added 12 points and Johnson had 11 for the Tigers.
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, 72 (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. 7).
| Production by the Nation's Top Freshmen | |||||
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Player |
Team |
GP |
Points |
Assists |
Steals |
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Angie Bjorklund |
Tennessee |
22 |
10.2 |
1.5 |
1.1 |
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Cetera DeGraffenreid |
North Carolina |
23 |
12.2 |
3.3 |
2.6 |
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Maya Moore |
Connecticut |
22 |
16.9 |
3.5 |
1.6 |
| Angela Puleo | Georgia |
23 |
8.0 |
2.9 |
1.2 |
| Danielle Robinson | Oklahoma |
20 |
12.8 |
4.3 |
2.4 |
| Alli Smalley | Auburn |
22 |
10.5 |
2.7 |
1.3 |
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Marah Strickland |
Maryland |
26 |
9.1 |
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-56).
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 8.1 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 16 of the last 19 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 298 career blocks. She and Jones are the only two Sooners ever to record 100 blocks.
Paris is two 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 36 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 15.3 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 463 coming off the offensive glass and 907 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.
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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.
Friday, July 10
Friday, July 03
Friday, June 26
Friday, June 19
