University of Oklahoma Athletics

Big 12 Supremacy on the Line

January 27, 2009 | Women's Basketball

 Game Specifics
 Date and Time  Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Central | Game Notes
 Location  Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center
 Tickets  BaylorBears.com
 TV  SoonerSports Network
 KWTV Channel 9 in Oklahoma City; COX 3 in Tulsa
 Radio
 SoonerSports Radio Network | Live Audio
 KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City
 Live Audio  SoonerSports.com All-Access
 Live Stats  SoonerSports.com CBS GameTracker

GAME PREVIEW
No. 4 Baylor hosts No. 2 Oklahoma Wednesday, Jan. 28, at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. The game tips off at 7:07 p.m. Central and will be televised on Sooner Sports Network affiliates. Viewers may watch the game on KWTV Channel 9 in Oklahoma City and COX Channel 3 in Tulsa.

• Oklahoma and Texas are meeting for the 32nd time. Oklahoma leads the series 21-10, with an 8-5 advantage in Waco.
• Baylor was the only Big 12 team to sweep the Sooners last season. Prior to those victories, OU had won six straight meetings.
• Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale is 270-129 (.677) in her 13th season.
• Kim Mulkey is 225-61 (.787) in her ninth year at Baylor.

 Baylor Projected Starters
Pos.
No.
 Name
Ht.
Year
 Stats / Notes
C
11
 Danielle Wilson
6-3
Jr.
 15.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 0.9 apg
F
14
 Rachel Allison
6-1
Sr.
 11.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.7 apg
F
3
 Jessica Morrow
6-0
Sr.
 10.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.7 apg
G
15
 Jhasmin Player
5-10
Sr.
 9.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.8 apg
G
21
 Kelli Griffin
5-8
So.
 6.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.8 apg
 
 Oklahoma Projected Starters
Pos.
No.
 Name
Ht.
Year
 Stats / Notes
C
3
 Courtney Paris
6-4
Sr.
 16.1 ppg, 13.7 rpg, 1.7 apg
F
5
 Ashley Paris
6-3
Sr.
 14.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.8 apg
G
13
 Danielle Robinson
5-9
So.
 12.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 6.2 apg
G
25
 Whitney Hand
6-1
Fr.
 9.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 apg
F
21
 Amanda Thompson
6-0
Jr.
 7.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg

ABOUT THE BAYLOR BEARS
Baylor enters Wednesday undefeated in conference play, tied with Oklahoma at 5-0 for the league lead. The Lady Bears are 17-1 overall with an 11-game win streak.

Baylor is 4-0 against ranked opponents this season, having beat then-No. 2 Stanford , then-No. 20 Iowa State, then-No. 22 Oklahoma State and then-No. 9 Texas A&M.

The wins over Stanford and Texas A&M represented the first time a Baylor team has beaten two top-10 teams in the same season.

The Bears' strength this season has been its post play. Junior center Danielle Wilson is arguably Baylor's most improved player and is averaging 15.1 points and nine rebounds and senior forward Rachel Allison averages 11.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and is a 3-point threat.

Baylor is also the Big 12's top rebounding team, leading both rebounds per game (45.4) and rebound margin (+13.4).

Kim Mulkey is 225-61 (.787) in her ninth year at Baylor.

Freshman guard Lindsey Palmer's mother, Lisa, is the head girls' basketball coach at Union High School in Tulsa.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
• Oklahoma meets Baylor for the 32nd time when the Sooners travel to Waco, Texas, for Wednesday's game at the Ferrell Center.
• Oklahoma leads the series with Baylor 21-10.
• The series has traditionally been all about streaks. After four straight wins by OU, Baylor followed with four straight. In 1999, the Sooners began an 11-game winning streak against the Bears before having a four-game drought in 2004 and 2005.
• Under Sherri Coale, who is 17-10 against Baylor, OU lost its first four meetings before winning the next 11. Under Coale is Waco, OU is 7-5 against Baylor.

 
 Player to Watch

 #13 Danielle Robinson | So. | Guard
 
A win at Baylor would give Oklahoma the lead in the conference standings and allow it to control its destiny as the Sooners vie for a sixth Big 12 regular-season title. Leading the way for OU is sophomore point guard Danielle Robinson, who already has 10 games with seven or more assists. As a freshman, Robinson had just two.

   

PREVIEWING THE OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Oklahoma begins the season with high expectations and high rankings -- No. 4 in the Preseason AP Poll and No. 7 in the Coaches' Poll. Returning for Oklahoma are 11 players, including four starters and three-time consensus All-American Courtney Paris. Big 12 Freshman of the Year Danielle Robinson will run the offense as a sophomore and teammates and coaches are raving about the prospects of Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Whitney Hand.

Oklahoma again plays one of the toughest schedules in the nation with consensus No. 1 Connecticut, and top-ranked Tennessee and California as well as ranked Big 12 teams Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma State and Baylor on the slate.

118 GAMES, 115 DOUBLE-DOUBLES, 110 CONSECUTIVE
Courtney Paris has collected 115 double-doubles in 118 career games. She has an active streak of 110 consecutive games with a double-double. The streak began with a 22-point, 24-rebound effort versus UCLA on Dec. 5, 2005, and will be 1,154 days old when OU plays Baylor on Jan. 28, 2009.

OFFICIALLY A RECORD
It has long been thought that Courtney Paris' double-double numbers were NCAA records. Beginning with the 2008-09 season, those statements are now factual.
The NCAA has made single-season and career double-doubles as well as single-season and career consecutive double-doubles new records for women's basketball.

Single-Season Double-Doubles
33 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 2006
33 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 2007
32 - Anne Donovan, Old Dominion, 1983
31 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 2008
30 - Cheryl Taylor, Tennessee Tech, 1986
Single-Season Consecutive Double-Doubles
33 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, Nov. 12, 2006-March 25, 2007
31 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, Nov. 11, 2007-March 25, 2008
28 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, Dec. 5, 2005-March 25, 2006
18 - Cheryl Miller, Southern Cal, Nov. 28, 1984-Feb. 14, 1985
18 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, Nov. 15, 2008-Active
Career Double-Doubles
115 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 2006-Active
90 - Cheryl Taylor, Tennessee Tech, 1984-87
78 - Janet Harris, Georgia, 1982-85
75 - Sylvia Fowles, LSU, 2005-08
Career Consecutive Double-Doubles
110 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, Dec. 5, 2005-Active
19 - Anne Donovan, Old Dominion, Jan. 29, 1982-Dec. 29, 1983
18 - Cheryl Miller, Southern Cal, Nov. 28, 1994-Feb. 14, 1985

HAND EARNS THIRD FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONOR
Whitney Hand was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week for a third time this season on Jan. 26 following OU's wins against Colorado and Texas. Hand, the league's co-preseason freshman of the year, alos earned the honor on Jan. 12 following a 10-point, four rebound performance against Nebraska and on Dec. 1 after a 20-point performance versus Marist and 13-point effort at No. 1 Connecticut.

C. PARIS NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Oklahoma's Courtney Paris was named the National Player of the Month of December by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), which made the announcement Thursday. It is the fifth career WBCA Player of the Month for Paris. Paris averaged 17.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks in five games in December, while playing just 25.2 minutes a game. She shot 77.3 percent from the field, connecting on 33-of-44 field goal attempts.

POSTGAME LEFTOVERS
Triple Double-Double
Double-doubles by Ashley and Courtney Paris and Amanda Thompson against North Carolina on Nov. 23, 2008, marked the first time three Sooners recorded double-doubles in the same game. It's happened twice more since then as the Parises and Danielle Robinson each tallied a double-double against Tulsa (Dec. 21) and Texas A&M (Jan. 18).

Oklahoma Sets Comeback Record
Oklahoma's comeback win against Cal set the largest deficit overcome in regulation to win a game. The Sooners trailed the Bears by 26 points with 19:01 remaining in the second half and won 86-75.

New Turnover Low
Oklahoma's eight turnovers against UConn and 10 versus Creighton set a record low in back-to-back games for Sherri Coale-coached teams. Previously, no Sooner team coached by Coale had consecutive games with fewer than 20 combined turnovers.

Offensive Output
Lost in the struggle from a 106-78 defeat to No. 1 UConn was the efficiency of OU's offense. The Sooners ripped off 85 field goal attempts while turning the ball over just eight times, matching a three-year season low. OU also connected on 56 percent of its 3-point attempts,then its best mark since the fourth game of the 2007-08 season.

Courtney Paris sets OU Scoring Record
The second-ranked Sooners never trailed at home against Arizona State, winning the Preseason WNIT semifinal, 70-57. Courtney Paris scored 19 points and 20 rebounds for her 100th career double-double and passed Phylesha Whaley as OU's career scoring leader.

More on Paris' Scoring Efficiency
Phylesha Whaley scored 2,187 points in 116 career games and an OU record 4,025 minutes played. Courtney Paris passed Whaley's mark with 2,189 points in 103 games. Paris' 3,152 minutes played to reach the record -- 873 fewer than Whaley --wasn't even in the top 10 on OU's career charts.

Rebound Record on Pace
The two-time NCAA single-season rebounding leader also passed Mississippi Valley State's Patricia Hoskins for second on the NCAA career rebounding list. With 1,778 career rebounds, Paris needs 109 to match the NCAA record.

Lucky Number Seven
Whitney Hand became just the seventh true freshman under OU head coach Sherri Coale to start in her first collegiate game, joining LaNeisha Caufield, Stacey Dales, Caton Hill, Courtney Paris, Chelsi Welch and Phylesha Whaley.

OU Fact of the Game
A win would give OU its third against a top-10 opponent this year. The last time that happened was during the 2003-04 season.

The Greatest Comeback in NCAA History
Led by Nyeshia Stevenson's 21 second-half points, Oklahoma engineered the greatest comeback win in regulation in NCAA history against then-No. 9 California in the final game of the Basketball by the Bay Classic in San Jose, Calif., on Dec. 13. Oklahoma trailed 52-26 at the half and began a 10-0 run in the second half with 19:00 remaining. The Sooners also reeled a 28-0 run from 9:00 to 0:42 in which OU made 6-of-12 field goals and Cal missed 11 consecutive. Eleven of Stevenson's 21 points came during this run, including the tying, go-ahead and, eventually, winning field goals. OU outscored Cal in points off turnovers, 20-0, in the final period.

The only team to win from a greater deficit was Texas State, which trailed UT-San Antonio 40-8 (32 points) with 2:18 remaining in the first half and won 73-71 in overtime on Feb. 18, 2006. Texas State's halftime deficit in that game was 27 points.

Stevenson...Beyond the Arc
Junior forward Nyeshia Stevenson set an OU record by making nine consecutive 3-point field goals. Stevenson was a perfect 4-for-4 in the second half versus California and 2-for-2 in the game against Tulsa and 3-for-3 at Saint Louis for a total of nine consecutive 3-pointers made.

Stevenson streak of nine straight games with at least one 3-pointer ended as she was held scoreless Jan. 18 versus Texas A&M. However, Stevenson still leads the Big 12 Conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.446).

As a freshman, Stevenson made just 2-of-11 (.182) 3-pointers. As a sophomore, she improved to 28-of-82 (.341). Already in 2008-09, the junior has made 29 of 65 (.446).

True to Point
Danielle Robinson's improved efficiency at point guard as a sophomore is incredible considering she was, statistically, the top freshman point guard in the nation last season, leading her to Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. Robinson has 112 assists to 64 turnovers in 2008-09, a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, and leads the team with 41 steals.

Robinson has also been spreading the ball around well, counting assists to eight teammates. Her only exceptions, injured forward Carolyn Winchester, reserve point guards Rose Hammond and Jasmine Hartman and reserve center Abi Olajuwon.

Percentage of Field Goals Assisted by Robinson
50% - Lauren Willis
38% - Whitney Hand
31% - Nyeshia Stevenson
29% - Jenny Vining
25% - Carlee Roethlisberger
24% - Ashley Paris
15% - Amanda Thompson
13% - Courtney Paris

Robinson...From the Charity Stripe
Sophomore guard Danielle Robinson leads the Big 12 Conference in free throw percentage (.923, 48-of-52) and is third nationally.

The statistic is just one example of the point guard's remarkable improvement from her freshman season when she made just 68 of 99 (.687) free throws.

Robinson's 9-for-9 free throw shooting against Texas A&M (Jan. 18) was the best by a Sooner since Maria Villaroel made 11-of-11 versus Missouri on Feb. 26, 2003.

Robinson set an OU record by making 30 consecutive free throws, ending with her third attempt against Texas (Jan. 25). LaNeisha Caufield (2002) held the Oklahoma record for consecutive free throws at 29.

Simply the Best
Only two NCAA Division I programs have their football and men's and women's basketball teams ranked in the Top 25 of the AP poll -- Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma's football team finished No. 5, while its men's basketball team is No. 4 and women's team is No. 2. Texas' teams are ranked Nos. 4, 11 and 16, respectively.

High Percentage
Oklahoma's .494 field goal percentage trails only Connecticut (.529) in the NCAA national team ranking. The Sooners have shot better than 50 percent from the field in 10 of 18 games this season after doing so only seven times last year. Of course, the high field goal percentages has Oklahoma scoring on more chances, which is why OU's scoring offense (81.8 points per game) is fourth nationally.

Bench Support
Following Oklahoma's loss to Connecticut in which bench players totaled only four points, Sherri Coale issued a challenge to her reserves. They've responded in the last 12 games, providing 33 percent of the team's scoring and outscoring the opponents' bench 324-124, an average of 27-10. Prior to Coale's challenge, the backups were outscored 79-100 and provided only 21 percent of OU's offensive output.

Runaways
Oklahoma has put away opponents early by opening with large runs. The Sooners took a 13-0 lead on North Carolina Central (Jan. 4) and then a 15-0 lead on Nebraska (Jan. 10).

Those are just two of the 27 scoring runs of 10 or more points the Sooners have had this season. Oklahoma has had at least one 10-0 run in three straight games.

OU's comeback versus California featured a 28-0 run that last from 9:00 remaining to the final 30 seconds of that game.

The Sooners quickest 10-0 run lasted 2:11 over both sides of the break against No. 1 Connecticut. Oklahoma has even had three double-digit runs in one game, doing so with 12-point first half, 13-point over-the-break, and 13-point second half runs against Creighton.

To purchase women's basketball tickets:
Purchase Online | Call (405) 325-2424 or toll-free (800) 456-GoOU | Group Tickets
Lloyd Noble Center |  Seating Chart | View from Seat

Single-Game Tickets: $8 - Public General Admission | $5 - Youth General Admission


OU Athletics Ticket Office
The OU Athletics Ticket Office is located on the plaza level of the Asp Avenue Parking Facility, immediately west of the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. A limited number of metered parking spaces are available on the second floor of the parking facility and on Asp Street for customer use. The OU Athletics Ticket Office handles ticketing for all OU athletics events and is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. | Map to Ticket Office
 
Phone (405) 325-2424 or toll-free: (800) 456-GoOU
Fax (405) 325-8500
Email outickets@ou.edu
 

 

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