Season Opener Friday at 7 p.m.

Nov. 12, 2009


	Abi Olajuwon

GAME PREVIEW
Oklahoma (No. 13 AP/No. 8 Coaches) begins the regular season Friday night at it hosts Mercer at 7 p.m. The game will broadcast live on the radio in the Oklahoma City area on KOKC AM 1520 with Brian Brinkley and Kendra Wecker calling the action. A webcast of the game is available online at SoonerSports.com via CBS College Sports All-Access.

No. 13/8 Oklahoma (0-0) vs. Mercer (0-0)
Date & Tip Time	Friday, Nov. 13, at 7:07 p.m. CT
Location	Norman, Okla. \| Lloyd Noble Center \| Seating Views
Tickets	OU Athletics Ticket Office General Admission: Adults $8, Youth (K-12) $5 OU Students Enter Free with Valid Student ID
TV	None
Radio	Sooner Radio Network KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City
Webcast	SoonerSports.com All-Access
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com GameTracker
Game Info	Game Notes

TICKET INFORMATION
• General admission tickets are available for adults are $8. Youth (K-12) tickets are $5. Lloyd Noble Center's ticket box offices will open one and one-half hours prior to tip-off.
• OU students who present a valid student I.D. are admitted free.
• A special single-game package for football tailgaters in the Lloyd Noble RV Parking Lot includes a complimentary hot dog, T-shirt and drink included with the price of admission. Call ahead with the promotional code included in the RV parking instructions.

FREE COKE, SCHEDULE MAGNETS
• The first 1,000 fans who enter the Lloyd Noble Center when doors open Friday will receive a voucher for a free Coca-Cola product and the official team schedule magnet.
• The official women's basketball team posters and schedule cards will be available to fans on the concourse near entry points of the arena. There will also be areas along the concourse for fans to create their own signs to display throughout the game.

TAKE PHOTOS WITH THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY
• Fans also have the opportunity to have their picture taken with the NCAA Regional Championship Trophy, won by the Sooners at the Oklahoma City Regional, before the game. The trophy will be in the Kerr-McGee Courtside Club, located on the south end of the Lloyd Noble Center above the Legacy Court, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Mercer Projected Starters
No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Year	2008-09 Statistics
31	Courtney Ford	G	5-8	Sr.	11.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.7 steals
22	LaToya Jackson	G	5-7	Sr.	13.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.9 apg
20	Lindsey Lowrie	G	5-9	RS-Fr.	Redshirted
34	Lacy Ramon	F	6-1	So.	1.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 6 starts
30	Kourtney Carter	C	6-0	Jr.	3.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 8 starts

Oklahoma Projected Starters
No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Year	2008-09 Statistics
13	Danielle Robinson	G	5-9	Jr.	12.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.9 apg
1	Nyeshia Stevenson	F/G	5-10	Sr.	9.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 36.4 3FG%
25	Whitney Hand	G	6-1	So.	9.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 37.3 3FG%
21	Amanda Thompson	F	6-1	Sr.	6.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.2 steals
34	Abi Olajuwon	C	6-3	Sr.	1.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg

ABOUT THE MATCHUP
• Mercer and Oklahoma are meeting for just the second time. The last time the two teams met was on Dec. 19, 1992, when Oklahoma took a 69-60 victory.
• Oklahoma begins the season ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll and No. 13 in the Associated Press Poll.
• Sherri Coale is 286-132 (.684) in her 14th season at Oklahoma. She has been the Big 12 Coach of the Year four times.
• Mercer head coach Janell Jones (21-40, .344) is in her third season as Mercer's head coach.

PREVIEWING OKLAHOMA
The Sooners were picked by the league's coaches to finish fifth in the strong Big 12 Conference this season. However, the media has Oklahoma 13th in the Preseason Associated Press Poll trailing only Big 12 foes Baylor and Texas. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll have Oklahoma at No. 8.

The Sooners enter 2009-10 following one of its best seasons in history. Oklahoma notched a program record 32 wins, won its sixth Big 12 regular season title and made its second trip to the Final Four. OU returns eight letterwinners from the squad, including three starters. Preseason Wooden Award candidate Danielle Robinson, the returning Big 12 Freshman of the Year Whitney Hand and senior co-captain Amanda Thompson will lead the charge.

Sooner to Watch
	Abi Olajuwon \| Sr. \| Center Last off the bench in OU's final exhibition game, Olajuwon responded by scoring a team-high 17 points, grabbing six rebounds to go with three blocks despite playing only 14 minutes. Olajuwon was nearly perfect from the field, shooting 8-for-11.

PREVIEWING MERCER
The Bears return seniors LaToya Jackson and Courtney Ford in the backcourt. Jackson returns to the hardwood after an impressive 2008-09 campaign in which the Oklahoma City, Okla. native averaged 13.9 points per game en route to be honored as an Atlantic Sun All-Conference second team member. Last season, Ford scored an average of 11.7 points per game and averaged 5.9 rebounds per contest, good for second best on the Mercer roster.

Junior Kourtney Carter tops the list of Bears competing for playing time at the forward position. Carter has played in 58 games over two seasons with the Bears. One of Carter's most notable games came in Mercer's A-Sun tournament win against Stetson last season. In that game, Carter dropped a career-high 16 points to help the Bears advance to the tournament semifinal. Another player who the staff expects to have an improved season is Lacy Ramon. Ramon returns for her sophomore campaign in 2009-10, a year removed from a season in which the Norman, Okla. native appeared in 25 games.

WHO'S HOME GAME?
Mercer Heavily Connected in Oklahoma
Three Mercer players and five Mercer staff members have close ties to the Sooner State.

Senior guard LaToya Jackson is a native of Oklahoma City, sophomore guard Lorin Hammer is a native of Peavine, Okla., and sophomore center Lacy Ramon's hometown is Norman.

Mercer head coach Janell Jones was a two-time NAIA Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2002 after leading Oklahoma City University to two national championships.

Assistant coach Fred Castro, in his second season at Mercer, was previously the video coordinator at Oklahoma. Assistant coach Herman Berger, in his second season, played basketball for Oklahoma City University for two years before transferring. Assistant coach Kenneth Cooper was an assistant at Seminole State College for three seasons prior to joining Mercer.

Director of operations Meredith Noonan, in her first season, was hired by Mercer after getting her Master's from OU. Noonan previously served as a volunteer in OU's athletics communication office and as a graduate assistant for OU's wrestling team.

NEXT UP
The Sooners take on Georgia Sunday, Nov. 15, in Athens, Ga. Tip-off is 1:30 p.m. Central.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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