OU Faces No. 21 Georgia in Tough Road Battle

Nov. 14, 2009


	Amanda Thompson

No. 13/8 Oklahoma (1-0) vs. No. 21 Georgia (0-0)
Date & Tip Time	Sunday, Nov. 15, at 1:30 p.m. CT
Location	Athens, Ga. \| Stegeman Coliseum
TV	None
Radio	Sooner Radio Network KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City
Webcast	GeorgiaDogs.com GXtra Insider ($9.95)
Live Stats	GeorgiaDogs.com
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF)

GAME PREVIEW
Oklahoma (No. 13 AP/No. 8 Coaches) takes its game on the road for a tough test against No. 21 Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga., Sunday. The game tips off at 1:30 p.m. Central and will broadcast live in the Oklahoma City area on KOKC AM 1520 with Chris Plank and Kendra Wecker calling the action.

OKLAHOMA SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ON SALE NOV. 17
Single-game tickets for the nationally-ranked OU men's and women's basketball teams go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 17. Tickets will first be available for purchase online at 12:01 a.m. Phone orders begin at 8 a.m. via the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (405) 325-2424 or toll-free at (800) 456-GoOU. If supplies remain, walk-up sales at the ticket office begin at 10 a.m.

The ticket sale includes men's games against Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma State and Texas and women's games against UConn, Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma State. Men's basketball single-game tickets start as low as $10 each while women's tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth.

Georgia Projected Starters
No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Year	2008-09 Statistics
1	Ashley Houts	G	5-6	Sr.	12.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.7 apg
11	Meredith Mitchell	G	6-1	So.	2.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 7 starts
15	Jaleesa Rhoden	G	5-8	Jr.	3.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 8 starts
21	Porsha Phillips	F	6-2	Jr.	10.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.2 blocks
33	Angel Robinson	F	6-5	Sr.	11.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.2 blocks

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
• Georgia and Oklahoma are meeting for the fifth time.
• UGA leads the all-time series 3-1.
• Georgia won the only previous meeting in Athens, 88-79, on Dec. 13, 1998.
• Oklahoma won the last meeting between the two teams, in Norman, 65-57, on Jan. 27, 2008.
• Sherri Coale is 287-132 (.684) in her 14th season at Oklahoma. She has been the Big 12 Coach of the Year four times.
• Georgia head coach Andy Landers (725-239, .752) in his 30th season at Georgia. He is 807-260 (.756) in 34 seasons as a Division I 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 will be released Wednesday.

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

Amanda Thompson | Sr. | Forward
Last time OU and Georgia met, sophomore Amanda Thompson crashed the party for the Dawgs. Thompson's career-high 18 points and two-late, momentum-crushing blocks, are vivid in the memories of those who were inside the Lloyd Noble Center that night. Now a senior, Thompson will need to lead the charge against Georgia at their house, often an unfriendly venue for visitors.

PREVIEWING GEORGIA
With a roster featuring more active newcomers (six) than returning letterwinners (five), the Lady Bulldogs are very much a work in progress.

"We're not ready for a game but this should tell some things," head coach Andy Landers said. "By no means are we ready to play a game. We've had too many many people miss too many practices, and we have a lot of young people."

Returning letterwinners Angel Robinson (knee), Porsha Phillips (illness) and Jaleesa Rhoden (hamstring) have been limited at times during the pre-season, while freshman Jasmine James missed a good portion of the workouts with a bone bruise.

Those setbacks were compounded by the fact that returning starter Christy Marshall suffered a season-ending knee injury two days before the official opening of practice.

LAST TIME VERSUS GEORGIA
While Courtney Paris was breaking another rebounding record, Amanda Thompson tied her career-high with 18 points and also had two late blocks to help the Sooners seal a 65-57 win.

Paris had 18 points and 14 boards, setting the Big 12 rebounding record en route to her 78th consecutive double-double.

The Bulldogs made a late charge at Oklahoma after trailing by 10 at halftime, but still lost for the fourth time in their last seven games after a 13-0 start.

Paris and her twin sister, Ashley, were able to keep Georgia's inside tandem of Tasha Humphrey and Angel Robinson in check for much of the game. Robinson left early in the first half after picking up two fouls, and wasn't a factor in the second half.

Humphrey struggled to a 3-for-16 shooting performance, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range, and scored 11 points. Christy Marshall added 16 points, one off her career best, and Megan Darrah also scored 11.

Ashley Paris added 14 points and Danielle Robinson scored 12 for Oklahoma.

NEXT UP
The Sooners return to the Lloyd Noble Center Saturday, Nov. 21, for a matchup with TCU.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Faces No. 21 Georgia in Tough Road Battle

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