University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Meet A&M in Big 12 Semis

March 13, 2009 | Women's Basketball

Sooners Aim For Championship Sweep
Oklahoma claimed its sixth Big 12 regular-season title in 2009 and looks to collect its fifth conference postseason crown and the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City this week.

The Sooners have done the double -- winning both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles -- three times: 2002, 2006 and 2007.

Texas Tech (1998 and 1999), Iowa State (2000), Texas (2003) and Baylor (2005) have also completed the championship sweep.

Quarterfinal Attendance Sets Record
The 7,634 in attendance for Oklahoma's win versus Kansas Friday set a Big 12 Women's Championship attendance record for a morning session during the quarterfinal round.

Vote Paris for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Courtney Paris was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: classroom, community, character and competition. Fans can vote for Paris once per day online at www.seniorclassaward.com.

 Big 12 Championship: (1) Oklahoma vs (4) Texas A&M
 Date and Time  Saturday, March 14 at 12 p.m. Central | Game Notes
 Location  Cox Convention Center (13,475) | Oklahoma City
 Tickets  OU Athletics Ticket Office | 1-800-456-GoOU
 TV  Fox SportsNet
 COX 37 in Oklahoma City; COX 27 in Tulsa
 Radio
 Sooner Sports Radio Network | Live Audio
 KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City
 Webcast  Big12Sports.com
 Live Stats  Big12Sports.com

Championship Preview
No. 3 Oklahoma, the No. 1 seed, advanced to the semifinals of the 2009 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Saturday at 12 p.m. by defeating eighth-seeded Kansas, 76-59, in the second round. OU meets No. 10/9 Texas A&M in the seminfinal, which will be televised on Fox SportsNet.

• Oklahoma has won four Big 12 Championships, all in the past six years (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007)
• Oklahoma is 18-8 all-time in the Big 12 Championship
• The Sooners' .692 winning percentage in the Big 12 Championship is the league's best
• Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale is 282-130 (.684) in her 13th season.

 Oklahoma Projected Starters
Pos.
No.
 Name
Ht.
Year
 Stats / Notes
C
3
 Courtney Paris
6-4
Sr.
 16.5 ppg, 13.7 rpg, 1.6 apg
F
5
 Ashley Paris
6-3
Sr.
 12.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.8 apg
G
13
 Danielle Robinson
5-9
So.
 12.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 5.9 apg
G
25
 Whitney Hand
6-1
Fr.
 8.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.6 apg
F
21
 Amanda Thompson
6-0
Jr.
 7.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.1 apg

 Texas A&M Projected Starters
Pos.
No.
 Name
Ht.
Year
 Stats / Notes
G
3
 Takia Starks
5-8
Sr.
 15.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.4 apg
F
55
 Danielle Gant
5-11
Sr.
 13.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.1 apg
F
22
 Tanisha Smith
6-0
Jr.
 9.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.1 apg
G
51
 Sydney Colson
5-8
So.
6.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 2.9 apg
C
12
 La Toya Micheaux
6-3
Sr.
 2.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 21.3 apg

OU in the Big 12 Championship
• Oklahoma has won more Big 12 Championship games that any other program in the conference. With 18 wins and eight losses, OU's 69.2 percent winning percentage is also tops in the league's 13-year postseason tournament history.
• Only Iowa State (31) and Texas (28) have played in more Big 12 Championship games than the Sooners.
• The Sooners have an even or winning record against all its opponents in the Big 12 Championship, including a 3-0 mark versus Baylor, 2-0 advantage over Texas A&M.
• All-time in the Big 12 Championship, OU is 3-4 in the first round, 6-3 in the second round, 5-0 in the semifinal round and 4-1 in the championship game.
• Gary Blair is 126-64 (.663) in his sixth season at TAMU and 534-227 (.702) in his 24th overall.

Notable Numbers
First Win
3/7/01 (80-61 vs. Kansas)
Largest Victory
+31 (87-56, vs. OSU, 3/6/02)
Largest Defeat
-25 (81-56, vs. KSU, 3/4/97)
Most Points
36, C. Paris vs. ISU (3/8/06)
Most Rebounds
26, C. Paris vs. BU (3/11/06)
Most Assists
9, Stacey Dales vs. CU (3/8/01)

Courtney Paris Pacing Wayman Tisdale
Already OU women's basketball's all-time leading scorer with 2,651 points, Courtney Paris is near the pace to pass Wayman Tisdale (1983-85) as the career scoring leader for both men's or women's basketball at the University of Oklahoma. Tisdale's total of 2,661 points came in just three seasons. Paris needs 10 points to match Tisdale's mark.

Oklahoma Sooners Dominate Postseason Awards

Oklahoma (No. 3 Associated Press/No. 3 USA Today/Coaches') enters the Big 12 Championship as the No. 1 seed, having clinched its sixth regular-season conference title with a 15-1 record in the league.

Sherri Coale was named Big 12 Coach of the Year for a record fourth time and Courtney Paris claimed her third-consecutive player of the year award.

Whitney Hand followed Danielle Robinson's lead as the second straight Sooner to earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors and Nyeshia Stevenson shared the Sixth Man Award.

Ashley Paris, sister Courtney and Robinson were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, of which Robinson was the youngest member. Hand was an All-Big 12 honorable mention.

Courtney Paris and Robinson were named to the Big 12's All-Defensive team.

Hand was cleared for practice early this week and is expected to play after missing the final four games of the regular season after suffering a dislocation and fracture to her left index finger.

The Sooners rank first in seven of the 16 major team statistical categories -- scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, rebounding defense, rebounding margin, blocked shots and assists -- ranked by the Big 12.

 
 Player to Watch

 #25 Whitney Hand | Fr. | Guard
 
Hand practiced Tuesday and is expected to return to action with the Sooners at the Big 12 Championship. The freshman missed the last four games of the regular season after suffering a dislocation and fracture to her left index finger. Hand, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, will add punch to OU's hot shooting when she does step back on the court.

   

Six Named to Academic All-Big 12 Team
Six OU players, including all three seniors, were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team. Rose Hammond (human relations), Ashley Paris (advertising), Danielle Robinson (sociology), Amanda Thompson (communication) and Carolyn Winchester (mathematics education) were all first-team honorees. Courtney Paris (journalism) was named to the second team.

Sooner Trifecta on Awards Watch
Ashley and Courtney Paris were named to the Naismith Trophy mid-season candidate list, with the award honoring the top player in women's college basketball, and Danielle Robinson was named as one of 13 candidates for the Nancy Lieberman Award, honoring the nation's top point guard.

2009 Senior Among Big 12's Winningest
Oklahoma seniors Ashley and Courtney Paris and Carolyn Winchester have led the Sooners to one of the best four-year spans in Big 12 history. Oklahoma has compiled a 108-22 (.831) record over the past four seasons, sixth best in the league's history.

Oklahoma is three wins shy of the record. Three consecutive wins by Oklahoma would encompass its possible games of the Big 12 Championship.

Most Wins by Big 12 Teams Over Four-Year Spans
111 - Baylor, 2004-07
110 - Baylor, 2005-08
110 - Baylor, 2002-05
109 - Texas Tech, 1998-2001
109 - Oklahoma, 2006-09
109 - Baylor, 2003-06

Ashley Paris Joining Millenium Club
Ashley Paris became the fourth Sooner to reach both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career with her performance against Kansas in the second round of the Big 12 Championship. The others are Courtney Paris (2,651 points and 1,955 rebounds), Molly McGuire (2,147 points and 1,071 rebounds) and Caton Hill (1,653 points and 1,044 rebounds).

Courtney Paris Starts Own Club
Courtney Paris is 45 rebounds shy of becoming the first college basketball player -- any gender, any membership, any division -- to collect 2,500 points and 2,000 rebounds in a career.

Only five players previously had reached both 2,000 points and 2,000 rebounds -- Tom Gola of La Salle (1952-55), Joe Holup of George Washington (1953-56), Jim Smith of Steubenville (1955-58) and, the only woman, Sheila Ford of North Carolina-Asheville (1980-84).

Fordham's Anne Gregory (1977-80), who scored 2,548 points, ended her career one rebound shy of 2,000.

Rerservations for Six
Jenny Vining was just the sixth OU reserve, not missing a start due to a senior night, in the Paris Era to score at least 15 points in a game. The feat has been accomplished 18 times in the past 131 games, twice by Vining and 10 times by Nyeshia Stevenson.

The Streak Ends at 112 Consecutive Double-Doubles
Courtney Paris' streak of consecutive games with a double-double ended Monday, Feb. 2, 2009, against Tennessee at 120 games. Paris' streak began with a 22-point, 24-rebound effort versus UCLA on Dec. 5, 2005, and lasted 1,159 days. Courtney Paris has collected 124 double-doubles in 131 career games.

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
20 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, Nov. 15, 2008-Jan. 31, 2009
18 - Cheryl Miller, Southern Cal, Nov. 28, 1984-Feb. 14, 1985
Career Double-Doubles
124 - 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
112 - Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, Dec. 5, 2005-Jan. 31, 2009
19 - Anne Donovan, Old Dominion, Jan. 29, 1982-Dec. 29, 1983
18 - Cheryl Miller, Southern Cal, Nov. 28, 1994-Feb. 14, 1985

OU Fact of the Game
Courtney Paris has 129 career double-figure scoring games. The NCAA Division I record is 130.

All About the Ball
Oklahoma, accustomed to playing with a Nike "3005 N-Touch Tournament" ball will play its remaining games with the Wilson "Solution", as it is the supplied ball for all Big 12 Championship and NCAA Championship games.

The Sooners have played four games this season with the Wilson ball and average a .508 field goal percentage and .355 3-point field goal percentage, the team's highest percentages with a particular brand of ball.

Bench Support
Oklahoma's depth has taken a hit with a finger injury keeping freshman guard Whitney Hand out of the starting lineup for the next few games. Nyeshia Stevenson, the conference's top scoring reserve and shoo-in for Sixth Man of the Year, has taken her place. Stevenson accounted for 49 percent of OU's total bench points before taking the starting role.

In OU's loss to Texas A&M, the Sooner bench was outscored 19-0 by A&M's reserves. The tables flipped in OU's win versus Oklahoma State as the Sooners, led by 15 points from Jenny Vining, outscored the Cowgirls' reserves 19-11.

In Oklahoma's 28 wins, the Sooner bench has outscored the opponent's bench 576-329, or an average of 20-12. In three losses, OU's bench has been outscored 83-10, or 28 to 3 per game.

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's 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 (.422) and is 17th nationally.

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 46 of 109 (.422).

Point of Order
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 184 assists to 130 turnovers in 2008-09, a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, and leads the team with 70 steals.

Robinson has also been spreading the ball around well, counting assists to nine teammates. Her only exceptions: reserves Rose Hammond, Jasmine Hartman and Carolyn Winchester.

Heard it Through the Great-Vining
Oklahoma is 9-0 all-time, 7-0 this season, in games when Jenny Vining makes multiple 3-pointers.


 

 

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