Big 12 Women's Hoops Play Begins Saturday

Jan. 7, 2010


	Abi Olajuwon

No. 14 Oklahoma (10-3) vs. Texas Tech (12-2)
Date & Tip Time	Saturday, Jan. 9, at 2:37 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	Sooner Sports Network KAUT (Oklahoma City) and COX Ch. 3 (Tulsa)
Radio	Sooner Radio Network KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City
Webcast	SoonerSports.com All-Access
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com GameTracker
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF)

GAME PREVIEW
No. 14 Oklahoma opens its Big 12 Conference schedule with Texas Tech Saturday, Jan. 9, at 2:30 p.m. at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.
• The game will be televised on the Sooner Sports Network (Oklahoma City area on KAUT and in Tulsa on COX Channel 3).
• The OU radio broadcast of Brian Brinkley and Kendra Wecker can be heard over the air on the Sooner Sports Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) and online at SoonerSports.com through CBS College Sports All-Access.

SPONSORED BY THE MOORE NORMAN TECHNOLOGY CENTER
• The OU cheerleading squad will perform its nationals routine at halftime.
• New Year's Cash Game will allow four lucky fans to win $500 Midfirst Bank Gift Cards.
• 5,000 "3" cards will be given away at the entrances.

OU WINS, YOU WIN
• Sooner Fans in attendance for one of the next three games at the Lloyd Noble Center could enjoy a discounted ticket rate at future home games. If the Sooners win, fans win the opportunity to purchase additional tickets to all remaining Big 12 Conference home games at a special rate.
• If the Sooners win one of their next three home games, fans in attendance will be eligible to purchase as many tickets as they had for the eligible game at a special rate of $5 per ticket. The processing fee is included in this rate and no other fees will be applied.

Women's Basketball Ticket Information

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.

Texas Tech Projected Starters
No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Year	2009-10 Statistics
13	Jordan Murphree	G	6-0	Sr.	12.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg
14	Tilmila Martin	G	5-6	Sr.	8.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg
20	Kierra Mallard	C	6-3	So.	14.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg
23	Monique Smalls	G	5-6	Fr.	5.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
31	Ashlee Roberson	F	5-11	Sr.	10.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg

Oklahoma Projected Starters
No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Year	2009-10 Statistics
13	Danielle Robinson	G	5-9	Jr.	16.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.7 apg
1	Nyeshia Stevenson	G	5-10	Sr.	14.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg
10	Carlee Roethlisberger	F	6-1	So.	9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
21	Amanda Thompson	F	6-1	Sr.	11.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg
34	Abi Olajuwon	C	6-3	Sr.	12.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg

ABOUT THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma is ranked No. 14 by the Associated Press and No. 15 USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll.
• Texas Tech is not ranked in either poll.
• Oklahoma is 10-3 after losing in Knoxville to No. 4 Tennessee, 96-75, on Jan. 3.
• Texas Tech is 12-2 after defeating Savannah State, 69-40, in Lubbock on Jan 2.

The Series
• Texas Tech and Oklahoma have met 37 previous times. The series is tied, 9-9, in Norman. The Sooners swept the Lady Raiders last season, winning 80-72 in Lubbock and 61-49 in Norman.

The Coaches
• Sherri Coale is 295-135 (.686) in her 14th season at Oklahoma. She has been the Big 12 Coach of the Year four times.
• Kristi Curry is 59-49 (.546) in her fourth season at Texas Tech and 238-100 (.704) overall in her 11th her as a head coach.

PREVIEWING OKLAHOMA
The Sooners were picked by the league's coaches to finish fifth in the strong Big 12 Conference this season.

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. PreseasonAll-American Danielle Robinson and senior co-captain Amanda Thompson will lead the charge.

Sooner to Watch
	Amanda Thompson \| Sr. \| Forward Amanda Thompson follows a career-high scoring performance against Tennessee with the start of her and her fellow seniors' final run through the Big 12. Thompson tallied her second double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds versus the Lady Vols, earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors.

PREVIEWING TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech begins conference play with a 12-2 record after beating Savannah State, 69-40, last Saturday.

On the year, sophomore Kierra Mallard paces the Lady Raiders in scoring with a 14.4 average followed by senior Jordan Murphree at 12.1 and senior Ashlee Roberson at 10.6.

Roberson is the top rebounder, grabbing 9.4 boards per contest and Mallard is averaging 7.7 rebounds. Mallard is shooting 49.7 percent from the field, while freshman Mary Bokenkamp is shooting 47.6 percent from the 3-point arc and senior Tilmila Martin is shooting 89.5 percent from the free throw line.

Freshman Monique Smalls has a team-high 58 assists. Murphree leads the team in steals with 38.

Mallard is the top shot blocker with 31 blocks. Tech is shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from the three-point range and 67.6 percent from the charity stripe.

Second Half Stunners
Oklahoma has trailed or been tied at half in five straight games and six of the last seven (led by one vs. UT-Arlington), yet had won five of those games including two in overtime. The Sooners are scoring 36.0 points in first halves this year and 41.6 in the second halves.

Oklahoma is also shooting five percent better from the field, 15 percent better from 3-point range and has a higher rebounding margin in second halves than in first halves this season.

Career Night After Night
The Sooners fast-paced offense has seen career scoring highs set for all of its active players at least once this season. Counting only its non-freshmen, Oklahoma has played nine games in which a total of 11 career personal bests were scored. Abi Olajuwon has reset her career scoring high three times this season and Danielle Robinson has done so twice.

Robinson OU's 23rd 1,000-Point Scorer
Danielle Robinson scored nine points to become Oklahoma's 23rd player to reach 1,000 in a career against Marist, Dec. 9. She now has 1,065 career points scored.

Courtney Paris achieved 1,000 career points in 46 career games and no other player since the year 2000 achieved the mark quicker than her.

The NCAA record is 37 games held by three players (Maree Jackson, LSU; Carol Menken, Oregon State; and Sandra Hodge, New Orleans).

Robinson Reaches 400 Career Assists
Danielle Robinson recorded her 400th career assist with her fifth and final one versus Marist.

Robinson is fourth on OU's career assist list and trails Sharee Mitchum (1992-95), who had 601, for third place.Stacey Dales (764) and Dionnah Jackson (606) are first and second in the all-time rankings.

Stevenson Matches 3-Point Record
Nyeshia Stevenson's nine 3-pointers made versus Marist helped her establish a new career scoring high and also matched a 28-year-old Sooner record.

The only other Sooner to make as many 3-pointers in a game was Carin Stites, who did it twice -- vs. Arkansas on Nov. 27, 1990, and vs. UT-San Antonio on Jan. 21, 1991.

Scoring Efficiency
Danielle Robinson leads the Sooners with 16.0 points per game, but it is senior center Abi Olajuwon who is the team's most efficient scorer. Olajuwon's rate is 0.61 points per minute played, just higher than Robinson's 0.49.

Running and Gunning
Oklahoma's fast-paced offense can score points in a flurry. In 13 games this season, OU has achieved 12 double-digit scoring runs. Conversely, opponents have only three runs of 10 or more points against Oklahoma. Notre Dame, Arkansas and Tennessee each did it once.

NEXT UP
Oklahoma travels to Baylor Wednesday, Jan. 13. The game will be televised on the Sooner Sports Network at 7 p.m. Central.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Big 12 Women's Hoops Play Begins Saturday

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