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Women's Basketball
vs North Carolina
University of Oklahoma Athletics
No. 1 Baylor Next for Women's Hoops
January 25, 2012 | Women's Basketball
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| Sharane Campbell |
| Oklahoma (12-5, 4-2 Big 12) vs. No. 1 Baylor (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) | |
| Date & Tip Time | Thursday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. CT |
| Location | Norman, Okla. | Lloyd Noble Center | Seating Views |
| Tickets | $5, $8 and $15; Free to OU students with valid OU I.D. OU Athletics Ticket Office |
| TV | FOX Sports Net Oklahoma City: FS Southwest (COX 37, 722 HD) Tulsa: FS Southwest (COX 27, 722 HD) AT&T U-Verse 753, 1753 HD | DISH 416 | DirecTV 676 |
| Radio | Sooner Sports Network | Live Audio Oklahoma City: KOKC 1520 AM | KREF 1400 AM Tulsa: KTBZ 1430 AM |
| Webcast | None |
| Live Stats | SoonerSports.com GameTracker |
| Game Info | Game Notes (PDF) |
THE GAME PLAN
Oklahoma hosts No. 1 Baylor for Cheer Like a Champion Night at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Thursday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. in a nationally-televised matchup on FOX Sports Net. Brent Stover and Brenda VanLengen will have the call. The radio broadcast with Brian Brinkley airs on KOKC 1520 AM in the Oklahoma City metro area and KREF 1400 AM in Norman.
Cheer Like a Champion Thursday
• Always one of the most anticipated events on the Sooner calendar, Cheer Like a Champion Night returns Thursday when the Sooners host No. 1 Baylor at 7 p.m. The 12,000 seats of the Lloyd Noble Center will be filled with free white T-shirts, compliments of OU I.T. Store, for Sooner fans to wear and cheer loudly.
Student Attendance Challenge
• Jan. 28 is the third game of the OU Student Attendance Challenge, a rewards system that provides gifts for loyal student fans.
• OU students (with valid I.D.) receive free pizza at the student entrance
• One lucky student will win $100 gift card courtesy of The Reserve on Stinson
Tickets Available
• Season Tickets are available for as low as $114. Tickets may be purchased online at SoonerSports.com or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-456-GoOU.
• Single-game tickets went on sale to the general public Nov. 1. Prices are $15 for reserved seating, $8 for general admission adults and $5 for general admission youths and senior citizens. OU students receive free admission when presenting a valid ID.
The Teams
• Baylor is undefeated and hold the nation's longest active winning streak at 19-0 overall (6-0 Big 12). The Lady Bears are the unanimous No. 1 team in both polls.
• Oklahoma is 12-5 and 4-2 in conference play. OU is not ranked in either poll. The Sooners are 6-1 at home this season.
• The all-time series is 25-13 in OU's favor with a 10-6 advantage at home, but Baylor has captured the last two meetings. The record is even, with five wins for each team, over the last 10 matchups.
The Coaches
• Sherri Coale is 348-160 (.685) in her 16th season at Oklahoma. She has been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year four times.
• Kim Mulkey is 317-79 (.801) in her 12th season at Baylor.
Next Game
• Oklahoma visits Missouri in Columbia, Mo., Saturday, Jan. 28, at 4:30 p.m.
| Baylor Projected Starters | |||||
No. |
Name | Pos. |
Ht. |
Year |
2011-12 Statistics |
0 |
Odyssey Sims | G |
5-8 |
So. |
16.0 ppg, 5.4 apg |
1 |
Kimetria Hayden | G |
6-0 |
Jr. |
8.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg |
3 |
Jordan Madden | G |
6-0 |
Jr. |
5.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg |
10 |
Destiny Williams | F |
6-1 |
RS-Jr. |
10.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg |
42 |
Brittney Griner | C |
6-8 |
Jr. |
22.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg |
| Oklahoma Projected Starters | |||||
No. |
Name | Pos. |
Ht. |
Year |
2011-12 Statistics |
10 |
Morgan Hook | G |
5-10 |
So. |
10.9 ppg, 4.2 apg |
3 |
Aaryn Ellenberg | G |
5-7 |
So. |
18.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg |
25 |
Whitney Hand | G |
6-1 |
RS-Jr. |
11.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg |
42 |
Kaylon Williams | F |
6-3 |
Fr. |
3.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg |
4 |
Nicole Griffin | C |
6-6 |
So. |
5.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg |
PREVIEWING BAYLOR
The nation's top-ranked team boasts the NCAA's third best scoring offense (81.7 points), 12th best scoring defense (51.6) and, perhaps, the most difficult player in today's game with whom to matchup.
Six-foot-8 junior Brittney Griner leads the Lady Bears with 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Griner is also the national leader in blocks per game, averaging 5.3, making her both a challenge for opposing coaches on both offense and defense.
Sophomore point guard Odyessy Sims is the team's second-leading scorer with 16.0 points per game. Sims also dishes an average of 5.4 assists.
Baylor has rarely been challenged this season. It's closest games thus far have been a five-point win (66-61) at home over No. 3 Connecticut and an eight-point victory (72-64) against No. 21 Texas Tech in Lubbock.
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SOONER DUO TAKES WEEKLY AWARDS
Oklahoma's Aaryn Ellenberg (player of the week) and Sharane Campbell (freshman) this week's Big 12's honorees.
Ellenberg was the OU's leading scorer in wins over then-No. 23 Kansas State and Texas with averages of 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 steals. The sophomore guard scored 31 points and had a career-high nine steals in OU's upset of K-State in Manhattan. She hit her first seven shots, including five 3-pointers, for 19 first-half points. Ellenberg then led the Sooners past Texas with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Campbell averaged 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in Oklahoma's wins over Kansas State and Texas last week. She came off the bench to energize the OU offense against Texas with a 3-for-3 performance from beyond the arc in the first half. The rookie guard entered the game just 2-for-9 from three-point range. She ended the game with 15 points and five rebounds.
OU-TEXAS LEFTOVERS
• Oklahoma won its 39th straight at home versus unranked opponents since losing to Texas, 65-50, on March 2, 2008. The Sooners are 106-3 (.972) at home versus unranked teams since losing to Texas, 77-70, on Feb. 16, 2000.
• Freshman forward Kaylon Williams (Midwest City, Okla.) made her first career start in place of the injured Joanna McFarland, who missed her second game since suffering a broken jaw at Oklahoma State on Jan. 14.
• Oklahoma's 61.2 3-point percentage (8-of-13) was its highest since hitting 69.2 percent (9-of-13) in a 93-75 win at Oklahoma State on Feb. 8, 2009.
• Freshman Sharane Campbell made her first three 3-pointers and her only miss from beyond the arc was a desperation heave to avoid a shot-clock violation. The freshman entered the game 2-for-9 for the season from 3-point range.
• Nicole Griffin's nine blocks were a career high and the most by a Sooner since Courtney Paris had 10 in a 60-59 win at Texas Tech on March 1, 2006.
OKLAHOMA VS. NO. 1
Oklahoma has not yet found success when playing the nation's top-ranked team. The Sooners are 0-for-12 all-time versus the AP No. 1 team.
Oklahoma has played No. 1 just three times at home, hosting Louisiana Tech (101-57) in Feb. 1982 and Connecticut in Dec. 1999 (84-68) and Feb. 2010 (76-60).
Thursday will be Oklahoma's third time meeting No. 1 as an unranked team. In the 36th year since the AP Poll was formed, only seven times in approximately 1,000 games has the No. 1 team been upset by an unranked opponent.
Baylor, though, was the last No. 1 to lose to a unranked opponent, falling at Texas Tech last season 56-45.
COALE CLOSING ON VICTORY NO. 500
Sherri Coale guided Norman High School to two state championships and a 147-40 record in seven years before becoming the Sooners' head coach. In the college ranks, Coale has 348 victories in 16 seasons, leaving her just five shy of 500 in her career as a head coach.
TWO SOONERS ON NAISMITH WATCH
Sophomore Aaryn Ellenberg and redshirt-junior Whitney Hand were among the 51 women's college basketball players on the Naismith Trophy Early-Season Watch List released Nov. 29. Ellenberg has averaged 18.2 points for Oklahoma this season and has been the team's leading scorer in eight games. Against Liberty, the 5-7 guard set an OU record by making a 3-pointer in a 23rd consecutive game, which extended to 29. Hand has totaled 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as she recently crossed 800 career points.
CLOSING ON 1,000
Aaryn Ellenberg is scoring at a pace unmatched by a Sooner since last one to wear No. 3 and could become just the third to reach 1,000 points by the end of her sophomore season. By the end of her second year, Courtney Paris (2006-09) had tallied 1,535 points. Molly McGuire (1980-83) totaled 1,109.With 875 points, Ellenberg is on pace to become OU's 26th 1,000-point scorer by the end of February.
Junior Whitney Hand has a total of 862 points and is also on pace to cross the 1,000-point mark by the end of the regular season. The Ellenberg-Hand duo could be just the fourth pair in Sooner history to reach 1,000 career points in the same season.
Multiple Sooners Reaching 1,000 Points in Same Year
2010 - Danielle Robinson, Amanda Thompson, Nyeshia Stevenson
2007 - Courtney Paris, Chelsi Welch
1987 - LaTrenda Phillips, Lisa Allison
Friday, June 26
Friday, June 19
Saturday, March 28
Friday, March 27
