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November 13, 2012 | Record: 1-0 (0-0 Big 12) | Gameday Central | Stats

Sooners Focused on Next Opponent

OU Head Coach Sherri Coale applauded her team's effort in Monday's practice, its first following a season-opening win at Creighton. The Sooners have had little time to spare focus anywhere other than their next opponent, a senior-laden UCLA squad that rests on the fringe of the top-25 polls.

"They have a really fast point guard," Coale said, "and, obviously, a really capable passer and scorer in Alyssia Brewer, who is an Oklahoma product who was at Tennessee, so we're very familiar with her. (They have) Jasmine Dixon, a great player who is coming back off an injury. They have really good pieces and they're going to get better and better as the season goes on."

Coale expects the Bruins to use their speed to try to find an advantage in transitions and the Sooners spent much of their time in the film room Monday detailing defensive positioning.

Junior guard Aaryn Ellenberg said defensive transitions were an emphasis for the team this week and she expects the team to do well in those areas just as they did with their keys against Creighton.

"We were really good at focusing on our key points of the game," Ellenberg said. "Some of our key points of the game (against Creighton) were guarding ball screens and high hands on close outs for contesting shots. I thought we did that really well."

Home Sweet Home

No. 11 Oklahoma returns to the Lloyd Noble Center this week hosting UCLA in its home opener Wednesday at 7 p.m. Central and Saint Louis Sunday at 2 p.m. The Sooners own a 14-game winning streak in home openers and look to improve on a successful season-opening win at Creighton last Saturday.

A major factor in Oklahoma's home court advantage has been its fans. OU's attendance annually ranks among the top 10 nationally and the Sooners say they are fueled by the huge crowds. OU's veterans have been preparing the three Sooner newcomers for the environment.

"We tell them that it's just going to be exciting and crazy," junior center Nicole Griffin said. "There's going to be a lot of fans there. More than we've seen already and there's already been a lot in the preseason."

In its two exhibition games, OU averaged more than 5,000 fans. The figure would have been the 17th best home average in women's college basketball last year. Obviously, the Sooners expect a larger, and louder, gathering Wednesday.

"It's going to be amazing," sophomore Sharane Campbell said. "Words can't even explain how cool it is in that atmosphere."

"I'm really excited to be back home," Griffin added. "It's where we have the most fun -- in front of our loyal fans."

Gobble, Gobble

Being part of a college basketball team means you lose out on many home-cooked meals, especially during the Thanksgiving holiday when many tournaments are held. However, the Sooners rely on two of their co-captains to fill the void when it comes to filling their plates.

Senior Whitney Hand and junior Lyndsey Cloman share the vote as the team's best cook. Hand is a connoisseur with a slow-cooker while Cloman's expertise lies in Mexican-inspired dishes.

Head coach Sherri Coale admits she might be the worst cook on the team and many of the players add the assistant coaches to that mix.

However, director of operations Guy Austin saves the staff's honor when it comes to manning the grill or baking a Thanksgiving turkey.

"If Guy cooks it, we're fine," Coale said. "Otherwise -- if it's anyone else on this team -- we're ordering out."

Sooners Overseas

Speaking of Turkey, two former Sooners are receiving rave reviews for their play in it -- Turkey the country, that is.

Courtney Paris earned Eurobasket.com's MVP of the Week after totaling 19 points and an inconceivable 29 rebounds to lead Botasspor Adana over Samsun, 67-62, and improve to fifth in the TKBL standings.

After four games, Paris ranks seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 16.8 points, and is the top rebounder at 15.0 per game.

Danielle Robinson is also in Turkey, playing for eighth-place Tarsus Belediyesi. Robinson, who has scored 12.0 points per game, is among the top 10 in assists per game in the 14-team Turkish League.

In Romania, Amanda Thompson is the leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.8 and 9.9, respectively, for Alba Iulia. The team is 4-4 and in seventh place of 15 in the country's top division.

Abi Olajuwon begins her second international season in Brazil, playing with Ourinhos Basquete beginning in December.

UP NEXT
The Sooners play two games at home this week, starting Wednesday evening with a visit by UCLA:

Date	Opponent	Time
11/14	vs. UCLA	7 p.m.
11/18	vs. Saint Louis	2 p.m.

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MOST RECENTLY
Aaryn Ellenberg scored 19 points and Whitney Hand added 14 as Oklahoma captured a season-opening road win last Saturday at Creighton:

Opponent	W/L	Score
Creighton	W	69-48

HAND ON SOONER SPORTS PAD
OU senior guard Whitney Hand joins Sooner Sports TV's Jessica Coody on Sooner Sports Pad. The show airs Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 10:30 p.m. Central on FS Oklahoma.

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QUOTABLE
Head Coach Sherri Coale
"We have a very confident offensive team, and they have great faith in their abilities to score from all spots. I thought Nicole Griffin established herself early. She was really good at catching and making extra passes or catching and going to the rim. You could tell Creighton had to take that away first and that's what opened up Vegas and Whitney for shots in the second half."

Soph. G Sharane Campbell
"We've learned to enjoy each other even more. You wouldn't think that we could get any closer, but after that game (versus Creighton) ... we've gotten closer."
TEAM NOTES

OU's 69-48 win at Creighton kept the Sooners undefeated in the series' four-game history. In each of the past seasons Oklahoma played Creighton, it advanced to at least the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma rose to No. 11 in this week's AP Top 25 Poll. It's OU highest ranking since the Sooners were No. 10 in the 2010-11 preseason poll.

Whitney Hand made three 3-pointers to match Carin Stites for fifth on OU's career 3-pointers made list with 152. Aaryn Ellenberg raised her career total to 172 and is two behind Etta Maytubby for second all-time.

Though the Sooners often open their season on the road, Oklahoma has a 29-6 record, including 14 consecutive wins, in home openers at the Lloyd Noble Center. In their 14-game home-opening winning streak, Oklahoma has an average margin of victory of 29.5 points.

2012-13 Game Notes

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Junior C Nicole Griffin
Griffin scored six of OU's first 16 points versus Creighton as the Sooners erased an 8-2 deficit with nine unanswered points to gain the lead during a 16-2 first-half scoring run.

Junior G Aaryn Ellenberg
Fazing OU's guards proved to be a challenge to Creighton. Even though the Sooners managed to hit on just one of six first-half 3-point tries, OU scored 12 of its first 14 after halftime from beyond the arc. It was led by Ellenberg's 3-fo-3 3-point shooting in the second half.

Freshman G Maddie Manning
Manning was OU's only scoreless player against Creighton. However, the freshman displayed tremendous reliability with the ball in her hands. The reserve point guard had just one turnover in 17 minutes on the court. Counting OU's exhibition finale, that's the second straight game the Iowa native as avoided multiple turnovers.WRITE SPACE AND TIME
Join head coach Sherri Coale, who shares her thoughts in her own blog hosted on SoonerSports.com, providing the inside view of her program:

Coach Coale's Journal