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November 28, 2012 | Record: 5-1 (0-0 Big 12) | Gameday Central | Stats

Manning Makes Most of Starts

Oklahoma's lineup received a shake-up for its first game in Hawaii as freshman guard Maddie Manning took the court with the starting five versus Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 23. Manning, who had scored just four points in OU's three previous games combined, exploded for a 10-point, eight-rebound performance in a bruising contest with the SEC foe that resulted in a 73-70 win. "I thought she was fantastic," OU head coach Sherri Coale said. "We changed the way we guarded ball screens about eight different times during the game. She had to adapt and adjust to that. She also had to play different positions on the floor offensively. I thought she handled the challenge well. And, the tighter the game got, the more she wanted to make sure she was out there. That's what I love about that kid."

Manning agreed that she thrives on the challenge of playing against a tough opponent in a demanding game. She had two steals that led to fast-break layups, including one with 2 minutes to play that gave the Sooners a four-point cushion and forced the Lady Razorbacks to begin fouling to stop the clock and preserve time. "You can't create that atmosphere anywhere else. For me, there's nothing more fun than being pushed up against a wall and breaking through the wall." For the three-game tournament, Manning averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and a team-high 68 percent field goal shooting. "Maddie is beginning to get a little bit of swagger about her," Coale added. "It looks like she's beginning to trust herself with the basketball in her hand. She made some great passes, ran the floor. She had a couple of really nice finishes, clever finishes."

Back to Normal

Sherri Coale's team has a tradition of being one of the top teams, academically, at the University of Oklahoma. The team has had a combined GPA of 3.0 or better in 26 or her 32 semesters as head coach and three out of every four women's basketball players makes the Academic All-Big 12 Team at least once in their careers. As much as the Sooners were excited about their Thanksgiving weekend in Hawaii, they were equally eager to return to Norman and put the finishing touches on their academic endeavors as the end of the semester nears.

Most, if not all, the Sooners spent some of their time in Honolulu drafting papers due in the upcoming week before final exams begin. OU's dead week begins Monday, Dec. 3, with final examinations running Dec. 10-14.

OU must also adjust to its practice regimen once again, as it prepares for the completion of its non-conference schedule. The challenge will be to maintain the focus and build on the energy that propelled the team's Rainbow Wahine Showdown championship.

"We made some big strides forward," Coale said. "We're looking forward to getting back and playing in front of our home crowd whom we feel like we haven't played the right way in front of yet. We feel like we owe them a little something on Thursday night."

New Digs

For college athletes, free time is devoted to their exercise and education, so their workout facilities had better feel like home. Certainly, due to recent upgrades in the OU women's basketball training center, the Sooners have no trouble spending the majority of their time just a few feet away from their practice arena.

"It's a lot nicer," junior guard Aaryn Ellenberg said. "I don't ever really go home much now. You have the TV, the surround sound, the new couch and everything. It's really comfortable and it makes for us staying up here a lot more."

Oklahoma recently completed renovations on its locker room and film room area prior to the start of the season. It was the first physical update to the rooms since the men's and women's basketball centers were added to the Lloyd Noble Center in 2002.

The renovated locker room includes larger lockers, additional showers, and an upgraded video and audio system.

UP NEXT
The Sooners are back at the Lloyd Noble Center this week, hosting Northwestern State on Thursday and Marist on Sunday:

Date	Opponent	Time
11/29	vs. NSU	7 p.m.
11/24	vs. Marist	2 p.m.

Tickets | Full Schedule
MOST RECENTLY
Oklahoma went undefeated in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown, capturing three victories in three days to win the round-robin tournament title:

Opponent	W/L	Score
Arkansas	W	73-70
Oregon	W	100-61
Hawaii	W	74-49

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Sherri Coale
"That's what I love about our pre-conference schedule. It puts us in a position to have to adapt to things. We'll have to play a different type of basketball tomorrow."

Freshman G Maddie Manning
"It was just a fun, hard-fought battle (versus Arkansas). Every play that we made, everybody was screaming, the whole bench is getting excited. It just felt like you were in a war and we weren't going to lose that game."
TEAM NOTES

The Sooners forced at least one scoring drought of three minutes or greater for each of its opponents in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown. OU held Arkansas scoreless for more than seven minutes in the first half as it ran a 5-8 deficit to a 20-8 lead. The Sooners also kept Oregon without a field goal for a 3 1/2-minute stretch in the second half of a 100-61 rout and Hawaii scoreless for seven minutes during a 16-0 scoring run.

Against Oregon on Nov. 24, Oklahoma set a record for 3-pointers made and attempted. The Sooners were 17-of-38 (45 percent) from beyond the arc, led by Aaryn Ellenberg's 7-for-12 3-point shooting en route to a 27-point performance.

Ellenberg and Whitney Hand catapulted up OU's career scoring list in Hawaii. Both passed Nyeshia Stevenson and Chelsi Welch and now sit 21st and 22nd, respectively, in the all-time rankings. Ellenberg needs two points, and Hand four, to pass 20th-place Lisa Allison's 1,191 points.

2012-13 Game Notes

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Senior G Jasmine Hartman
Hartman has led the Sooners in assists each of the last two matchups with five against Oregon and three versus Hawaii. It's the first time in her career to be OU's assists leader in consecutive games.

Freshman G Maddie Manning
Manning has reset her career scoring high three times in as many games since being inserted into the starting lineup. She had 10 points versus Arkansas in her first collegiate start and followed that with 11 points against Oregon and 12 versus Hawaii. Manning is also the Big 12 freshman leader in field goal percentage, hitting 62.5 percent of her field goals.

Junior G Morgan Hook
Hook led the Sooners in Hawaii, averaging 14.0 points, 3.3 assists and 47 percent 3-point shooting. She, along with teammate Aaryn Ellenberg, was named to the Rainbow Wahine Showdown All-Tournament Team.

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