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University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Hosts North Texas on Monday
November 15, 2015 | Women's Basketball
NORTH TEXAS
17/24 OKLAHOMA
November 16 | 7 p.m. | Norman
MONDAY'S GAME BASICS
No. 17/18 Oklahoma continues its three-game season opening homestand Monday as the Sooners (1-0) host North Texas (0-1) at 7 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center. OU, who finished last year with a 21-12 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, opened the season Friday with a 78-48 win over Winthrop. The Sooners return four starters from last season's squad that placed second in the Big 12 with a 13-5 record in conference play. North Texas is led by first-year head coach and former Texas assistant Jalie Mitchell. Oklahoma is 12-0 against North Texas at home in Norman.
ON THE AIR
Monday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Brian Brinkley calling the action on KOKC 1520-AM. The game will be televised by Sooner Sports TV (Fox College Sports Central) with Chad McKee and Dan Hughes announcing.
TICKETS
Tickets are available starting at $8 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and online here. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. OU students will be admitted free with a valid school I.D.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
• Oklahoma has won 16 out of its last 17 home games at the Lloyd Noble Center dating back to the 2013-14 season. During that stretch, OU has averaged 75.9 points on its home floor, outscoring opponents by 16.2 points per game. The Sooners only loss during the run was last season's home finale against Kansas.
• OU won last season's meeting against North Texas on the road, 68-39, in Denton, Texas. The Sooners held the Mean Green to just one made 3-pointer and to 16 points in the first half. The 39 points by North Texas in last year's game was the fewest allowed by Oklahoma last season. OU is 21-2 all-time against North Texas and has won 13 straight meetings against the Mean Green.
• In Friday's win over Winthrop, the Sooners scored 38 points off of 21 Winthrop turnovers. OU forced a season-high 37 turnovers last season at North Texas.
• The Sooners are ranked No. 17 in the AP and No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches top 25 preseason polls. OU has appeared in the top 25 of both preseason polls to begin the year 15 times in the last 16 seasons.
• Oklahoma finished the 2014-15 season with a 21-12 overall record (13-5 Big 12; second place) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament (No. 5 seed) for the 16th consecutive year. The Sooners return four starters from last year's squad including Big 12 Freshman of the Year Gabbi Ortiz and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Peyton Little. OU returns 11 letterwinners from last season's team that ranked 26th in the nation in scoring (74.7 points per game).
PREVIEWING NORTH TEXAS
• Located in Denton, Texas, North Texas is a school of 36,621 students that competes in Conference USA. The Mean Green finished 5-24 (4-14 C-USA; 13th) last season. North Texas was picked 14th in this year's C-USA preseason poll.
• North Texas returns two starters from last year's squad in junior guard Candice Adams and senior forward Acheil Tac. Adams was third on the team with 6.4 points per game in 28 starts. Tac averaged 5.7 points per game and led the Mean Green with 6.8 rebounds per game.
• Head coach Jalie Mitchell played at North Texas from 1999-02 and is one of two players in school history to have their number retired. The 2002 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Mitchell finished her career as the program's all-time leading scorer (1,764 points). Mitchell is familiar with the Big 12, previously working as an assistant at Texas for the last three seasons.
Peyton Little led the Sooners with 17 points against Winthrop Friday night. The Abilene, Texas, native has 24 career double figure games at OU.
GAME ONE RECAP: WINTHROP
• Fueled by four double-digit scoring performances, the No. 17/18 Oklahoma women's basketball team opened its season, the 20th for head coach Sherri Coale, with a 78-48 victory over Winthrop on Friday night inside Lloyd Noble Center.
• Redshirt junior Peyton Little (game-high 17 points), junior Derica Wyatt (16 points), redshirt senior Kaylon Williams (13 points) and sophomore Vionise Pierre-Louis (10 points) all reached double figures for the Sooners.
• The Sooners led the entire contest and used several runs to pull away from the Eagles, including an 11-0 one in a 2:09 stretch in the first quarter to build a 16-4 lead. Winthrop cut OU's advantage down to 38-30 with 5:50 left in the third quarter, but the Sooners outscored the Eagles 40-18 over the rest of the game to secure the win.
• OU's defense looked strong throughout the night, turning 21 Winthrop turnovers into 38 points and giving up just 18 second-half points. The Sooners limited the Eagles to 38.9 field goal percentage (21 for 54) and just 12.5 percent from 3-point range (1 for 8
QUICK HITTERS
• Redshirt freshman guard Gileysa Penzo and freshman forward Ijeoma Odimgbe both made their OU debuts Friday night versus Winthrop. Penzo scored one point and added in three rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Odimgbe finished with one rebound, playing seven minutes off the bench.
Maddie Manning made her start since 2012 in OU's 78-48 win Friday.
• 11 Sooners played in the opening half versus Winthrop, including nine in the first quarter.
• OU shot over 50 percent from the field for the second time in its last three games (dating back to the 2015 NCAA Tournament), finishing with a 53.6 mark (30 for 56) against Winthrop. The Sooners were 16 for 28 (57.1 percent) from the floor in the second half against the Eagles.
• OU's 47.1 3-point field goal percentage (8 for 17) in its season opener was its best performance from deep since shooting 47.8 percent (11 for 23) at Kansas State last season (Feb. 21, 2015).
• Junior guard Derica Wyatt scored 16 points in Friday's win, the second-most points by the junior in her career at OU. Wyatt's career-high came against UT-Arlington in 2013, finishing with 23 points and seven 3-pointers off the bench.
• Oklahoma is 31-8 all-time against current members of Conference USA.
• The Sooners return the majority of their production in every statistical category for 2015-16. That includes 81 percent of the team's points and rebounds, along with 85 percent of its assists, 81 percent of its blocks and 78 percent of its steals. OU also brings back 80 percent of its made 3-point field goals and its free throw production.
• 11 letterwinners return from last season's squad that combined to play 5,377 minutes a year ago.
UP NEXT
The Sooners wrap up their season-opening homestand on Thursday when they take on BYU at the Lloyd Noble Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by Sooner Sports TV on Fox Sports Southwest +.
For more information on Oklahoma women's basketball, follow the Sooners on Twitter (@OU_WBBall) or like Oklahoma Sooners Women's Basketball on Facebook.
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