Sooners Look to Bounce Back Against BYU

BYU

^17/24OKLAHOMA

November 19 | 6 p.m. | Norman

THURSDAY'S GAME BASICS

No. 17/24 Oklahoma wraps up its three-game season opening homestand Thursday as the Sooners host BYU at 6 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center. OU is 1-1 this season and looks to rebound after falling to North Texas 61-57 on Monday night. BYU opened its season with a 78-62 home win over Utah Valley last Friday. The Cougars return three starters from last year's squad that finished with a 23-9 record. BYU also made its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season.

ON THE AIR

Thursday'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 Sports Southwest +) with Bob Carpenter 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 Thursday. OU students will be admitted free with a valid school I.D.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

Derica Wyatt played a career-high 27 minutes Monday night in her first start since 2013.

• Thursday's meeting with BYU marks the first regular season matchup between the Sooners and Cougars since 1990. OU has won the last two games versus BYU, both in the NCAA Tournament (2000 and 2006). Oklahoma leads the series 3-1 and is 14-2 against current members of the West Coast Conference.

• Oklahoma's Peyton Little ranks third in the Big 12 in minutes played (32.5), fifth in scoring (17.0 ppg), ninth in the 3-pointers made per game (2.5) and 13th in steals (5). The redshirt junior has scored in double figures 12 times in her last 17 games dating back to last season. Little, who has 25 double-digit scoring games at OU, has led the Sooners with a game-high 17 points in the first two games this year.

• Redshirt senior forward Kaylon Williams picked up her first double-double of the season against North Texas, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Williams now has nine career double-doubles, the most of any active player on OU's roster. She has scored in double figures eight times in the last nine games for the Sooners dating back to the 2014-15 season.

• Junior guard Derica Wyatt started for the Sooners against North Texas, marking her first start since Dec. 29, 2013 against Samford. Wyatt leads OU with a .417 3-point field goal percentage after knocking down four triples against Winthrop last Friday. She also picked up a career-high six rebounds Monday night against North Texas in 27 minutes of action.

• Through two games, OU is holding opponents to an average of 54.5 points per game. Foes are shooting just .480 from the free throw line and the Sooners are out-rebounding opponents by a margin of eight rebounds per contest.

PREVIEWING BYU

• West Coast Conference member BYU enter Thursday's game with a 1-0 record following its 78-62 win over Utah Valley last Friday. The Cougars finished with a .441 shooting percentage and knocked down nine 3-pointers, five in the second half, to earn the victory.

• BYU returns three starters and nine letterwinners from last year's squad that won the West Coast Conference Tournament. Senior guard Lexi Rydlach ranks sixth in school history with 1,756 career points, while Makenzi Pulsipher led the Cougars with 27 points in their season-opening victory over Utah Valley. Senior guard Kylie Maeda is BYU's other returning starter and ranks 15th in program history with 293 assists.

• The Cougars are led by head coach Jeff Judkins, who is in his 15th season with the Cougars. Judkins has won 20 games or more during six seasons in Provo.

GAME TWO RECAP: NORTH TEXAS

• Oklahoma battled back but couldn't overcome an early deficit in a 61-57 defeat to North Texas on Monday. The Sooners tied the game twice with under three minutes to play, but couldn't come up with a stop on the defensive end late in the game.

• Redshirt junior Peyton Little led the Sooners with a game-high 17 points to finish in double figures for the 25th time in her career at OU. Kaylon Williams recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Vionise Pierre-Louis finished in double figures with 10 points off the bench.

• North Texas jumped out to an early 10-2 lead as Oklahoma began the game with four straight turnovers and missed its first six shots from the field. The Mean Green also out-rebounded the Sooners 44-40.

QUICK HITTERS

• 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.

Senior forward Kaylon Williams picked up her ninth career double-double Monday with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

• Redshirt junior Maddie Manning played a career-high 28 minutes against North Texas Monday. Manning made her first start since the 2012 season, starting OU's home opener against Winthrop last Friday. The Ankeny, Iowa, native finished with a career-high four steals in the season-opening win over Winthrop.

• Oklahoma began the year 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.

• 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.

• Oklahoma returns four of its top five scorers from last season along with four starters. Gabbi Ortiz started all 33 games as a freshman. Kaylon Williams started 32 games while Peyton Little started 31. Williams led the Big 12 last season and ranked fourth in the nation with a .596 field goal percentage, Ortiz ranked eighth in the league with 3.5 assists per game and Little was seventh in the 3-point field goal percentage (.344) and ninth in scoring (12.6 ppg). 11 letterwinners return from last season's squad that combined to play 5,377 minutes a year ago.

UP NEXT

The Sooners hit the road for the first time this season to take on Bradley on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT in Peoria, Ill. OU topped the Braves, 104-55, last season in Norman. The game will be televised on ESPN3.

For more information on Oklahoma women's basketball, follow the Sooners on Twitter (@OU_WBBall) or like Oklahoma Sooners Women's Basketball on Facebook.