No. 13/12 OU Welcomes South Dakota State to LNC

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

^13/12 Oklahoma

November 23 | 7 p.m. | NORMAN, OKLA.

WEDNESDAY'S GAME BASICS

No. 13/12 Oklahoma (3-0) returns home to Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday as it takes on undefeated South Dakota State (4-0) at 7 p.m. CT. OU used a fourth-quarter comeback to top BYU, 68-61, on the road Saturday. South Dakota State, who advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament last season, held off Iowa, 66-64, on the road in Iowa City on Sunday afternoon.

ON THE AIR

Wednesday's game will air on Fox Sports Oklahoma with Bob Carpenter, Brenda VanLengen and Jessica Coody announcing. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Brian Brinkley calling the action.

TICKETS

Tickets are available for $8 and $15 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. CT on Wednesday. OU students will be admitted free with a valid school I.D.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• Wednesday's meeting marks just the second matchup between Oklahoma and South Dakota State. The Sooners lead the all-times series, 1-0, with OU taking the lone meeting in Norman, 68-57, on March 21, 2010 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Nyeshia Stevenson led the way with 17 points as OU started its journey to its third Final Four run.

• Peyton Little needs just 30 points to reach 1,000 points during her collegiate career between Oklahoma and Texas A&M. The redshirt senior guard has scored in double figures in consecutive games and led the Sooners with 16 points in OU's road win at BYU on Saturday. She is 186 points away from becoming the 32nd OU player to reach 1,000 career points as a Sooner.

• OU will look to build upon its defensive success early in the season. Through its first three games, OU's opponents are averaging 55.7 points per game, a .328 shooting percentage, a .221 clip from 3-point range and .537 mark from the free throw line. In Division I, the Sooners also rank 20th in rebounds per game (49.0 rpg) and 26th in blocks per game (6.3 bpg).

• The Sooners entered the season ranked in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll. OU moved up three spots to No. 13 in the latest AP Poll (highest AP ranking since Nov. 18, 2013). The Sooners have been ranked in the AP Poll for 22 consecutive weeks (13th-longest active streak in the country). OU made the biggest jump of any team in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll, sliding up five spots to No. 12 (highest USA Today Coaches Poll ranking since Dec. 3, 2012).

• Oklahoma finished the 2015-16 season with a 22-11 overall record (11-7 Big 12; tied for fourth) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament (No. 6 seed/second round) for the 17th consecutive year. The Sooners return four starters and 82 percent of their scoring and rebounding along with 94 percent of their assists from last year's team, including 2016 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Vionise Pierre-Louis.

GAME THREE RECAP: AT BYU

• Down seven in the fourth quarter to BYU, the 16th-ranked Sooners rallied to knock off the Cougars, 68-61, on Saturday in Provo, Utah. Peyton Little led OU with 16 points, while Maddie Manning's 11 second-half points and three 3-pointers keyed the comeback effort.

• Junior center Vionise Pierre-Louis grabbed 13 rebounds (second-most in her OU career), while junior guard Gabbi Ortiz finished with eight boards and a game-high seven assists. The seven assists were the most for Ortiz in a single game since her freshman season, when recorded a career-high eight helpers versus Iowa State.

• OU started strong, taking a 20-8 lead after one quarter, but a strong shooting performance from BYU gave the Cougars a 34-31 halftime lead. In the fourth quarter, a Little lay-in cut the deficit down to one point and on the next possession a bucket from Pierre-Louis gave OU a 58-57 with 5:18 to play.

• The Sooners closed the game by finishing 7-of-8 at the free throw line over the final 45 seconds to seal the win. OU outscored BYU, 21-7, in the final quarter as Little and Pierre-Louis combined to score 16 of OU's 21 points in the frame.

• OU dominated the glass, finishing with a 56-41 advantage on the boards. The 56 rebounds by the Sooners are the most for Oklahoma in a road game since pulling down 62 against Missouri in 2008.

PREVIEWING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

• Summit League member South Dakota State enters Wednesday's game with a 4-0 record. The Jackrabbits, who are receiving votes in the AP and USA Today Coaches polls, held on to defeat Iowa, 66-64, on Sunday in Iowa City, Iowa. The 4-0 record for South Dakota State marks its best start since the 2008-09 season.

• Junior guard Macy Miller paces the Jackrabbits with 17.0 points per game this season. The junior averaged 15.5 points during the 2015-16 season to earn 2016 First Team All-Summit League honors as well as 2016 Summit League Tournament MVP.

• All five South Dakota State starters have scoring averages in double figures through the first four games. Ellie Thompson averages 12.5 points per game along with five rebounds, while Kerri Young is at 11.5 points per game. Madison Guerbert and Clarissa Ober also score in double figures, averaging 10.5 and 10.3 points a contest, respectively.

• South Dakota State is led 17th-year head coach Aaron Johnston, who has led the Jackrabbits to 10 postseason appearances and seven NCAA Tournament berths. He holds a career record of 396-133 (.749).

EFFICIENT VPL

• Junior center Vionise Pierre-Louis has continued to emerge as one of the Big 12's top post players, averaging 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game to start the 2016-17 season.

• Through OU's first three games, the junior has posted an efficient .737 shooting percentage (14-for-19) from the field. At the free throw line, she is 13-of-18 (.722) from the charity stripe.

• In OU's road win, Pierre-Louis contributed to the Sooners' dominating performance on the glass by pulling down 13 rebounds. She also finished with nine points in 24 minutes of action against the Cougars.

• Against Little Rock, Pierre-Louis logged her second career double-double with a 14-point/12-rebound performance. She led the Sooners with a game-high 18 points in OU's season-opening win over Southern Illinois last Sunday.

Oklahoma ranks 20th in the nation in rebounds per game and 26th in Division I in blocked shots per game.

QUICK HITS

• The Sooners are 25-14 against current members of the Summit League. OU will face another Summit League member on Dec. 4 as Oral Roberts visit the Lloyd Noble Center.

• OU boasts one of the nation's most experienced rosters with eight different players combing for 266 career starts. The Sooners return four starters and 82 percent of their scoring and rebounding along with 94 percent of their assists from last year's team including 2016 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Vionise Pierre-Louis.

• OU is 25-4 and 10-1 against non-conference opponents on its home court over since the start of the 2014-15 season.

• OU reached the 20-win plateau for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons under head coach Sherri Coale a year ago. The Sooners have won at least 20 games 14 times in Coale's 20 years at Oklahoma.

• Oklahoma's non-conference schedule includes matchups against four NCAA Tournament teams from last season (BYU, Colorado State, Kentucky and South Dakota State). The Sooners will play nine of their 14 non-conference matchups at Lloyd Noble Center. OU's first six opponents each won at least 20 games a year ago.

• Oklahoma's non-conference slate along with its 18-game Big 12 schedule will allow the Sooners to play nine teams that were ranked inside the top 50 of the RPI to finish the 2015-16 season.

• Oklahoma's 205 made 3-pointers last season were the fourth-most by the Sooners in a single season in school history. It marked the eighth season under Coale that the Sooners recorded at least 200 triples in a one year. Over the last six years, only Iowa State (1,464) has made more shots from beyond the arc than Oklahoma (1,382).

• Over the last 10 seasons, the Sooners rank second in the Big 12 in overall wins (215) and conference victories (144). OU is the only team in the Big 12 to make every NCAA Tournament since 2000.

UP NEXT

OU returns home to take on 2016 NCAA Tournament participant Colorado State on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest. Sunday's meeting marks the first matchup against the Rams since Jan. 10, 1987 (OU won, 72-58, in Norman).

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