No. 12 Oklahoma Opens Homestand Sunday

ORAL ROBERTS

^12/12 Oklahoma

december 4 | 2 p.m. | NORMAN, OKLA.

Notes

SUNDAY'S GAME BASICS

No. 12/12 Oklahoma (5-1) looks to rebound after its first loss of the season its hosts Oral Roberts (3-4) on Sunday at Lloyd Noble Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. CT as OU begins a three-game homestand. The Sooners have won 18 straight games against the Golden Eagles dating back to Jan. 7, 1984. Thursday's matchup marks the first meeting between the two programs since Dec. 3, 2005. Oral Roberts is under the direction of fifth-year head coach Misti Cussen.

ON THE AIR

Sunday's game will air on Fox Sports Oklahoma with Chad McKee, Angela Beck and Megan McDonald announcing. Fans can also watch the game online through FoxSportsGo.com or the Fox Sports Go app. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Brian Brinkley calling the action.

TICKETS

Tickets are available for as low as $5 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and online here. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open at 12:30 p.m. CT on Sunday. OU students will be admitted free with a valid school I.D.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• Sunday's meeting marks the first matchup between Oklahoma and Oral Roberts since Dec. 3, 2005, and the first game in Norman since March 17, 2001. OU has won 18 straight games against the Golden Eagles, its longest active winning streak against a Division I opponent.

• Oklahoma has won 22 out of its last 23 games against in-state opponents at Lloyd Noble Center with its lone loss coming to Oklahoma State, 71-69, last season. Over the last three seasons, OU is 26-4 overall and 11-1 versus non-conference opponents on its home court.

• Altering shots and defending the glass have been two focal points of OU's defense this year. The Sooners are one of just three teams in Division I to rank in the top 30 in defensive rebounds and blocked shots per game (Baylor and Utah). OU ranks 16th in blocked shots per contest and 29th in defensive rebounds per game.

• Oklahoma's ability to force turnovers has been a consistent theme in the Sooners' five wins this year. Three times in the last four games, OU has forced its opponent to a season-high number of turnovers. Entering last Sunday's game, Colorado State ranked 10th in Division I in fewest turnovers, but OU forced 17 Ram miscues.

• Peyton Little crossed the 1,000-point mark in the first quarter Thursday night at Kentucky. Little now has score 1,015 points during her collegiate career between Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Little, OU's leading scorer at 13.7 points per game, has finished in double figures in four games this season. She is 141 points away from becoming the 32nd OU player to reach 1,000 career points as a Sooner.

GAME SIX RECAP: AT KENTUCKY

• No. 12 Oklahoma suffered its first loss of the season Thursday night, falling 82-68 on the road to No. 17 Kentucky in the 2016 SEC/Big 12 Challenge at Memorial Coliseum. Despite four Sooners scoring in double figures, OU could not overcome the Wildcats' .492 (29-of-59) shooting percentage from the floor.

• Peyton Little led Oklahoma with a season-high 19 points and five 3-pointers, while Gioya Carter added in a season-best 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting along with five rebounds. Vionise Pierre-Louis logged her third double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes. Chelsea Dungee scored in double figures for the second consecutive contest, recording a career-high 12 points and adding in four rebounds.

• OU led at halftime as Little, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark between her career with the Sooners and Texas A&M, knocked down a long-distance trey to give the Sooners a 39-37 advantage after two quarters. In a game that featured six ties and 12 leads changes, OU hit eight first-half treys and used a 10-0 run to close the second quarter to take the lead at the break.

• The Sooners finished season-high 11 3-pointers on the road, their most in a single game since hitting 10 triples at Baylor last season. OU won the rebounding battle, 35-34, and finished with a season-best 19 assists against the Wildcats.

PREVIEWING ORAL ROBERTS

• Oral Roberts dropped to 3-4 this season after falling to Little Rock, 56-50, on Thursday night. The Golden Eagles, now 1-4 on the road, are averaging 65.0 points per game on a .386 field goal, .254 3-point and .603 free throw shooting.

• Faith Ihim leads Oral Roberts with 15.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. The junior forward boasts a .552 shooting percentage from the field this season and won the 2016 Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year award last season.

• Despite missing the last two games, Lakota Beatty is second on the team with a 13.2 scoring average. The Oklahoma State transfer start the first five games for the Golden Eagles, scoring in double figures four times. Kaylan Mayberry also averages 11.0 points per game in 32.4 minutes per contest. She leads Oral Roberts with 11-made 3-pointers and is shooting .355 (11-for-31) from deep.

• Oral Roberts is under the direction of fifth-year head coach Misti Cussen, who has a 58-69 record during her tenure.

T'ona Edwards dished four assists in Thursday's game at Kentucky.

QUICK HITS

• The Sooners are 26-14 against current members of the Summit League. OU is 1-0 this against Summit League foes, defeating defending league champion South Dakota State, 74-60, on Nov. 23 at Lloyd Noble Center.

• Against Kentucky, Gioya Carter and Peyton Little became the 25th tandem in school history to hit four or more 3-pointers apiece in a single game. It marked the 22nd time two players hit four or more treys in a game under Sherri Coale.

• OU finished November with a 5-0 record, the first undefeated month for the Sooners since November 2010. The Sooners have finished a month undefeated 11 times during the Coale era.

• The Sooners have been ranked in the AP Poll for 23 consecutive weeks (tied for the 12th-longest active streak in the country). OU's place in both the AP and USA Today polls are the highest ranking for the Sooners since the beginning of the 2013-14 season.

• In the first six games of the 2016-17 season, the Sooners have showcased their depth and versatility with 12 players appearing in five of the six contests.

• 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.

• The Sooners boast one of the nation's most experienced rosters with six seniors on their squad, the most for an OU team since the 2006-07 season. It marks the third time for the Sooners to have more than five seniors on their roster and on the previous two occasions, OU has claimed the Big 12 regular season title (2002 and 2007).

• Over the last 10 seasons, the Sooners rank second in the Big 12 in overall wins (217) and conference victories (144). OU is the only team in the Big 12 to make every NCAA Tournament since 2000.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma continues its homestand on Thursday night against UTRGV. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT and the game will air on Fox Sports Oklahoma. Tickets for Thursday's game can be purchased for as low as $5.

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