Big 12 Play Opens Thursday at Kansas

Oklahoma

Kansas

Thursday, Dec. 10 / 7 p.m. CT / Lawrence, Kan. / Allen Field House

Big 12 Now on ESPN+ / Radio / Game Notes

NORMAN – The Oklahoma women's basketball team is on the road Thursday for the second consecutive game as OU opens Big 12 play at Kansas. The game will tip at 7 p.m. CT inside Allen Field House.

ON THE AIR

Thursday's game will be televised Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Josh Klingler and Jill Dorsey Hall on the call.

The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1420 AM in Oklahoma City; KREF 99.3 FM/1400 AM in Norman; TuneIn radio App) with Brian Brinkley calling the action.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

OU opens Big 12 play Thursday at Kansas at 7 p.m. This season, each Big 12 squad will play two opponents, one home and one away, prior to the holiday break.
The Sooners lead the all-time series between the teams 41-32 and are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings. KU holds the advantage in Lawrence by a narrow 17-16 margin. OU has won five of the last six meetings in Lawrence.
The last time the teams met in Lawrence, OU engineered the second-largest comeback in a Big 12 game in program history as the Sooners erased a 22-point halftime deficit to force overtime and win 94-82. That victory was good for head coach Sherri Coale's 500^th career victory.
The Sooners are 337-259 all-time in Big 12 play and 244-258 against league opponents under head coach Sherri Coale (1997-present). OU has won 10 Big 12 titles under Coale.
Coale enters her 25th season at the helm for OU. The Hall of Fame coach has led OU to three Final Four appearances, 10 Big 12 titles and 19 NCAA tournament berths since 2000. She captured her 500th career victory in 2019-20, bringing her overall record to 501-284.

LAST TIME IN LAWRENCE...

OU overcame a 22-point halftime deficit to defeat Kansas 94-82 in overtime. It was good for the second largest comeback in a Big 12 game in program history and head coach Sherri Coale's 500^th career victory.

OU trailed Kansas 49-27 at halftime. The Sooners outscored Kansas 29-13 in the third quarter, capping the period on a 7-0 run sealed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Williams to close the gap.

Gabby Gregory tied things again at 71-71 when she drove up the lane for a layup. Kansas would score twice more to take a 75-71 lead before OU again rallied and knotted things at 75-all on a trey by Taylor Robertson before time expired.

Gregory hit a 3-pointer at the start of overtime and the Sooners never looked back, outscoring the Jayhawks 19-7 in extra time..

BOARDING UP

Senior Mandy Simpson has tallied rebounds in double figures in both of the Sooners' games this season, pulling down 13 against Houston (Nov. 25) and 10 at Georgia (Dec. 6).

Additionally, Simpson chipped in 11 points against Houston for her third career double-double.

Simpson is averaging 11.5 rebounds per game to start the season to rank third among Big 12 players in that category.

Simpson finished the 2019-20 season averaging 6.9 RPG, a career-best mark. She had eight performances with double-digit rebounds and pulled down boards in double figures back-to-back on two separate occasions.

FRESHMAN BREAKOUT

OU's trio of freshmen all saw significant playing time in the Sooners' last contest at Georgia.

Nevaeh Tot scored 14 points and dished a team-high six assists in 30:33 of play. She shot 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and knocked down four of five free throws.

In her first collegiate appearance, Skylar Vann scored eight points, shooting 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the 3-point line. Her first career bucket was a trey to tie the game for the Sooners. She also added five rebounds and a steal.

Heavenly Greer pulled down three rebounds to go with four points and a block.

TRIO EARNS PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 HONORS

Taylor Robertson was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team while Madi Williams and Ana Llanusa were named honorable mentions. The awards and team are chosen by head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.

Robertson averaged a team-high 19.1 points per game last season and shattered a host of OU and Big 12 records from the 3-point line. She drained 131 treys to break the league's single-season record, which had stood since 2002 and became the first Big 12 player to hit 100 or more 3-pointers in consecutive seasons. The McPherson, Kan., native led the nation in made 3s as well as 3s per game (4.37).

Williams averaged 16.1 points per game last season and was the team's leading rebounder with an average 7.3 per game. Williams scored in double figures in 27 of 30 games in 2019-20, including the last 18 straight. The Fort Worth native had seven performance with 20 or more points, including three contests with at least 10 made field goals. Williams registered a team-high six double-doubles in 2019-20.

Llanusa averaged 15.4 points per game and scored in double figures in 18 contests. She had seven outings with 20 points or more including three games with 25 or more. Llanusa led all Big 12 players in steals per game with an average 2.26 and tallied a single-game conference-high eight steals against UAB (Nov. 10, 2019). Llanusa will miss the 2020-21 season due to injury.

ROBERTSON ON ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE WATCH LIST

Taylor Robertson was one of 20 players named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award.

Named after the first player, male or female, named to an All-America Team in four straight college seasons, the annual award in its fourth year recognizes the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.

A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates. In early February, the watch list will be narrowed to just 10 and in early March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.

The 2020-21 season marks the second consecutive season Robertson has been named to the award's watch list. She was a member of the top 10 list last season.
Robertson is one of two Big 12 players on the watchlist as she is joined by DiJonai Carrington of Baylor.

25 YEARS OF SC

Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale enters her 25^th season at the helm for the Sooners.

Coale is 501-284 in her tenure at OU and has led the program to 19 NCAA tournament appearances; nine Sweet 16s; three Final Fours; and 10 Big 12 titles.

Coale has mentored 13 All-Americans; six Big 12 Players of the Year; seven Big 12 Freshmen of the Year; 68 All-Big 12 Team selections; and 16 WNBA draft selections, including 2018 WNBA champion Courtney Paris (Seattle Storm) and 2020 WNBA runner up Danielle Robinson (Las Vegas Aces).

Her players have excelled in the classroom, with 66 players to 131 Academic All-Big 12 honors; 16 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team members; and five CoSIDA Academic All-America Team Members.

Coale was inducted into the Women's College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 and is a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame's 2020 class.

UP NEXT

The Sooners return to Lloyd Noble Center on Dec. 13 to host Texas State at 2 p.m. on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

ON THE AIR

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

LAST TIME IN LAWRENCE...

BOARDING UP

FRESHMAN BREAKOUT

TRIO EARNS PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 HONORS

ROBERTSON ON ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE WATCH LIST

25 YEARS OF SC

UP NEXT

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Heavenly Greer

Gabby Gregory

Ana Llanusa

Taylor Robertson

Mandy Simpson

Nevaeh Tot

Skylar Vann

Madi Williams

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics