Women's Hoops Hosts No. 16 BYU Friday

(RV/RV) Oklahoma (8-1, 0-0 Big 12)

(16/17) BYU (8-0, 0-0 WAC)

Dec. 10, 2021 / 6:00 p.m. CT / Lloyd Noble Center / Norman, Okla.

NORMAN – Oklahoma (8-1, 0-0 Big 12) is set to host No. 16/17 BYU in Norman on Friday at 6 p.m. as the Sooners continue their five-game homestand. OU enters Friday's contest with the undefeated Cougars (8-0, 0-0 WCC) on a five-game winning streak that features wins over three teams in the top 70 of the NET rankings. The Sooners are 5-0 in Norman this season, winning those games by an average of 25.5 points, including back-to-back 30-plus-point wins over the last week.

The game will be broadcast on Sooner Sports TV with Chad McKee and Dan Hughes on the call.

THE STARTING FIVE

OU continued its strong run of play in a 36-point win over Eastern Michigan, where it scored more than 90 points for the fifth time this season. Taylor Robertson led the effort with 21 points, and Madi Williams tallied her fourth double-double in five games with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ana Llanusa and Kelbie Washington added 17 and 16 points, respectively, as the Sooner starters alone outscored EMU 70-58.
Friday night's game marks the seventh meeting between Oklahoma and BYU, but the first since 2016. The Sooners won that most recent meeting 68-61 in Provo and has won four straight games vs. the Cougars. The Cougars' lone win of the series came in Provo in 1989. OU is 5-0 at the Lloyd Noble Center in 2021-22, its best start at home since 2014-15 when the team started 12-0 at home. OU owns two postseason wins over BYU.
Under head coach Jennie Baranczyk, the Sooners high-powered offense is the best in the country. The Sooners average a national-best 88.7 points per game on 43.7% shooting. In addition, the Sooners' 20.1 assists per game are the fourth-most in Division I and help lead to 10.1 3-pointers made per contest, seventh-best nationally. The 88.7 ppg are the fourth most through nine games in program history and the most since 1991-92.
The Sooners' offensive effort is spearheaded by its Big Three of Ana Llanusa, Taylor Robertson and Madi Williams, who make OU the only school in the country with three players that rank inside the top-110 nationally in points per game. The three seniors make up 61% of the Sooners' scoring, 37% of its work on the boards and 43% of the team's assists.
Taylor Robertson enters Friday night's game seven 3-pointers away from tying Aaryn Ellenberg's school record of 376 career 3-pointers. Robertson has attempted 831 3-pointers in her career for a .444 clip compared to Ellenberg's .386 clip over 975 career attempts and 376 makes.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS

BYU (8-0, 0-0 WCC) earned its highest ranking (16th in the AP Poll) in program history on Monday following its first 8-0 start since the 2013-14 season. The Cougars are led by 400-game winner Jeff Judkins who is in his 21st year at the helm of the BYU program. In his tenure, the Cougars have won seven conference titles and made the NCAA Tournament nine times.

The 2021-22 Cougars were picked to win the West Coast Conference once again, earning eight of the possible nine first-place votes. They landed three players on the preseason All-WCC team as Shaylee Gonzales, Lauren Gustin and Paisley Harding were named to the team. Gonzales is the defending WCC Co-Player of the Year and averages a team-high 19.0 points this season. Lauren Gustin, a 2020-21 AP All-America honorable mention, grabs BYU-best 10.7 boards and pours in 10.7 points per game, too.

UP NEXT

Following Friday's game, the Sooners will enjoy a 10-day break before hosting Utah on Dec. 21 at the Lloyd Noble Center. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. start on Bally Sports Oklahoma.