Women's Hoops Hosts Mississippi State on Saturday

(RV/RV) Oklahoma (6-1, 0-0 Big 12)

Mississippi State (6-1, 0-0 SEC)

Dec. 4, 2021 / 2:00 p.m. CT / Lloyd Noble Center / Norman, Okla.

NORMAN – The Sooners open a five-game homestand Saturday when they host Mississippi State (6-1) at the Lloyd Noble Center at 2 p.m. The contest marks Oklahoma's (6-1) annual game in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Oklahoma.Taylor Maples will provide radio coverage on the Sooner Radio Network starting 30 minutes prior to tip.

THE STARTING FIVE

OU is riding a three-game winning streak after an 84-72 win on the road at SMU (3-4) Tuesday in its last road trip of the 2021 calendar year. Ana Llanusa scored 25 points, crossing the 20-point threshold for the first time since February 2020 and added eight rebounds and six assists in the win. Kelbie Washington became the 14th Sooner to ever dish out double-digit assists, tallying 10. Taylor Robertson poured in 19 points and grabbed seven boards, as Madi Williams scored 15 points.
Under head coach Jennie Baranczyk, the Sooners high-powered offense is one of the best in the nation. OU's 87.1 points per game rank fourth nationally as the Sooners dish out a nation's best 21.4 assists per game. In addition, Oklahoma's 10.6 3-pointers made per contest rank eighth in the country as Taylor Robertson's 36 makes are the most in Division I. OU is the only school in the country with three players inside the top-100 nationally in points per game with Taylor Robertson (19.0), Ana Llanusa (18.1) and Madi Williams (16.7).
Oklahoma and Mississippi State have faced off just once, with the Sooners claiming a 2007 win in Cancun. The Sooners own a 77-77 record all-time vs. teams in the SEC with 107 of those 154 games coming vs. Missouri (OU leads 30-29) and Texas A&M (OU leads 27-21). OU is an impressive 422-155 (.731) inside the friendly confines of the Lloyd Noble Center, including a 45-14 (.762) non-conference home record since the 2012-13 season. Saturday's matchup is part of the eighth annual Big 12/SEC Challenge, which the SEC owns a 2-1-4 lead in.
OU's 6-1 start to the season is its best start since the 2015-16 campaign when the Sooners opened 9-1 and finished the year 23-10, appearing in the NCAA Tournament. Jennie Baranczyk is the first coach in OU women's basketball history to win six of their first seven games as the OU head coach.
With every game played, Taylor Robertson inches closer to breaking the NCAA record for career 3-pointers. She entered the 2021-22 season with 322 made treys, 175 away from Kelsey Mitchell's NCAA record and just 70 short of Laurie Koehn's Big 12 record of 392. Her 3.92 3-pointers per game are just short of Lisa McMullen's NCAA record of 4.00, set over 56 games as the sharpshooter is the nation's active leader in that category. She enters Saturday's game just 16 made 3-pointers shy of tying Aaryn Ellenberg's OU career record.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Mississippi State (6-1, 0-0 SEC) arrives in Norman with its best wins coming over Dayton (5-2) and South Dakota State (3-4). The Bulldogs lone loss came at the hands of No. 12 Michigan (7-0) when the Wolverines knocked them off 64-48 on Nov. 27. They're led by Doug Novak, who was named the interim head coach on Oct. 12 after Nikki McCray-Penson stepped down due to health concerns. The Bulldogs are led by Rickea Jackson whose 23.2 points per game rank fourth in the country.

UP NEXT

Saturday's contest marks the first of a five-game homestand that will close out the 2021 calendar year. Following the Mississippi State game, the Sooners take on Eastern Michigan at 5 p.m. on Dec. 7. The Eagles are led by former OU WBB staffer Fred Castro who spent 2001-07 in Norman under head coach Sherri Coale.