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No. 11 Sooners Host UCLA Wednesday

Oklahoma faces tough home opener against rebuilt Bruins' squad.

Nov. 13, 2012

 
  Whitney Hand
 No. 11 Oklahoma vs. UCLA
 Date and Time  Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. CT
 Location  Norman, Okla. | Lloyd Noble Center
 Tickets  OU Athletics Ticket Office
 TV  Sooner Sports TV | Channel Listings

 FS Oklahoma Plus
 COX 715 | AT&T U-Verse 1754 | DirecTV 680

 FCS Central
 COX 271 | AT&T U-Verse 648 | DirecTV 623
 Radio  Sooner Radio Network 
 KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City
 KREF 1400 AM in Norman
 Online  Live Stats | Live Audio (Pay) | SoonerSports.tv (Replay)

GAME PREVIEW
• No. 11 Oklahoma hosts UCLA in its home opener Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. Central.
• Sooner Sports TV's Bob Carpenter and Billy Tubbs have the call on the television broadcast on FS Oklahoma Plus and FCS Central.
• The radio broadcast with Brian Brinkley on play-by-play and Colton Coale as color analyst begins at 6:45 p.m. and airs on KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City.
• A replay of the game will be available to watch online at SoonerSports.tv following its live broadcast.

TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR OU HOME GAMES
• Season tickets are available for a low as $119. Tickets may be purchased online at SoonerSports.com or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-456-GoOU.
• Single-game tickets are available with prices beginning at $5 for general admission seating.
• OU students receive free admission at Oklahoma home games when presenting a valid ID.

NOTABLE
• Oklahoma and UCLA are meeting for the fourth time. The Sooners have won the last two meetings, an 83-76 victory in Norman on Feb. 5, 2006, and a 77-68 win in Los Angeles on Nov. 21, 2006.
• The first meeting was an 82-63 UCLA victory in Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 1982.
• Cori Close is 15-16 (.484) in her second season as UCLA's head coach.
• Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale is 358-168 (.681) in her 17th season. She has been the Big 12 Coach of the Year four times.

NEXT GAME
• Oklahoma hosts Saint Louis University at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Sunday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on FS Oklahoma and FCS Atlantic. The radio broadcast will air on KOKC 1520 AM.

 UCLA Projected Starters
Pos.
No.
 Name
Ht.
Year
 2012 Stats / Notes
G
1
 Thea Lemberger
5-7
Sr.
 12.0 points, 3.0 assists
G
14
 Mariah Williams
5-4
Sr.
 4.6 points, 2.1 rebounds
F
23
 Markel Walker
6-1
Sr.
 14.9 points, 11.0 rebounds
F
32
 Alyssia Brewer
6-3
Sr.
 Transfer from Tennessee
F
33
 Jasmine Dixon
6-3
RS-Sr.
 Missed Season Due to Injury

 Oklahoma Projected Starters
Pos.
No.
 Name
Ht.
Year
 2012 Stats / Notes
G
10
 Morgan Hook
5-10
Jr.
 10.9 points, 3.6 assists
G
3
 Aaryn Ellenberg
5-7
Jr.
 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds
G
25
 Whitney Hand
6-1
RS-Sr.
 13.3 points, 7.1 rebounds
F
53
 Joanna McFarland
6-3
Sr.
 5.4 points, 5.9 rebounds
C
4
 Nicole Griffin
6-6
Jr.
 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds

ABOUT OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma had a 21-13 overall record in 2011-12 and ended its season with a 74-70 loss to St. John's (N.Y.) in the second round of the NCAA Championship. It was OU's 13th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, a record for a Big 12 Conference team. OU was 11-7 in Big 12 play and finished second to 2012 national champions Baylor. Reserve center Jelena Cerina (3.9 points, 3.6 rebounds) was the lone graduate. Head coach Sherri Coale completed her 16th season, passing a milestone 500th career victory as a head coach in both the high school and college ranks.

 
 Player to Watch
 Aaryn Ellenberg | Jr. | Guard
 •
Led Sooners with 19 points in season-opening win at Creighton.
 • Was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers, including a perfect 3-for-3 in the second half.
 • Trails Etta Maytubby (174, 1993-96) by two for second on OU's career 3-pointers made list.
 • Preseason All-Big 12 Team Member
   

SCOUTING UCLA
An injury-plagued UCLA lost two starters and played with just seven on its active roster at the end of 2011-12. Since then, the Bruins have added a top-15 recruiting class and Tennessee transfer and Tulsa, Okla., native Alyssia Brewer to the lineup of four returning starters.

All-conference forward Markel Walker missed seven games last year due to injury, but started in 19, leading the Bruins and Pac-12 in rebounding (11.0 rpg) and finishing second on the team in scoring (14.9 ppg). Forward Jasmine Dixon missed the entire 2011-12 season due to a ruptured Achilles. The 2011 AP honorable mention All-American and first team All-Pac-10 player averaged 12.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a junior two seasons ago.

UCLA's freshmen class includes California player of the year Nirra Fields; NBA 76er and former Bruin Jrue Holiday's sister, Lauren; and cousin on Atlanta Hawk Kyle Korver, Kari, a top-100 high school recruit.

UCLA opened its season with a 66-52 win over San Diego State. Walker scored 15 points and Brewer added 12.

OKLAHOMA-UCLA SERIES HISTORY

Oklahoma and UCLA have met three times previously with the Sooners taking the last two victories.

 Previous Results
 Date  Score  Site
 Jan. 8, 1982  UCLA 82, Oklahoma 63  Los Angeles
 Nov. 5, 2005  Oklahoma 83, UCLA 78 | Recap  Norman, Okla.
 Nov. 21, 2006  Oklahoma 77, UCLA 68 | Recap  Los Angeles

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Though the Sooners often open their season on the road, Oklahoma has a 29-6 record, including 14 consecutive wins, in home openers at the Lloyd Noble Center. In their 14-game home-opening winning streak, Oklahoma has an average margin of victory of 29.5 points.

SOONERS CHOOSE CAPTAINS
Seniors Lyndsey Cloman and Whitney Hand and junior Morgan Hook are co-captains of the Sooners this season. The captains were voted by their teammates. It is Hand's fourth season as a captian and Cloman's second.

ALL HOME GAMES TELEVISED
Coverage of the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team will reach a record number of viewers this season as Sooner Sports TV powered by FOX Sports will broadcast at least 16 games on its network.

All of Oklahoma's home games will be televised during the 2012-13 season. Games not selected for a national broadcast on FOX Sports Net or ESPN2 will be produced by Sooner Sports TV for broadcast on FS Southwest, FS Oklahoma or FOX College Sports.

Additionally, OU's three games of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown played in Honolulu, Hawaii, during the Thanksgiving weekend, will be available to fans via live webcasts on SoonerSports.tv. All televised games will also be archived for replay on SoonerSports.tv.

SOONERS POST PERFECT APR SCORE
For the third straight season, OU women's basketball recevied an NCAA Public Regonition Award. This honor is bestowed on teams with an NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. For the second straight season, bsaed on the 2010-11 academic year, Sherri Coale's Sooners had a perfect Academic Progress Rate (1000).

OU LOSES TWO POSTS IN PRESEASON
Sophomore forward Kaylon Williams will miss the season after rupturing her left Achilles tendon while junior forward/center Lydnsey Cloman's career has ended due to recurring back issues.

Williams suffered her injury during OU's Oct. 16 practice at the Lloyd Noble Center and underwent successful surgery Oct. 18. The recovery period is expected to be six months.

Williams averaged 4.8 points and 5.2 rebounds last year, making 16 starts in her first collegiate season. The Midwest City, Okla., native was the Big 12 freshman leader in rebounds per minutes played and blocks per minutes played in 2011-12.

Cloman averaged 3.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 50 games as a Sooner.

HAND A SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Whitney Hand is among the 30 women's college basketball candidates for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The women's Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans.

SOONERS PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
The University of Oklahoma was picked second in the Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll released by the conference Wednesday, Oct. 10.

Oklahoma and West Virginia tied for the runner-up spot behind defending national champion Baylor in a vote of the league's coaches.

Baylor was selected as the preseason favorite for the third consecutive year. The Lady Bears received nine of 10 first-place votes. West Virginia received the remaining first-place vote. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

The Sooners have finished the regular season at or better than the preseason prediction in six of the last seven seasons, including four straight years.

Kansas was picked fourth, Texas fifth and Iowa State sixth. Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Kansas State and TCU, respectively, completed the poll.

ELLENBERG AND HAND GAIN PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Oklahoma's Aaryn Ellenberg was named to the five-member Preseason All-Big 12 Women's Basketball Team and Whitney Hand was an honorable mention among awards announced Wednesday by the conference.

Both Sooners were honorable mentions to the preseason team last year and finished the 2011-12 season as All-Big 12 First Team selections.

Ellenberg joined Baylor's Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims, Iowa State's Chelsea Poppens and Kansas' Angel Goodrich on the preseason team voted by the league's head coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.

Asya Bussie (West Virginia), Brittany Chambers (Kansas State), Carolyn Davis (Kansas), Chassidy Fussell (Texas) and Destiny Williams (Baylor) joined Hand as honorable mentions.

Griner was selected the preseason player of the year.

 



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