WEDNESDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (4-7, 0-0 Big 12) returns to action after a 10-day layoff and begins Big 12 play against Texas Tech (9-2, 0-0 Big 12) on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center.
OU has also won 12 out of its last 13 Big 12 home openers and is 19-3 in its conference opener under Sherri Coale. The Sooners are 236-130 all-time against Big 12 foes.
ON THE AIR
Wednesday's game will be televised on Fox Sports Oklahoma with Chad McKee (play-by-play), Brenda VanLengen (analyst) and Jessica Coody (sideline) on the call. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City; KREF 99.3 FM/1400 AM in Norman; TuneIn Radio App) with Brian Brinkley calling the action.
TICKETS
Tickets are available for $8 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and online here. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. OU students will be admitted free with a valid school I.D.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
• Oklahoma begins its 23rd season of Big 12 play as it hosts Texas Tech at Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Sooners have won 15 consecutive meetings against the Lady Raiders and are 19-9 all-time against Texas Tech in Norman. OU leads the all-time series, 36-22, and has won 26 out of the last 27 meetings between the two teams.
• Wednesday's game features a matchup between the top two scoring freshmen in the nation. Texas Tech's Chrislyn Carr is averaging 20.1 points per game, which leads all freshmen in Division I, while OU's Taylor Robertson ranks second among freshmen nationally with 18.5 points per contest.
• Oklahoma's top six scorers are in their first or second year of Division I basketball with four of the six being freshmen. Freshman guard Taylor Robertson ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring with 18.5 points per game this season and leads the conference with 51 made 3-pointers. Robertson and freshman Madi Williams (14.3) rank inside the top 15 in the Big 12 in points per game. Ninety-six percent of Oklahoma's scoring comes from its freshmen and sophomore classes.
• Freshman guard Taylor Robertson leads the country with 4.64 3-pointers per game and ranks second nationally with 51 made 3-pointers this season. The freshman has scored at least 20 points in five of OU's 11 games this year and already ranks fifth on the Sooners' freshman record list for 3-pointers made in a single-season. Robertson has made multiple 3-pointers in 10 of 11 games this season.
• Freshman guard/forward Madi Williams is one of two Big 12 players to average a double-double so far this season. Williams is averaging 14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest through 11 games this year. Williams is third nationally in rebounding among Division I freshmen. At SMU on Dec. 22, Williams recorded 20 points and 10 rebounds to pick up her fourth double-double of the season.
PREVIEWING TEXAS TECH
• Texas Tech enters Wednesday's Big 12 opener with a 9-2 overall record. The Lady Raiders are one of the top rebounding teams in the country at 49.0 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth nationally. Texas Tech averages 80.0 points per game (ranks fourth in the Big 12) on a .457 field goal percentage (sixth), a .348 3-point clip and a .609 free throw percentage (eighth). The Lady Raiders are fifth nationally in rebounding margin (+15.5) and 25th in assists per game (17.4).
• Freshman guard Chrislyn Carr leads the Lady Raiders and the Big 12 in scoring at 20.1 points per game. Carr is also the top-scoring freshman in the nation and has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week twice this season. She scored 26 points versus Abilene Christian on Saturday.
• Junior forward Brittney Brewer is enjoying a breakout season with 19.4 points per contest, while ranking second in the conference in rebounding at 11.5 rebounds per game. Arizona State transfer guard Sydney Goodson also averages scoring in double figures at 10.5 points per game, while senior forward Zuri Sanders leads the Big 12 and ranks eighth in Division I with 12.4 rebounds a game.
• Texas Tech is led by first-year head coach Marlene Stollings. Stollings is 9-2 in her first season with the Lady Raiders. She previously served as head coach at Minnesota from 2015-18 where she led the Gophers to three 20-win seasons and a second round appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Tatum Veitenheimer picked up a career-high seven assists at SMU on Dec. 22.
GAME 11 RECAP: SMU
• Oklahoma ended its non-conference slate with a 77-61 victory over SMU on Dec. 22 inside Moody Coliseum. Four players scored in double figures for the Sooners as Shaina Pellington led OU with 21 points. Madi Williams picked up her fourth double-double of the year, recording 20 points and 10 rebounds.
• Taylor Robertson knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 15 points, while Ijeoma Odimgbe matched her career high with 11 points off the bench in 19 minutes. Tatum Veitenheimer recorded a career-high seven assists and five rebounds, to go along with seven points and three steals. The Sooners led for nearly the entire game, jumping out to a 39-24 lead over SMU at halftime. OU posted a .592 field goal percentage during the first half as Pellington scored 11 points in the first two quarters. The sophomore picked up her third 20-point scoring game of the year, finishing 9-of-16 from the field to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.
• Williams scored 13 of her 20 points in the second half to help the Sooners maintain their double-digit lead as the Sooners held SMU to a .364 field goal percentage and limited the Mustangs to just two 3-pointers. Williams' four double-double are already the third most by an OU freshman in a single season in the Sherri Coale era. Robertson hit back-to-back treys midway through the third quarter to put OU in front by 21 points.
ELEVATING HER GAME
• After becoming the seventh OU player to win Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2018, Shaina Pellington has continued excel as a sophomore. Pellington averaged 13.1 points per game and posted a .492 field goal percentage as a freshman. The Pickering, Ontario, native ranks second on the team with 16.9 points per game and has a team-high 3.7 assists per contest.
• Pellington has scored in double figures in 10 of OU's 11 games this season, ranking eighth in the Big 12 with 16.9 points per game. She scored her 500th career point on Nov. 28 at New Mexico, accomplishing the feat in 37 games.
• Over the last four games, Pellington is averaging 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest.
DUAL THREAT
• Freshman guard/forward Madi Williams has made an immediate impact for the Sooners offensively and on the glass. She has recorded 10 rebounds in six games and is averaging a double-double so far this season with 14.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. The Fort Worth, Texas, product ranks third nationally among Division I freshmen in rebounds per game.
• At SMU, Williams poured in 20 points and 10 rebounds to claim her fourth double-double of the year. Only Courtney Paris (31, 2005-06) and Caton Hill (6, 1999-00) have recorded more double-doubles as freshmen in OU history.
• Williams picked up her third double-double of the season against UConn, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes.
QUICK HITS
• Oklahoma's run of 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances ranks as the longest active streak by a team in the Big 12 and the fifth-best active streak among Division I women's basketball teams. OU's 19 straight NCAA bids is the ninth longest streak all-time in Division I. Only Tennessee (37), Stanford (31), Connecticut (30) and Notre Dame (23) have made more consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament than the Sooners.
• In OU's season opener, Tatum Veitenheimer and Madi Williams became the first pair of OU freshmen to start the first game of the regular season in the Sherri Coale era. Veitenheimer and Williams are the 11th and 12th freshmen to start a season opener, respectively, under Coale. Veitenheimer is one of three freshman point guards to start a season opener in the Coale era, joining Stacey Dales and Gabbi Ortiz.
• Taylor Robertson became the first player in the Big 12 to win four Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors during non-conference play since Baylor's Britney Griner accomplished the feat in 2010.
• The Sooners tied for third place in the Big 12 with an 11-7 mark in league play during the 2017-18 season and finished the regular season ranked second in the nation in strength of schedule a year ago. OU has won at least 10 Big 12 games in 12 of the last 13 seasons.
UP NEXT
• The Sooners make their first road trip of Big 12 play on Saturday as they head to Manhattan to face Kansas State. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. CT and be televised on Fox College Sports Central.
• OU won both meetings with the Wildcats last season, including a 76-71 victory in Bramlage Coliseum. The Sooners earned the season sweep by topping K-State, 68-49, in Norman.
For more information on Oklahoma women’s basketball, follow the Sooners on Twitter (@OU_WBBall) or like Oklahoma Sooners Women’s Basketball on Facebook.
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