Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Basketball Set For Bedlam Showdown
January 11, 2008 | Cowgirl Basketball
Cowgirls Set To Host Oklahoma
Oklahoma State's women's basketball team (13-1 overall, 1-0 Big 12) will open its home conference slate on Saturday when sixth-ranked Oklahoma (10-2, 1-0) comes to town for a 6 p.m. contest. The Cowgirls (No. 25/24) are coming off a hard-fought 59-54 win at Kansas in their conference opener on Wednesday, while OU opened with a 67-64 win at Iowa State.
Bedlam Bits
Saturday's game will pit two of the nation's best offenses against each other as OSU currently ranks fourth at 83.1 points per game, while OU checks in at No. 8 with its 79.6 points per game. For the first time since 1996, the Cowgirls enter Bedlam ranked in the Top 25. The tilt also marks the first time both squads have been ranked going into the matchup.
About The Sooners
After opening the season with back-to-back losses against a pair of top-five foes in Maryland and Tennessee, Oklahoma has reeled off 10 consecutive victories. The Sooners are undefeated (4-0) on the road this season with all four road victories coming in their last six outings. OU is led by Courtney Paris' 15.9 points and 16.2 rebounds per game. The junior center is currently the nation's leading rebounder and is sixth nationally at 3.4 blocks per game. As a team, OU leads the nation in rebounding margin at +17.8 and is fourth with its 49.1 field goal percentage.
The Series
The Sooners lead the overall series with a 45-34 mark and have won the last 17 meetings. The Cowgirls last defeated their in-state rival on March 2, 1999 in Kansas City at the Big 12 Championship. OSU last won at home in the series in 1998. The Sooners hold an 18-16 mark all-time in Stillwater after winning the last nine meetings inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
What 2 Watch 4
The Bedlam contest will be televised by the Cowboy Sports Network with Chad McKee (play-by-play) and Patti Philips (color analyst) serving as the talent ... Saturday's contest should result in a new OSU single-game attendance mark as approximately 7,200 tickets had been sold as of Friday morning ... the Cowgirls' previous high was 7,120 against UC Riverside in last year's season opener and the largest Bedlam gathering was 6,477 in 2003 ... Andrea Riley is pouring in 20.9 points per game despite averaging just 28.6 minutes ... when averaged out per 40 minutes, the Cowgirl sophomore's scoring average rises to 29.1 points.
