OU Women's Hoops: No. 20/21 Sooners Set To Face Undefeated Cal

TUESDAY'S GAME BASICS

No. 20/21Oklahoma (8-2) continues the 2016 Puerto Rico Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., on Tuesday 8:45 p.m. CT at South Point Arena. The event is being played in Las Vegas due to concerns over the Zika virus in Puerto Rico. The Sooners opened the tournament with an 81-69 victory over Xavier on Monday.

Peyton Little scored 19, while Maddie Manning added 17 points off the bench to help OU secure the win. California (10-0), who is ranked No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, leads Division I with a .518 shooting percentage and won their opening game Monday, 71-51, over Southern Miss.

ON THE AIR

Tuesday's game will be streamed online here. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Brian Brinkley calling the action.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• No. 20/22 Oklahoma continues the 2016 Puerto Classic has the Sooners face California on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nev., at South Point Arena. The event was originally scheduled to play in San Juan, P.R., but was relocated to Las Vegas due to the threat of the Zika virus. Tuesday's game is the fourth all-time meeting between the Sooners and Bears with OU winning the last matchup in, 86-75, on Dec. 13, 2008, in San Jose, Calif.

• OU opened the Puerto Rico Classic with an 81-69 victory over Xavier as five Sooners scored in double figures for the second time in the last three games. Peyton Little scored a game-high 19 points, tying her season-best for points scored in a single game. Maddie Manning provided 17 points off the bench, while T'ona Edwards, Nancy Mulkey and Vionise Pierre-Louis chipped in 10 points apiece.

• Over the last three games, OU's 3-point shooting percentage has seen a dramatic improvement. The Sooners boast a .432 clip from beyond the arc in the last three contests and finished with a season-best .500 3-point shooting percentage against Xavier.

• The Sooners continue to rank among the nation's leaders in blocked shots per game this season. OU currently ranks 19th in Division I with 6.0 blocks shots per game this year. The last time OU finished in the top 25 in the country for blocked shots per game came during the 2008-09 season when the Sooners averaged 5.7 rejections a contest. 

• OU will look to slow California's efficient offense Tuesday night. The Golden Bears lead the country in field goal percentage (.518) and rank 21st in scoring offense (81.1 ppg). Cal sophomore forward/center Kristin Anigwe is fourth in the country in scoring (23.0 ppg) and fields goals made (92) and 10th in double-doubles (six).

GAME 10 RECAP: XAVIER

• Five Sooners scored in double figures as No. 20/22 Oklahoma opened the Puerto Rico Classic in Las Vegas with a 81-69 victory over Xavier on Monday. The victory marked the 450th career win for OU head coach Sherri Coale.

• OU trailed by as many as 10 points with less than three minutes to play in the first quarter, but an 11-2 run by the Sooners to close the frame gave OU its first lead of the game at 22-21 after one quarter. From there, the Sooners outscored Xavier in each quarter and pulled away in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

• Peyton Little led the Sooners tied a season-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Little has led the Sooners in scoring seven times in te first 10 games this season.

• Off the bench, Maddie Manning poured in 17 points and collected a team-high eight rebounds in 35 minutes of action. For the third straight game, Nancy Mulkey scored in double figures as the freshman scored nine of her 10 points in the second half. T'ona Edwards finished with a career high three 3-pointers, finishing with 10 points.

PREVIEWING CALIFORNIA

• Pac 12 member California enters Tuesday's game as one of 10 undefeated teams remaining in Division I. The Golden Bears have one of the nation's most dynamic offenses, ranking first in field goal percentage (.514), fourth in assists per game (21.1 apg) and 21st in scoring offense (81.5 ppg). Cal has also won 14 straight non-conference games since Dec. 6, 2015.

• Sophomore Kristin Anigwe, the reigning USBWA Freshman of the Year, has been one of the nation's most efficient players to begin the 2016-17 season. She leads Cal with 23.0 points and 9.1 rebounds a contest in just 26.2 minutes per game. On Dec. 8 versus Sacramento State, Anigwe scored a career-high 50 points in just 24 minutes of action. Her performance tied a Pac 12 record for single-game scoring and is the most points scored by a Division I player this year.

• Senior Courtney Range is second on the team with 14.1 points per game and needs just 17 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career. Junior Mikayla Cowling is averaging 9.9 points per game and leads Cal with 5.3 assists per game (ranks 41st in Division I).

• Cal head coach Lindsey Gottlieb is 120-51 in her six seasons with the Golden Bears. She led the Golden Bears to an appearance in the 2013 Final Four and four NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five seasons.

QUICK HITS

• The Sooners are 35-51 against current members of the Pac 12 Conference: Arizona (0-2), Arizona State (2-1), California (1-2), Colorado (22-34), Oregon (1-0), Stanford (2-5), UCLA (3-3), USC (0-1), Utah (1-0), Washington (2-2), and Washington State (1-1).

• The Sooners are 42-5 all-time against AP unranked teams at neutral sites with only one loss coming during the regular season (lost to Iowa, 54-47, on Nov. 27, 2004, in the Junkanoo Jam).

• Through 10 games, the Sooners have doubled their block total from this time last season. OU has logged 60 blocks (6.0 per game) to begin the season, which ranks 19th in Division I. The Sooners finished 136th in the nation a year ago with 112 blocked shots (3.4 per game). At this point last season, OU had just 29 blocks (2.9 blocks per game).

• Redshirt freshman guard Morgan Rich is eligible to make her OU debut at this week's Puerto Rico Classic in Las Vegas. Rich, who transferred from Kentucky, scored 2,433 points at Allen County-Scottsville (Ky.) High School.

• In all seven wins, OU has attempted more free throws than its opponents and the Sooners have averaged 16.0 made free throws in each victory. OU ranks second in the Big 12 with a .714 free throw percentage.

• The Sooners have been ranked in the AP Poll for 26 consecutive weeks (tied for the 11th-longest active streak in the country). OU has been ranked in the AP poll 249 times under Sherri Coale.

• Peyton Little eclipsed the 1,000-point scoring mark for her collegiate career in the first quarter at Kentucky on Dec. 1. Little scored 156 (4.5 ppg) during her freshman season at Texas A&M before transferring to Oklahoma. Since arriving in Norman, Little has scored 890 points, averaging 12.0 per game as a Sooner. She needs 91 points to become the 32nd Sooner to score 1,000 points at Oklahoma.

• Over the last 10 seasons, the Sooners rank second in the Big 12 in overall wins (219) and conference victories (144). OU is the only team in the Big 12 to make every NCAA Tournament since 2000.

UP NEXT

The Sooners conclude the 2016 Puerto Rico Classic on Wednesday as they face Portland State. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. CT at South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. OU is 1-0 all-time against Portland State (won 85-67 on Dec. 3, 1984, in Pullman, Wash.).

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