OU’s weekly sports notes

News and notes from around the world of OU sports 

MEN’S BASKETBALL (15-6, 3-3)

Last Week: Oklahoma split its two games last week, beating Bedlam rival Oklahoma State 64-61 on Monday in Norman before falling at No. 23 Texas A&M 60-52 on Saturday. Junior forward Taylor Griffin led the Sooners against OSU by scoring a career-high 20 points and pulling down a game-high six rebounds, while Blake Griffin added 15 points, four boards and three assists. Senior guard David Godbold keyed OU offensively at Texas A&M as he netted a career-high 22 points with the help of 6-for-10 3-point shooting. The Sooners led 51-50 in College Station but were outscored 10-1 over the final three minutes.

This Week: OU plays host to No. 10 Texas (17-4, 4-2) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CST (televised by ESPN2) before traveling to Boulder, Colo., for a contest against Colorado (9-12, 1-6) on Saturday at 3 p.m. CST.

Notes: Over his last two games against Texas A&M, David Godbold has scored 42 points and is 11-for-17 (.647) from 3-point range … Blake Griffin saw his 11-game streak of scoring in double figures snapped with his six-point performance on Saturday (the streak did not include the Jan. 14 game when he played five minutes at Kansas) … Griffin is still averaging a double-double in his four full Big 12 games (16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest) … OU’s loss at Texas A&M was its first this season when leading at halftime (it was 11-0 prior to Saturday) … Texas will mark OU’s sixth ranked opponent in the last 11 games and third in the last four.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/okla-m-baskbl-body.html

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (15-4, 5-2 Big 12)

Last Week: No. 11/10 Oklahoma (15-4, 5-2) defeated Kansas and No. 25 Texas last week as it extended its winning streak to four games — two of which were against ranked opponents. The Sooners grabbed a 67-51 home win against the Jayhawks on Wednesday, Jan. 30, before using a 19-0 second-half run to take down the Longhorns in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Feb. 3. Nyeshia Stevenson came off the bench to play a career high 32 minutes against KU and score a game-high 15 points. It was the first time in her career to lead her team in scoring. Courtney Paris nearly posted the second triple-double of her career with a 20-point, 14-rebound, eight-block effort to stifle Texas.

This Week: Oklahoma travels to Missouri Wednesday, Feb. 6, before hosting Colorado Saturday, Feb. 9.

Notes: Oklahoma’s “Think Pink” game to promote breast cancer awareness is on the horizon. OU will host its “PinkOUt” game versus Texas A&M on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/okla-w-baskbl-body.html; http://soonersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/thinkpink.html

SOFTBALL

This Week: The No. 5 Oklahoma softball team will begin its season this week as it heads to Los Angeles, Calif., for the CSFU/UCLA Freeway Series (Feb. 8-10). The Sooners’ season opener will be a top-10 showdown as OU will face No. 10 UCLA on Friday, Feb. 8 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on UCLA’s home field in Los Angeles. Oklahoma will follow that with a 7:30 p.m. meeting against UC Santa Barbara. In Saturday action of the tournament, the Sooners will head to Fullerton, Calif., as they will face Nevada at 12 p.m. No. 21 Cal State Fullerton at 5 p.m. Oklahoma will return to UCLA on Sunday for an 11:30 a.m. meeting with the Bruins to round out tournament action.

Notes: Oklahoma opens the season as the No. 5 team in the country in the NFCA Preseason Poll … Oklahoma and Arizona are the only two schools to be ranked in every NFCA Top 25 Poll since its inception in 1995 … Junior Samantha Ricketts and senior Lauren Eckermann were named to USA Softball’s National Player of the Year Watch List for 2008 … Oklahoma was picked to finish second in the conference in the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll.

WRESTLING

Last Week: No. 17 Oklahoma rebounded from two straight losses by whipping the Arizona State Sun Devils last Friday in Norman, 31-9. After losing the opening two bouts, the Sooners reeled off eight straight victories and 31 unanswered points to take the victory.

This Week: The Sooners (0-2 in Big 12) resume Big 12 conference competition this weekend as they hit the road to Columbia, Mo., and Lincoln, Neb. OU will dual the Missouri Tigers, ranked 12th, on Friday, Feb. 8, and the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday, Feb. 10.

Notes: Oklahoma, now 12-3 on the season, has surpassed its overall win total of 11 wins last season … The Sooners have continued to be plagued with injuries on the season. Brian Shelton at 133 pounds missed his fourth straight dual due to a lingering hip injury. Zack Bailey at 141 pounds, who leads the team with 27 total wins this season, also missed his first match on the year versus the Sun Devils … Coming in for the injured Bailey, Nolan Spring started the Sooner rally against the Sun Devils with a 6-4 decision over Chris Drouin. The victory was Nolan’s fourth of the season (4-1) … Senior Joshua Weitzel, ranked No. 7, bounced back from his first loss of the season versus Iowa State to record a fall against No. 14 Brent Chriswell of ASU.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/m-wrestl/recaps/020108aaa.html

MEN’S GYMNASTICS

Last Week: Sophomore Ian Jackson won his first all-around title of the season as the Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team defeated No. 12 Nebraska 355.500-337.750 Friday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners claimed team titles on all six events and OU gymnasts won at least a share of each individual event crown. Oklahoma set team season highs on the floor exercise (60.250), pommel horse (55.850), still rings (60.800) and vault (63.200) en route to the victory.