Nyeshia Stevenson shines in OU's exhibition win
OU 94, Rogers State 53

By Jake Trotter, Staff Writer Comments 4
Published: November 5, 2009

NORMAN — Nyeshia Stevenson bricked two free throws to begin Wednesday’s exhibition opener against Rogers State.

Coach Sherri Coale, center, and the OU bench cheer during the Sooners’ exhibition win on Wednesday. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

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After that, she didn’t miss much else.

Oklahoma’s senior wing put on a 3-point show at the Lloyd Noble Center to lead the Sooners to an easy 94-53 win.

"It wasn’t surprising to us,” said OU coach Sherri Coale. "She’s got a tremendous stroke from 3-point range. An extremely talented athlete.”

Stevenson connected on five of her first seven shots from 3-point range to finish with 19 points, all coming in the first half.

The Little Rock, Ark., native even had another first-half 3-point basket waved off, when she was called for traveling just before letting go of the ball. But moments later, Stevenson made up for it by canning her final 3 from the wing just before the halftime buzzer.

Said Stevenson: "You’re not going to get more wide open than some of those looks I had.”

Stevenson, however, wasn’t the only Sooner to come out on fire.

Sophomore shooting guard Whitney Hand matched Stevenson’s performance by making five of six tries from 3-point land to finish with a game-high 27 points.

Thanks to the combination of Stevenson and Hand, the Sooners dominated from the start in their first appearance since dropping a 61-59 heartbreaker to Louisville in last year’s Final Four.

Hand scored five points in the first 30 seconds of the game, and OU raced to a 28-2 lead before Hillcat Brittani Smith banked in a layup to end the run with just over 12 minutes to go before halftime.

"I was really pleased with the first half,” Coale said. "Obviously, when you knock down shots, everything looks real pretty.”