Ashley Paris scores 24 to lead Oklahoma over Mississippi State 88-73

11/23/2007 5:25 PM

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) -Oklahoma will always have Paris, although it won't necessarily be Courtney.

Ashley Paris, twin sister of Sooners star Courtney Paris, scored 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting and No. 10 Oklahoma used a 10-0 second-half run Friday to beat Mississippi State 88-73 in the Caribbean Challenge.

Courtney Paris finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, her double-double streak ending at 64 games.

``That will be a record that will stand and stand and stand,'' Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. ``All of us need to realize how fortunate we are to have been a part of that with her.''

Courtney Paris said she never felt pressure because of the streak.

``But it was a personal goal of mine to keep it going because I felt like that kind of production is what the team needed out of me to be successful,'' she said.

Sister Ashley added eight rebounds and made all four of her fouls shots while Nyeshia Stevenson added 17 points for the Sooners, who are 2-2 after dropping their first two games.

``It's been good for the team to pick the two wins,'' said Ashley Paris, who had 21 points Thursday in a victory over Arizona State. ``On a personal level, I'm happy with my self because I'm starting to accomplish goals to help my team, and Courtney.''

Imesia Jackson led Mississippi State with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Bethany Washington had 16 points. The Lady Bulldogs started the season 4-0, but have dropped two games in Mexico, against Iowa and Oklahoma.

``We looked a little tired,'' Coale said. ``No one would blame us if we were, but we're expecting more. I thought our attention to detail came and went as the score demanded.''

The Sooners started the game on a 12-2 run and surged ahead 31-11 with 9:03 remaining in the first half. But the Lady Bulldogs did not allow a field goal for more than three minutes, closing to 40-33 with a 3-pointer by Danielle Rector.

In the second half, Oklahoma used a 10-0 burst, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Jenna Plummey and Stevenson, to pull away 67-48. Mississippi State drew to 78-68 with 4:40 remaining, but Ashley Paris scored eight of the last 10 points of the game to seal it.

``I was pleased on how we battled for 30 minutes,'' Mississippi State coach Sharon Fanning said. ``But the first 10 minutes, we get in a hole and then battled the whole way. We cut it and then we gave a 3. You cannot do that against a good team.''