Oklahoma 78, Pepperdine 66

3/18/2006 8:22 PM

By JOHN MARSHALL
AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) - Courtney Paris raised her hand to come out, then trotted past Oklahoma's bench and down a tunnel.

It was only a few minutes into the game, so she must have had an injury or an equipment problem, right? Nope.

Told to drink plenty of water to fight the affects of Denver's mile-high altitude, Paris apparently overdid it.

``Before the game I started feeling like I was gagging,'' she said. ``I had to throw up. I went to the back, got it taken care of, and when I came out it was gone.''

Apparently, not even a bathroom break can slow Oklahoma's freshman sensation.

Paris had her way inside for 27 points and 11 rebounds in just 21 minutes, and the Sooners overcame a sluggish start to open the NCAA tournament with 78-66 victory over Pepperdine on Saturday in the San Antonio Regional.

Paris finished 11-for-13 from the field, blocked four shots and passed Texas' Edwina Brown's Big 12 single-season record of 722 points before heading to the bench midway through the second half with Oklahoma leading 59-33.

Britney Brown added 11 points and six assists, and Oklahoma (30-4) reached 30 wins for the second time in school history to move on to Monday's second round against Brigham Young.

``I think one of the things that make a player so special and so dominant is their ability to make everybody around them better,'' Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. ``And, as you saw on several occasions today, Courtney did that.''

It's no surprise considering what Paris has done so far in her first college season.

Using her size and a beyond-her-18-years understanding of the game to dominate like few freshman have before, Paris set 36 school records and ended the regular season three rebounds shy of becoming the first player in NCAA history to have 700 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks in a season.

Behind Paris, the Sooners made the first perfect run (16-0) through the Big 12 in the conference's 10-year history and tied a school record with a 17-game winning streak to end the regular season.

``I don't know how much you can say about Courtney that hasn't been said before,'' Pepperdine coach Julie Rousseau said. ``I got a chance to recruit her at Stanford and see her dominate as a high school player. She's definitely carried that over to the college ranks.''

The Sooners had trouble getting the ball to Paris in the post early against Pepperdine (14-17), forcing passes and looking away when she was double-teamed. Then came the trip down the tunnel.

But once Paris got the ball, the Waves had no chance.

Though an inch shorter at 6-foot-3, Paris used her strength to bull past Pepperdine's Teiosha George inside, forcing her into tough shots and repeatedly sealing her off at the other end, leading to numerous easy baskets.

Paris hit the 500-rebound mark in the game's first 10 minutes and pressured George into missing all six of her shots in the first half, helping Oklahoma to a 36-19 lead.

``She's definitely a handful. She was a lot to handle in the post,'' Pepperdine's Kelsey Ball said. ``She's hard to push around and get out of position. She's a great player.''

Pepperdine opened the season 1-6 before winning eight of its final 10 games, including three straight for a surprising win in the West Coast Conference tournament to become the fourth team to qualify for the NCAA tournament with a losing record.

The 15th-seeded Waves seemed to have a glimmer of hope for the upset in the early going, using solid defense to keep it close in the first 10 minutes, but had a miserable day from the field to let Oklahoma pull away.

Pepperdine shot 8-for-32 in the first half and not much better in the second, finishing at 35 percent to drop to 0-4 in NCAA tournament games. Daphanie Kennedy led the Waves with 31 points - 23 in the second half as Pepperdine cut into Oklahoma's 29-point lead against mostly reserves.

``I don't know what the largest deficit was, but I think that everyone got to really enjoy what I've had an opportunity to enjoy all year, and that's just how tough our women really are, how strong they are, strong in character,'' Rousseau said. ``They showed a lot of fight and I'm very proud of them.''