Nobody attracts more junk than Oklahoma senior center Courtney Paris. Junk defenses, that is.
“We see a little bit of everything,” said Paris, a 6-foot-4, three-time All-American who will make her final appearance in the Coors Events Center tonight (7 p.m., FSN Rocky Mountain).
Concocting a strategy to stop Courtney becomes an effort in futility and frustration. In 116 career games, she has recorded 113 double-doubles, including an active streak of 108 games. Both double-double marks are NCAA records for women’s basketball.
In three previous games against Colorado, the best player in Big 12 Conference history has averaged 23.7 points and 16 rebounds. Courtney’s season stats are down a bit (15.4 points, 13.3 rebounds) and she doesn’t mind one bit. Giving her more help is twin sister Ashley Paris (14.6, 10.1), a 6-3 senior playing the best basketball of her career. They are daughters of former NFL all-pro lineman Bubba Paris.
“I’m so proud of her,” Courtney said of Ashley. “She worked really hard in the offseason.”
Oklahoma (14-2, 3-0 Big 12) is ranked No. 3 this week in the Associated Press poll but jumped a spot to No. 2 in the USA Today-ESPN coaches poll, behind unbeaten Connecticut. Colorado (8-7, 0-3) is off to a rough start in league play.
The Sooners are on a mission, Courtney said. “There’s no next year for me, and I didn’t come to Oklahoma to not get to the Final Four and to not win a national championship,” she said.
