Oklahoma Sooners
Big 12 (22-10, 11-7 )
Oklahoma has had to deal with quite a few injuries this season, but the Sooners still put together a very good season. Coach Sherri Coale had to look down her bench a bit further than expected, but the team responded very well. The result has been some ups and downs during the 2012-2013 campaign, especially during the tough conference slate, but so far the season has been a success.
Big Wins: 11/10 at Creighton (69-48), 2/10 Oklahoma State (80-61), 3/4 at Texas Tech (77-73)
Bad Losses: 2/3 at West Virginia (63-82), 2/17 at Kansas (71-81), 2/23 at Oklahoma State (62-83)
Coach: Sherri Coale
Why They Can Surprise:
The inconsistent play from the Sooners is partially due to the injuries, but it is also because this is a Sooners team that takes a ton of three-pointers. Even though they connect on an amazing 38.2 percent of their attempts from long range as a team, OU is still susceptible to having some off nights. When the shots are not falling, the Sooners are not winning many games. Aaryn Ellenberg is the most prolific outside shooter, knocking down 3.2 per game. Ellenberg has also turned into a dynamic scorer who can attack the basket. Guards Morgan Hook and Sharane Campbell are good shooters as well, but it is Ellenberg that takes a large bulk of the shots.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Oklahoma frontcourt has a couple very productive players in center Nicole Griffin and forward Joanna McFarland. Griffin, a 6-6 junior, is a good scorer in the post who can open up space for the shooters on the perimeter. However, she is not a very strong rebounder. McFarland does most of the work on the glass and she can also step outside and stretch out the defense with her shooting ability. But when McFarland is not on the floor, rebounding is a problem for Oklahoma. And when Griffin is not on the floor the Sooners lack a defensive presence in the paint. Coach Coale will try and get as many minutes as possible out of those two, but for part of the game the Sooners will give up a few easy buckets around the basket and for another part of the game they will get consistently beaten on the glass. Since the Sooners live by the three and die by the three, they can still outscore the opposition, but to pull off an upset or two in the tournament they will need to be shooting lights out.
Probable Starters:
Morgan Hook, Junior, Guard, 10.4 ppg, 5.4 apg
Aaryn Ellenberg, Junior, Guard, 18.5 ppg, 2.1 apg
Sharane Campbell, Sophomore, Guard, 9.2 ppg, 1.2 apg, 4.2 rpg
Joannan McFarland, Senior, Forward, 9.2 ppg, 10.0 rpg
Nicole Griffin, Junior, Center, 11.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.7 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Portia Durrett, Junior, Forward, 3.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Jasmine Hartman, Senior, Guard, 1.6 ppg, 1.7 apg
Nicole Kornet, Freshman, Forward, 4.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.2 (16th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.6 (264, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.1 (36, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.0 (143, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.9 (15, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.2 (6, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.7 (46, 3)
Rebound Margin: 1.6 (130, 7)
Assists Per Game: 14.5 (70, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.4 (125, 6)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Michigan
2012 NCAA Round of 32 loss to St. John's
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over James Madison
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Miami
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Notre Dame
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over South Dakota State
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over Arkansas Little Rock
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Notre Dame
2010 NCAA Regional Final win over Kentucky
2010 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Stanford
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Prairie View
2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over Georgia Tech
2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Pittsburg
2009 NCAA Regional Final win over Purdue
2009 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Louisville
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Illinois State
2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Notre Dame
*all team stats through 3/7
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
