The team will gather when it’s over.
On the court, the players are sure to thank the fans. Of course, the sentiment will be returned.
Something will be read across the public address system, acknowledging achievement and accomplishment. But there will be no scoreboard slideshow and likely no tears. Because Lloyd Noble Center doesn’t really stir the heart and they’re all coming back anyway.
Consider it the senior day that isn’t.
No. 10 Oklahoma meets Texas at 12:30 p.m. today.
Thanks to what happened Saturday — Texas A&M;’s 72-63 victory over Baylor in College Station — the Sooners (21-5, 11-3 Big 12) can jump into a three-way tie atop the conference race with Baylor and Kansas State.
So, if the Sooners can get by the Longhorns, they’ll have one more thing to talk about after the game: a very possible share of a third straight regular season conference crown, though it would still require OU winning at Texas A&M; Thursday.
Yet it will still be an odd moment.
Sooner coach Sherri Coale won’t have to tinker with her starting lineup. Nobody will be saying goodbye when it’s over. Indeed, it’s a reminder of the youth Coale has had to prod all season, which makes it a reminder of OU’s struggles, as well as its triumphs.
Asked about the lack of seniors on the team, one of the Sooners’ only two juniors, Ashley Paris, admitted there have been times this season she knows the presence of last year’s senior class might have done something about.
She mentioned the difficult first half at Kansas State and mentioned the fire Leah Rush might have lit by diving for a loose ball or the momentum Erin Higgins might have forged by connecting from beyond the arc.
“We can’t replace them,” she said. “We’re just a young team, inexperienced in leadership and trying to fill those holes in little by little … and I think we’ve done that.”
The way Courtney Paris sees it, the seniorless Sooners have been evident throughout the season, as has been the developing leadership of several team members, from her and her sister to sophomores like Jenna Plumley and Amanda Thompson.
“I think the cool thing about this team is all of us have stepped into those roles,” she said.
Paris points toward several difficult first halves as examples of the Sooners youth and inexperience, but almost as many second-half comebacks as examples of real leadership. She mentioned the heart-to-heart several players had amongst themselves during halftime at Kansas State, yet pointed out there was no single catalyst. Many players stepped forward.
“I think it was a turning point in our maturity,” she said.
Perhaps it will show itself again today.
Maybe OU will play as though led by seniors, even with none of them around.
Clay Horning
366-3526
cfhorning@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
The Senior Day that isn't
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