WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A stroke of genius, perhaps, or desparation? Or maybe just the best available option.

Whatever, the Oklahoma women, the fourth seed in the Oklahoma City Regional at the NCAA Tournament, about to play No. 13-seed Illinois State at 11 this morning inside Purdue’s Mackey Arena, already 29 games into the season, are talking about starting over.

“We’re excited to be back here and it’s been a long time since we’ve played a basketball game and we’re ready for this third season,” Sooner coach Sherri Coale said.

The first season would have been OU’s out-of-conference schedule. Beginning with Maryland and Tennessee, the idea was to get a young team without seniors battle tested. Whether it happened or not, it didn’t show during the second season, when OU went 11-5 in the Big 12 Conference and received only the fifth seed at the conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

Not that it mattered after No. 12-seed Missouri upset the Sooners.

Nevertheless, after receiving a great favor that must still be earned — the chance to return to Oklahoma City with the hope of reaching the Final Four — Coale believes in her team’s last fresh start of the season.

“There’s a new energy,” she said. “That’s why we didn’t really, officially, start our new season until after the selection show Monday … Tuesday’s practice was fabulous, Wednesday’s was a little better. Thursday’s was better still and Friday’s was fantastic.”

Coale surely believes her own hype. After all, what point is there for OU (21-8, 11-5 Big 12) to begin a new season if it’s only going to last a day or three? Perhaps predictably, Ilinois State (26-6, 13-5 Missouri Valley) coach Robin Pingeton spoke of how happy the Redbirds were simply to find themselves on the Boilermaker campus.

“These girls have grown up watching the NCAA Tournament. We are so excited to be in West Lafayette and are looking forward to participating in this event,” she said. “We have worked hard all season and these players have earned the right to be here this weekend.”

The big question remaining for OU is if it really can start over. A loser of three straight games, it last posted back-to-back victories Feb. 23 and 27 against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

“If we continue to play hard it will all work out. If we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing, that’s when we struggle,” sophomore guard Amanda Thompson said. “But if everybody does what they’re supposed to do and do it their best, we’ll be fine.”

Over the course of the season, that’s proved much easier said than done. Still No. 13 in the NCAA’s very own RPI list, OU nevertheless enters the Big Dance ranked 285th of 326 Division I programs in made 3-pointers per game (3.6), 263rd in free-throw shooting (64.7 percent) and 192nd in ball security (18.4 turnovers per game).

OU’s biggest strengths have been rebounding margin (third in the nation at 12.2) and blocked shots (seventh, six per game).

Meanwhile, Illinois State comes across as one of the nation’s most disciplined teams, ranked third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.32 to 1), No. 6 in scoring (77.4), No. 5 in assists (17.7 per game) and No. 7 in ball security (13.4 turnovers per game).

Despite the seeding difference, statistically, the Redbirds look like just the kind of team to give the Sooners trouble. OU’s weaknesses appear to be Illinois State’s strengths. Yet even if true, Coale seems to believe she’ll be bringing a new team to the court, even if the players look like the usual suspects.

“We’ve been very candid. They’ve been candid with one another and I’ve been candid with them,” she said. “Everybody really stepped back — all of us, coaching staff, everybody included — swallowed our pride and said ‘Let’s figure out how to get this thing right. Because we have time.’

“This is not a thing that we have to go through all spring and summer. We’ve got time this year to fix it and I feel good with what we’ve done.”

It won’t take very long today to find out if she’s right or not.

Clay Horning

366-3526

cfhorning@normantranscript.com