The 13th-ranked Oklahoma women begin the 2009-10 season tonight at Lloyd Noble Center.
Sort of.
The opponent is Rogers State, out of Claremore, and it's the first of two exhibitions the Sooners will play, the last one coming Tuesday night against Oklahoma Christian.
The Hillcats are in just their third year as an NAIA program and have been picked to finish sixth in the Sooner Athletic Conference, which tends to be as strong or stronger in the NAIA ranks as the Big 12 does in the NCAA.
On the other hand, there's no comparison between the two. OU may well double up Rogers State this evening.
The drama of the night, instead, lies not in the final score, but in the aesthetics. In the heat of conference competition coaches may celebrate ugly victories. But not so in a game like this.
The Courtney Paris era over, the Sooners are returning to the up and down game that took them to their first Final Four, in 2002, and tonight marks its first public showcase.
"We should be able to attack the rim with more regularity because there is more space. That is going to be the biggest difference: the way the floor looks," Sooner coach Sherri Coale said. "Because there's going to be more room in the middle and we'll be able to get up and down the floor, hopefully, more than we have in the past.
"Playing faster means you have to play sure as well. We have to take care of the basketball. We have to make good decisions."
The Sooners return All-Big 12 point guard Danielle Robinson, who's plenty able to push the ball up the floor, conference freshman of the year Whitney Hand and Amanda Thompson to the starting lineup. Nyeshia Stevenson, sixth man of the year in the conference last season, also figures to be among OU's first five. The last spot could belong to Carlee Roethlisberger, Abi Olajuwon or freshman Joanna McFarland.
OU had not announced its starting lineup as of Tuesday night. Whoever it is, every returning player will have more opportunities to make a difference than last season.
"We're going to play so much faster that more shots are going to be created," Hand said. "I just think it's going to be so wide open that you just never know from game to game."
Sports
Sooner women offer first look tonight
- Sports
-
-
Another ranked opponent slips out of Tigers’ grasp
Faced with its last opportunity of the regular season to pull off an upset, Norman High came up just short against Class 6A’s second-ranked Edmond Memorial on Friday. The Bulldogs used a second-half Tiger scoring drought to pull away and ...
-
Sooners will test their mettle against country’s best at National Duals
Dual State is today....
-
Winning is only option
Every locker room in college basketball has the same topic floating around. It’s February. All are thinking about March Madness. Of course, some are thinking about their immediate future. Others are simply dreaming....
-
Mizzou back on deck after another blowout loss to Baylor
Not again? Yes, again. For the second time this season, the Oklahoma women will have to put aside a disheartening and embarrassing loss to Baylor and get on with the rest of their season....
-
Bulldogs win easily
Edmond Memorial, the fourth-ranked team in Class 6A, jumped out on Norman High early and cruised to a 59-21 victory over the Tigers. The Tigers were unable to knock down shots throughout the game, and Memorial’s Alie Decker and Sydney ...
-
Sooners cruise past competition at Perfect 10
OKLAHOMA CITY — Compared to the rest of its schedule, Oklahoma was supposed to have a relatively easy night. Both Iowa State and Southeast Missouri are in the midst of down seasons. With little chance of losing, the fifth-ranked Sooners ...
-
Ricketts breaks record in season debut
LAS VEGAS — Well, it was going to happen. And still, it didn’t take long....
-
No. 1 Lady Bears have eagerly awaited Aggies
WACO, Texas — Brittney Griner and her teammates didn’t like what they saw on film this week....
-
Tigers’ Dixon a top contributor
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Everybody wants to start, Michael Dixon included. Being one of the nation’s top sixth men on one of the nation’s top teams is a pretty good feeling, too....
-
Schedule easing up for Sooners
For some time, the Oklahoma women have been done no favors by their schedule. That may still be the case, but not for much longer....
- More Sports Headlines
-
