OU vs TCU

[swok34]

Yuk! Horrible first half, OU trails 19-24. Both teams have a combined 25 turnovers....both teams shooting horrible.....

OU has managed to hold the lead at 31-28 in the first 3 minutes of the second half.

[swok34]

OU had a 10 point lead and now down to a 1 point lead.....at the
3:51 mark. I was screaming at the radio to put Chelsi back in...
and they finally did http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif

Officiating sounds horribly inconsistent on both sides.

[swok34]

OU wins 68-64....Chelsi made 5 HUGE plays right off the bench...
and TCU was down by 1 point with 1.3 seconds left, Luce hit her first shot, TCU called a time-out without none to be had. Schuknecht hit the 2 technical free throws; Luce missed the final, though with time running out and down by 4, not much TCU could do.

I don't know what Sherri told them, but it worked....actually, she said on the radio that she asked them where their heart was..
they found 'em http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif

Villarroel finished the first half with 2 points and ended the game with 18 points, so they got her going.

[Jimi]

Way to hang in there Sooners. Good Win under tough conditions.

[Jennifer]

Chelsi has game!!!

whew...it's been quite a while since I've been to a game that close at the end. My blood pressure was definitely soaring!

The tale of two halves. First was ugly, ugly, ugly.
Second was decent most of the time, spectacular at times, and once again ugly at times. But a win is a win.

I wondered why Chelsi sat so long in the 2nd. She came in and did indeed made some huge plays.
I believe Wadsworth is the only player who didn't play. Kate Scott and Steph Simon were both in at the same time for a while--I don't recall that happening in games I've seen before. Steph nailed a key 3 and played pretty well.

Theresa seemed to be struggling offensively. She seemed intimidated and also tended to bring the ball down when she caught it on the post. It's only my first time so see her play, so I'll assume it just wasn't her best outing. She did nail her free throws though!

Maria--wow! She's all she's been advertised.

All in all, this is going to be a fun team to watch develop over the season. I think their TO numbers will drop when they are all in little more in tune w/ playing together and know better where each other are on the floor. Sometimes someone would make a pass, but the receiving person had already made a cut or something...just not in sync.

Sandora Irvin didn't impress me at all. She played lazy and didn't seem to put much heart into it.

[YCN]

I'm a little concerned about the lack of productivity off the bench for the OU team. Several bench players are veterans and should be able to account for positive plays and perhaps 2-4 points per game on average. Instead I'm seeing 5 players get an extraordinary amount of court time, with the subs being played very little.

I think OU's subs played a grand total of 31 minutes in this game and scored 2 whole points. That just won't get it done when it comes to conference play!

I hate to say it, but I wish Coach Coale would play Beki Preston many more minutes right now than what she is getting, because if OU suffers an injury in the front court that isn't even of the season-ending type, if either Theresa or Stephanie are lost for a significant number of games, I could easily see OU having a very rough time of it during that stretch of games.

OU is extremely thin on D-I experience in the front court right now.

[labcoatguy]

Thats right. Remember when y'all were gettin' down on Chelsi Welch approximately two games ago? She saved the Sooners tonight.

The next player who I think needs to step up is Laura Andrews. Early in the season she and Higgins were ripping them from three point land, and now Andrews has gone really cold. I hope her breakout game comes soon.

And there's nothing more I would like than for Beky Preston (from the Duke City with love) to get more playing time, but she's really got to calm down and not turn the ball over so much. I'm pretty sure she has the highest turnover to minutes played ratio on the team.

[Jennifer]

From the DO:

With a chance to take the lead and a possible win, a double- teamed Tricia Payne forced up a wild shot from the corner with 1.3 seconds remaining. The Sooners came up with it.

"Obviously, I thought I was (fouled)," Payne said. "Apparently the officials didn't, but that's OK."

TCU's objection to the no-call led to a technical foul.


I was on the other side and opposite end of the court from this, so coudln't tell what happened down there. I never knew why the technical was called while at the game. I guess the radio people said that they called a timeout. I am inclined to believe them over the paper.

[Bobcat4956]

Went to the game tonight to see OU. So before I post my comments, you OU fans should know that I was actually pulling for OU to win for the BIG XII. The officiating was HORRIBLE. On both ends, but I think TCU definitely got the raw end of the deal, especially towards the end of the game. OU was VERY lucky to come out of this with a win. I had heard about the speed of Villareal (sp?). I did not see it. I actually thought Jackson was much quicker and faster. Both guards for OU take the ball to the basket very well, but both lack consistent outside shots. I was very impressed though with the way they attack the basket. I think the OU guards actually had more points in the paint than the post player did. Welch is an excellent outside shooter but is not very quick. I agree with the previous post that Schucknert (sp?) looked intimidated. And Sandora Irvin did not impress me either. Great physique, but lazy. She should be dominating with her size. TCU did not look like the same team UT blew out by 34. Coale is a joy to watch. She is REALLY into the game and I have gained a great deal of respect for her. All in all, a very lucky win for OU.

[Jimi]

I have absolutely no knowledge about this game but I would like to make an observation regarding players being lazy. It may be that you are right, but I think there is danger in making the assumption about what causes weak effort. It may be laziness, or it may be a medical condition we don't know about, or it may be the result of other causes we don't know about.

Twice in my liftime I have been very hard on a player for her effort only to find out later that there was a medical condition in one case and severe family trauma in the other.

I will get off my high horse in a minute, but please remember these young ladies are very exposed and vulnerable in front of our eyes. I think the observation that they seem to be too passive, or that they did not go after lose balls, run the floor strong etc. is very fair game. My only suggestion is that we should go a little light on assuming what the reason for that performance is. Of course the reason may be laziness (but I bet the coach has her ways of dealing with that). I don't think I would want to play for Sherri Coale and give a half hearted effort on purpose.

[swok34]

Jennifer....I saw the discrepancy in the technical when I read the paper. I know it came between Stephanie Luce's free throw's for getting fouled.....so, I'm not sure what it was for, could have actually been for either.

Actually against Wichita State, Laura Andrews stepped up big and played really well....I thought at the time if she continued to improve, she may earn a starting role over Simon. Laura Andrews
hails from the small town of Washington, Oklahoma...I don't think
she is as adapted to loud, hostile crowds, like maybe Chelsi or Beky.

Though I haven't heard any remarks from Coach Coale in regards to Beky Preston.....I suspect her defense keeps her from getting more minutes, and I've seen her at times not be strong with the ball. I've said many, many times that I think freshmen frontcourt players have the largest adjustment with the physicality of DI play. Beky may not develop where she can play significant minutes, but if she can come in and give Teresa a little rest, that might be enough.

If Maria wasn't faster than Dionnah on the court, she must have been sick or had her head full of final's stuff..... http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif

I think OU will have many games that will not only be down to the wire, they won't be pretty.......but, the W is what matters; and after what this team has suffered from loss of seniors and loss of injury.......they are doing a pretty durn good job.