OU v A&M

[DblT81]

The Sooners have 7 turnovers in the first 5+ minutes.

Aggies lead 15-9.

[swok34]

oh, aren't young teams so much fun http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif

In the second half, A & M leads 41-38.

[DblT81]

I wonder what is going on in Coale's stomach about now?

[YCN]

FG%
A&M 43.9
OU 34.2

Turnovers
A&M 6
OU 15

Blocks
A&M 4
OU 1

Steals
A&M 10
OU 1

I think I'm gonna hurl.

[swok34]

I wonder what is going on in Coale's stomach about now?

No kidding. And where did Lauren Shoush come from?.....

that's it, I'm not putting any more OU players on my Hoopla team....I think I've jinxed both Chelsi and Laura http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/frown.gif

But if it's a call between high turnovers and the offense going at the same time.......I'll take 'em. They look so deflated in the Kansas State game when they couldn't hit anything.

[This message has been edited by swok34 (edited 02-05-2003).]

[YCN]

I think I jinxed the rest of them.

[DblT81]

20-24 free throws and huge rebounding edge is bringing OU back 50-49. They'll probably win now but it won't be fun I bet on the trip back to Norman.

Don't you like A&M stats page?

[swok34]

oh, the foul trouble http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/frown.gif

I really like A & M's live stats, I think you are right dblt...
so many college sites have gone to the OCSN...which might be the college sports network....and half the time they don't even do the gametracker.

If A & M could make their free-throws, they'd be up by 10....

maybe this is Chelsi's time to shine.......oh no, 4 players with 4 fouls.

[This message has been edited by swok34 (edited 02-05-2003).]

[YCN]

Let's see, 10 healthy players, four with 4 fouls...

Things are getting a little dicey here. With 8:32 remaining, will we be able to field a starting 5 at the end of the game?

[swok34]

splat.......Dionnah sits.

[YCN]

I think splat defines this entire game. Supposedly OU wasn't going to look past A&M, but clearly that was not the case.

[swok34]

I don't think they overlooked A & M......I think OU may have hit the wall with so many freshmen and newcomers.

Who knows? At least they had some offense tonite, even though they didn't really shoot very well.



[This message has been edited by swok34 (edited 02-05-2003).]

[snizave]

Wow! This score stunned me when I saw it. I figured OU might have some troubles with it being a road game and all, but I didn't expect them to lose. I guess Sherri Coale is human after all, but it's still amazing what's been accomplished with this group of young girls. What's even more amazing is that I was the only one to pick A&M to win this game. I wasn't all that serious when I made the pick, and when you pick as many upsets as I like to, you're bound to hit one sometime. Anyway, great win A&M, and don't worry Sooners, this is a rebuilding year, remember. Next year will be VERY interesting in the race for the Big 12 championship.

Snizave

[Bball Girl]

A&M is a dangerous team. They are very quick and play a harrassing defense...last year, I seem to remember the Sooners and the 'Horns having a huge number of turnovers and they rest of us didn't fare a whole lot better.

That and foul trouble can really take you out of your sync and with a young team, that can really hurt.

Nothing for the Sooners to be ashamed of...we all get usually get bit by someone before the Big 12 season is over.

[YCN]

Bball Girl, if OU had played Tennessee tonight, they would have lost by 70.

I am aware of OU's shortcomings, and right now the shortcoming that I'm most aware of is no one stepping into the void to stop the bleeding. At this moment in time OU isn't even an average team. It's entirely up to them to decide to salvage their pride and play like they care the rest of the season.

Coach Coale has repeatedly mentioned turnovers and how they are hurting this team, so as an encore for their lowest-turnover game of the year, they go out and turn the ball over 23 (or whatever obscene number it is) times.

We have a senior who was a Pac-10 all-freshman team player and NAIA player of the year, and a two-time juco All-American, and both of them are playing as though they don't care.

What kind of message are our freshmen and sophomores supposed to take from that?

[Jennifer]

Ouch. http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/frown.gif

Just got home, saw the score. Can I say Ouch again?

Well, it's only February. March is still--just a month away??? Geez.

[schooner2]

I guess I'll just try to reiterate what YCN and other Sooner fans are feeling. I too don't think you can just chalk up the A&M loss as one of those typical "gotchas" on the road in the Big 12 while being a young team. This young team has already proved that they can win on the road in tougher places like Baylor. Plus, OU manhandled the Aggies by some 38 points or something like that earlier in a game that was simply no contest.

At some point you have to call a spade a spade. The Sooners may be a more disciplined team or better coached team than A&M, but if you are a bad shooting team that doesn't know how to take care of the ball - you will lose to inferior teams. Actually I guess bad shooting and lots of turnovers, game after game after game, kinda makes you an inferior team to lots of others. A&M had 9 turnovers to OU's 23? When will it stop? Ever? Doesn't look like it. OU can barely dream of having a game with only 9 turnovers let alone even sniff the 40% field goal mark. 40%! That would be a wonderful field goal pct. for OU in the last several games they played.

Beats me what you do to wake a team up and have them shoot better from the field and take care of the ball, I'm sure the OU coaches are racking their brains about what to do.

OU can't afford another loss like this one if they want to finish in the top-half of the Big 12. Forget about the games at Lubbock and Austin, right now OU's fate will be determined by how they do @Colorado, and at home against Baylor, Iowa State, and Missouri.

[swok34]

Forget about the games at Lubbock and Austin, right now OU's fate will be determined by how they do @Colorado, and at home against Baylor, Iowa State, and Missouri.

Did you give them a chance in Austin and Lubbock BEFORE tonite's game?.....I didn't and after tonite's game, the home games have become pretty critical wins.

A & M had a lot better post play than they did in Norman, and they also were pretty aggressive about going after the ball on inbounds plays.....I was actually surprised that they had so very few steals here in Norman.

Maria played better than she has the past 3 games, though standing out of bounds when you team is inbounding the ball to you is a truly "flaky" turnover....Coale did make the comment in her pre-game that Maria would have started last night had she not been sick this week and had missed a practice because of it.

Now if only Schuknecht could hit the chippies http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif

I thought Beky Preston played outstanding, she was looking for her shot more and rebounding.

By the sounds of it, they were calling it pretty tight down in the post.

I'll reiterate a concern I've had since Caton and Erin and Stephanie went down, will the freshmen and newcomers hit a wall down the stretch?.....they may have. It will be interesting to see how they respond on Sunday for bedlam. Sure wish the Big XII would have saved OU's week off for about right now.

[JohnHenry]

Woah ! Mama!

So just about everyone is 5-1 this week, I guess. Wow.

I figured the inexperience would catch up with this gang of overachievers at some point, but I didn't think for a second that it would be in College Station. I said Monday that A&M had a few decent athletes, but little discipline or execution - looks like they pulled it together some at home.

I'll be damned if any game other than KSU - OSU is a gimme this year.
Don't despair, Sooners. Think how much better this team is gonna be next year with the same great coach PLUS all these hard lessons on their resume. I'm thinking 8-8 right now, and probably 5th or 6th place.

I bet the Bears are lickin' their chops for that trip to Norman now...

------------------
http://www.texassports.com/images/photo_gallery/2002_03/001/wbb_122102/images/last_shot.jpg

[This message has been edited by JohnHenry (edited 02-06-2003).]

[metromaniac]

The game was totally ugly for both teams. Keys---Classen careers, scores 23 and exceeds her season average by 14 points; 7 turnovers in the first 5 minutes set tone and got A&M thinking maybe,,,; an NBA three "just thrown at the rim" to beat the shot clock---dang near swishes,,,would have made SportCenter if a mens game-- but goes in for a 4 point lead with just under 2 min's---

Questions---Has the change of starters, removing Theresa and Maria helped? Looks like it has adversely effected our starts, both early point production and turnovers. Unless an unlikely Sooner careers, like Andrews at Baylor, we just need the points more than the demotion. If Maria was going to start vs A&M---but she was sick one day and missed a practice,(as reported earlier) I say let the season leading scorer of the team play,,,

Just a general question-----What the heck is going on???? If it is just youngsters hitting the wall, we should all expect it and understand. If it is something else, I truly hope we can fix it.

[Jennifer]

Originally posted by metromaniac:
Just a general question-----What the heck is going on???? If it is just youngsters hitting the wall, we should all expect it and understand. If it is something else, I truly hope we can fix it.

I do wonder if it's the proverbial wall they are hitting. With the exception of Dionnah, this team has noone used to the rigors of NCAA D-1 Big 12 ball (I threw the Big 12 reference in for Theresa-though she's played D-1, it was in the PAC 10 and we all know that's a far cry from the Big 12! http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif) Freshmen are getting a lot of minutes, and others like Shoush and Luce have not seen significant minutes in their careers until now. So...maybe that's it. It will get fixed. I have faith. http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif

[Go Buffs]

Coach Barry commented on the score of this game in her post-game radio show last night. She commented that Texas A&M pulls at least one big upset at home each year (Iowa State last year) and they are a very quick and dangerous team.

With CU's turnover problems on the road the last few games, our game at A&M on Saturday really scares me. Hope A&M got it all out of their system last night!

One thing CU has going for them is that Tera LOVES playing in the state of Texas. She has had two of the bast games of her career at Austin and at College Station.

[swok34]

gobuffs, I was actually surprised that Texas A & M played so poorly in Norman. They had very few steals, which is not a TAMU team with Toccara Williams.

They SOUNDED so much more like the TAMU team Wednesday nite that I've grown accustomed to hearing....and then they had their post offense going.

Sherri talked about "the wall"....well sort of. She was talking about the transition from high school or juco to DI ball and the speed of the game. I've always thought it was the fatigue factor that came into play at this time of the year, but she mentioned how sometimes your shots are rushed, players aren't as open for shots as they were in high school....the level of defense is of course, a whole different game. It was interesting, and I heard some things I hadn't necessarily thought of.

But she also mentioned that this OU team is trying to live up to the level of success of last year's team...and that was a senior ladened team that had played together for 2 years, some players for 4 years in Caufield and Dales. So, I really think they have simply put to large a load on their backs......as a fan, I DO NOT have high expectations for this team.....they are very, very young players....some coming from very small schools a la Laura Andrews. Just want to see them go out and fight every game and have fun and get lost in the game they all love...

Sherri was mentioning that it's easier for the girls to understand if they can SEE what they mean....a la Caufield demonstrating.....but there just haven't been many players around that could do that. Ross sounds as though she may be doing a little practicing with them; Caufield was but is in Houston to be in a developmental league.

[Go Buffs]

Nicely said, swok. Glad to see there are other realistic fans of their teams besides me!

I know Nightingale, Roulier, Hartshorn, and Bohman went through the same struggles as freshmen and even as sophomores, as they were trying to replace Scott, Scholz, Terry, and Weathers who went to 4 straight NCAA tournaments, with 2 Sweet 16s, 1 Elite 8, and 1 round of 32 finish.