No. 1 UConn visits Norman
Oklahoma women’s basketball team knows the challenges that await Wednesday night when No. 1 UConn comes to town to face the Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center.
NORMAN — The Oklahoma women’s basketball team knows the challenges that await Wednesday when No. 1 UConn comes to town to face the Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center (7:30 p.m., FS1).
“They are the gold standard so you measure yourself by that,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “There’s not anybody else like ’em.”
But even at 3-6, the Sooners aren’t about to lie down against the Huskies.
“We’ve just got to come in with the same mindset that we’ve had every other game,” freshman Taylor Robertson said.
The biggest challenge for Oklahoma on the court will be the Huskies’ length, especially in 6-foot-2 forward Napheesa Collier and 6-3 Katie Lou Samuelson.
“(Collier and Samuelson) are anomalies because of their smooth and sure skill sets, but also their length,” Coale said. “They’re (almost) 6-4 guards — two of them. They are one another’s greatest asset because you can’t just pay attention to one.
“They just run their offense with such poise and comfort.”
Both are seniors. Oklahoma is a team primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores.
“So they ought to be poised. They ought to be comfortable,” Coale said. “We’re still trying to figure out where we parked our car most of the time and that’s how we play, a little rattled.
“But that’s OK. I will take that right now for creating the habit of the pace you have to play at to be successful at a high level. The rest of it will come. We’ll grow from trying to defend their poise and their comfort and their length.”
Freshman Madi Williams figures to get a healthy dose of trying to stop both Collier and Samuelson.
Williams was one of the top recruits in the 2018 signing class and though she wasn’t recruited by UConn, said she didn’t want to be either.
“They had won so many national championships that I wanted to be a part of a team who would beat them,” Williams said.
Oklahoma isn’t likely there yet, but Coale and her players say they’ve seen encouraging signs even as they’ve dropped six of their last seven games.
“We get stunned a little bit and we hit those stretches — I call them black ice, where we’re just going to slide until we stop and then we slide and we get our feet back on the ground and we’re pretty good,” Coale said, "Overall, we’re learning how to play harder for longer — player for player and then collectively. That gives you a chance. It’s kind of like the price of admission.” CONNECTICUT AT OKLAHOMA
•When:
•Where: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman
•TV: FS1 (Cox 67/HD 728, Dish 150, DirecTV 219, U-Verse 652/HD 1652)
•Radio: KOKC 1520 AM, KREF 99.3 FM/1400 AM
Three things to know
•UConn is No. 4 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 87.9 points per game, and No. 8 in scoring defense, allowing 53.0 points per game. The Huskies have held opponents to 42 or fewer points three times.
•Ninety-six percent of Oklahoma’s points come from freshmen or sophomores.
•UConn has won all 11 meetings between the teams, including last year’s 88-64 win in Uncasville, Conn. 7:30 p.m., Wednesday