PDA

View Full Version : OU women headed to Denver



Jay C. Upchurch
3/13/2006, 07:54 PM
NORMAN — The Oklahoma women's basketball team (29-4) has received an NCAA Tournament berth for the seventh straight season and will be a No. 2 seed in the San Antonio Regional. OU will open the first and second rounds against No. 15 seed Pepperdine (14-16) at the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver.

It marks OU highest seed since 2001-02, when OU was the No. 1seed and was the runner up for the National Championship. The Sooners were also a No. 2 seed in 2000-01 when they reached the Sweet 16 in Spokane, Wash.

The Sooners are making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and own an all-time 12-8 record in the Big Dance. Last season OU went to Knoxville as a No. 8 seed and lost to No. 9-seed Arizona, 72-69. Since 2000 OU is 8-5 in the tourney.

OU is coming off a season sweep of the Big 12 Confernce. The Sherri Coale became the first team to run the table during the regular season and Big 12 Championship for a combined record of 19-0. OU is the only team in the NCAA this season to accomplish the feat.

All NCAA Tournament games will be televised by the ESPN body of networks throughout the entire tournament.

Tickets are available to fans holding a season ticket to any OU sport. Beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, fans should call the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-4668 or (405) 325-2424 to make purchases.

OU SID

Jay C. Upchurch
3/13/2006, 10:35 PM
Quotes from OU about NCAA Women's Tourney...

Quotes
OU Head Coach Sherri Coale

Opening
"Were very excited about our opportunity and excited about the possibility of hopefully advancing onto San Antonio because it is a very good regional site and a lot of our fans can follow us, so it's great."

On the day
“It is fun to have the alumni back and to let them be a part of this. Stephanie Simon is in there and she was a part of our Final Four squad that played Connecticut for a national championship. It's so great to have them here. Our kids are very eager and ready to go compete."

On No. 2 seed
"I am fine with it. It does not really matter to me; you have to beat everybody at some point anyway. I do think North Carolinas bracket is a little messed up but it’s not ours so I am not going to worry about it."

On her bracket
"It’s tough if you have to potentially go through LSU and than that’s a tough road but their all going to be good. I am sure Pepperdine is going to be prepared and who ever looms after that, but we will take it one game at time."

On possibility of going back to San Antonio
"First of all we have to talk about Denver and I think that is a easy trip for a lot of fans. It is not like going to the east or west coast and we had a tremendous following in Dallas for the Big 12 Championship. I think people are really excited about our team and our potential and if we are fortunate to survive Denver and make it to san Antonio. I think a lot of Oklahoma people have some very fond memories of San Antonio, Texas."

On Stanford
"These guys lost to Stanford. This group of juniors and seniors lost to them out in Arizona after we beat Marist and Stanford got the six seed. I think they were probably the best six seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament. They were terrific that night and they beat us. Since then these have wanted another opportunity to play them, so maybe they will have that chance."

On the team's confidence
“We are very confident and we are very good together and I think they all know we have not been as good together yet as we can be.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Courtney Paris

Opening:
“I am just excited and nervous and overwhelmed and I don’t know what to expect. But it looks like we got a pretty good seed. I am more pumped up than ever. We have some special seniors, who deserve something special this year, so were going to go all out.”

On Pepperdine:
“They are in California. I am a California native, so I automatically have some love for them. I think this tournament is wide open if you are playing well at the right time. Pepperdine will have my full attention until Saturday."

On No. 2 seed:
“Honestly I did not know (what to expect). I have never been in these selections before and I just got nervous and wondered what it all meant. The other players were smiling as they figured things out. I really don’t think it matters. I think in order to be in the national championship you have to play your best basketball against the best competition and I think were capable of doing that.”

On potential opponents:
“Stanford is tough. They have Candice Wiggins and Austin Etherston and LSU has Sylvia Falls and Seimone Augustus. Its exciting to think about potentially playing Stanford and LSU that is exciting because that is big time basketball. I hope we get to that point and I hope they get to that point."

On fans:
“We have awesome fans and they have been coming through great for us and our seniors deserve their supportt. I hope they do come along for the ride with us because I think its going to be special.”

On team:
“I think we have been good for women’s basketball. That is probably what I am most proud of about our team is that we have been able to elevate our sport. Lloyd Noble sells out and the Big 12 championship has a record attendance that helps our program and that helps the girls that come after us and that s pretty cool.”

On what the team can accomplish:
“This team can go to practice tomorrow and prepare for Pepperdine. We can definitely win this whole thing I think everybody in this tournament can win it all but you have to take it one step at a time or it will get overwhelming.”

On Sylvia Fowles:
“I think she is a great player. She is tough, tall and athletic and I am very excited about the opportunity to hopefully play against her.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Erin Higgins

On No. 2 seed:
“I think we are in a great position. I think that the teams that got No.1 seeds were pretty deserving.I think we knew all along that we were probably going to be a 2 or even a 3 seed. But were excited and I think they put us in a really good position to be successful in the tournament.”

On Pepperdine:
“I don't know anything about them yet, but we will prepare like we are playing a No. 1 seed. They are in the tournament, so automatically they are dangerous. We will spend the rest of the week preparing for them and focusing on what we need to do to be a great team.”

On talk of No. 1 seed
“For a split second when Tennessee got the 2 seed we thought just maybe, maybe we will be a No. 1 seed and than we saw we got the No. 2 seed. If you are a 1, 2, or 3 seed I think you have a pretty good shot of doing the same thing. We made Kara Lawson's Final Four, that is what I’m excited about. When it came up there that we on her list of Final Fours I was really excited.”

OU SID

MiccoMacey
3/13/2006, 10:41 PM
Great job, Jay.