Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to round two:
By virtue of round 1 and the play-in round, which both ended earlier this week, you have selected these four to compete for the final two spots in the final four of the inaugural soonerfans.com Hottest of OU Womens basketball poll.
Who will join Krista Sanchez and Stacey Dales? Read on to help decide!
Erin Higgins
Erin was demanded by many to be placed in this poll after a slight (but immediately corrected!) omission. The top seed after our little play-in round, Erin was the anchor of the transition years between our first Final Four appearance in 2002, and our most recent Final Four appearances in 2009 and this past season. Looking at Erin, you'd think she was a post player, but she really, really could hit an outside shot to fire up the crowd. A true leader that inspired her teammates and crowds alike. Her final seasons with OU ushered in the Paris twin era, but even with the future four-time All-American and her twin in the spotlight, fans' love for Erin never stopped.
Stephanie Simon (Hybl)
Fans of Sooner womens basketball probably remember the first Final Four's trio of first-round WNBA picks - Rosalyn Ross, LaNeisha Caufield, and of course, Stacey Dales. However, don't forget about Stephanie Simon, a walk-on in 1999 who, like Lauren Willis recently, worked hard without a scholarship to eventually earn one by 2002. Her hard work on the court and off the court has (absolutely no pun intended, I promise) led her to another court after earning her law degree from the University of Oklahoma. It is a badly kept secret that she married ex-OU quarterback Nate Hybl, but I'm sure you guys still love her anyway
Whitney Hand
Part of being a Sooner seems to mean to deal with adversity. After a stellar freshmen campaign with hotshot three-point shooting and a Final Four in your first season, you darn well should expect to improve to greater heights by your sophomore year. While OU returned to the Final Four, it was with Whitney on the sideline instead of starting. However, it is inspiring and touching to know that even though this girl has suffered probably the greatest disappointment of her athletic career with the ACL, she didn't give up on her team. We know she'll be back on the court next year, once again as a sophomore, and once again, we'll expect much of Whitney, because after all, ever since she's arrived on campus, OU's been having nothing but Final Four seasons.
Sherri Coale
If you love the fact that the Big 12 didn't crash and burn, don't thank Texas - thank Sherri Coale. There was no more outspoken coach among the schools making decisions (haha to Baylor's Kim Mulkey - you don't count!) in keeping the conference together than Sherri. When some coaches were like "ho hum, we'll do whatever whenever the decison's made," Sherri spoke adamantly for student-athletes and the good of the sport. Traveling to west coast night games was killer and as an honors grad and former English teacher, you know she wasn't speaking with dollar figure bullshizzle that everyone else was, but her educational mindset. Even if you had dreams of Pac-16 or the SEC, you have got to respect that Sherri will speak out for what she believes is right.
VOTING TIME!
Vote for all four, vote for one, but please at least vote for two. Voting lasts 10 days (because dang it, this is a lot of work!). Also, as you may have noticed in previous polls, voting is anonymous, so nobody 'cept the modadors will know who you voted for. It should also go without saying that you can only cast one ballot, so vote carefully!
In the interest of full disclosure, NP helped me pick out the pics this time
Originally Posted by badger
