Norman —
The Oklahoma women have lost four times, twice now since conference play began, and have slid to No. 21 in the latest Associated Press Top 25.
On the other hand, they’re a picture of confidence exiting an 82-65 loss at No. 1 Baylor and heading into today’s 7 p.m. tip against TCU.
Only three weeks ago, the Horned Frogs (7-11, 0-7 Big 12) played perhaps their most inspired game of the season, only to come up 85-79 losers to OU (15-4, 5-2).
The Sooners played a very good game in Fort Worth to stave off the challenge, but that’s not where their confidence is coming from tonight. That goes back to Baylor.
The presence of the college game’s most dominant player, Brittney Griner, led to OU shooting a horrible 27.8 percent (20 of 72) four days ago at Ferrell Center.
Nonetheless, Sooner coach Sherri Coale liked the way her team played and liked where more of it will take her team beginning tonight.
“Maybe you don’t beat the No. 1 team in the country, especially on their home floor. Maybe you don’t beat the No. 2 or 3 teams in the country,” she said. “But the rest of them, that stuff we did wins games. (Our players) get that. I think they understand what they were able to do against an extremely talented team.”
If OU can play with the confidence Coale’s describing, they could find themselves in a very good place in a few short weeks.
Every game is the first game of the rest of any season, but the old adage really applies to the Sooners.
After tonight, OU travels to West Virginia and Kansas State and plays host to No. 19 Oklahoma State and No. 23 Iowa State before traveling to Kansas, which is unranked but is still receiving votes in the AP poll. All presume to be difficult games. Also, each one is quite winnable.
How OU fares over the stretch will determine where it finishes in the Big 12 race. If the Sooners can win them all or all but one, they could reach their goal of finishing second, behind Baylor, in the conference race.
“We know if we win these next five games, (which) we know we’re capable of winning, it separates us from the whole pack,” junior point guard Morgan Hook said. “Right now, in second, third, fourth and fifth; all of us have two or three losses.”
“The pack,” in addition to OU, includes Texas Tech, Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
“Finishing second in the Big 12, that would set us up for the Big 12 tournament and for the NCAA tournament, with a head of steam going into it,” Hook said.
The feelings have not always been so warm and fuzzy exiting a meeting with the Lady Bears. They weren’t last season when OU fell 89-58 to Baylor at Lloyd Noble Center or after falling 81-54 in Waco.
“When you lose, there are two directions you can go, and we came away from the Baylor game, ironically, feeling confident.” Coale said. “I think it was a demeanor and an aggression and a resolve that our guys understand will win games.”
If the Sooners can win tonight, they could be on their way.
“We’re very excited about taking the floor again,” Coale said. “There’s a sense of urgency.”
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OU women advance in conference
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Central Oklahoma softballers make World Series again
Hayley Hudson gave Central Oklahoma a 5-4 lead with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos staved off a seventh-inning Winona State threat to capture the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional championship Saturday afternoon at Edmond North High School.
The Warriors put two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in a bid to pull out a late win and force a deciding game in the best-of-three series, but left fielder Devyn Frazier made a running catch in foul territory for the final out to set off a wild celebration on the field.
UCO improved to 47-11 — a school-record for wins — with its 23th consecutive home victory and advanced to the Division II World Series for the second straight year. The Bronchos will face Armstrong Atlantic in the eight-team World Series at 11 a.m. Thursday in Salem, Va.
“I’d say that was a nail-biter,” head coach Genny Stidham said. “It was a good game, both teams played well. Winona has a great team and they didn’t give up, but we came up with some big plays and came out on top. -
Central Oklahoma golf coach picks up award
Central Oklahoma’s Michael Bond has been named the NCAA Division II Central Region Coach of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, with Aly Seng and Erica Bensch both earning All-Central Region honors.
Bond led the Bronchos to perhaps the best season in school history in 2012-13 with top-five finishes in 10 of their 12 tournaments. UCO won three titles, including the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association crown and its first-ever regional championship, and finished 10th in the Division II national tournament. -
Workman's blast cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. -
Online registration for 2013 UCO Endeavor Games now open
Registration is now open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
Deer Creek drops Carl Albert again for state title
They did it again.
The Deer Creek girls soccer team knocked off rival Carl Albert in the Class 5A state soccer title game for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Antlers, led by freshman Lauren Haivala’s two goals, topped the Titans 2-1 May 10 at Noble High School.
On May 7, Deer Creek blanked Tulsa Edison 2-zip in the semifinals for a chance to play for its fourth state championship in girls soccer. - More Sports Headlines
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