Lady Sooners Primed For Conference Tournament Run

Sherri Coale's ladies are in Dallas for the Big 12 Women's Tournament and they're all business. Last Saturday's 66-56 win over Oklahoma State was their 19th on the season but most notably it was a road victory with nothing on the line. The Lady Sooners had already locked up the number two seed in the conference tournament and another win, or loss, wasn't going to affect that one bit.

At 12-5 in conference play the Sooners were well above the gridlock of the four teams below them. Typically when a team enters a situation where there's nothing to gain or lose there is a strong tendency to just coast on through. That wasn't the case on Saturday though as the Oklahoma's ladies outscored the Pokes by eleven in the second half to overcome a first half deficit and complete a season sweep.

Now it's that gridlock that could be OU's biggest obstacle in winning the conference crown. TCU, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Texas all finished with a 9-9 record in conference and are all dangerously capable of making some noise in the American Arilines Center.

The Sooners will await the winner of Friday night's #7/#10 match-up between West Virginia and Texas Tech. The loser of that contest will be sent packing and the winner gets first crack at Coale's Sooners. Waiting behind that game will be either #3 TCU or #6 Texas. OU swept the Horned Frogs this season but a double-overtime loss in Austin kept them with just a series split with the Longhorns.

Sophomore guard Peyton Little and junior forward Kaylon Williams are been the catalysts to Oklahoma's success this season and will need to continue to be such to keep the Sooners dancing in March. Little is averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game and is shooting 43% from the floor. She's complimented by Williams who is shooting a team-high 60% from the floor and averaging 11.9 points per game, along with 6.6 boards...which is also a team-high.

The Lady Sooners will play at 6:00 Saturday night in a game that will be broadcast on FSN.