I think the Baylor fans see this much as a lot of OU fans saw this. Baylor was better than OU. It would take an upset for OU to beat Baylor, and upset of major proportions. Some of us had been saying how OU could win. Several believed.
When Sherri stood in front of the crowd pumping her fist, she wasn't celebrating an upset. That is too ephemeral to celebrate that much. Sherri was making a statement, "we're back!" She has watched this young team develop, and she has had faith. She believed in Kay Kay when I certainly didn't. Kay Kay didn't let her down this time. Kay Kay didn't let herself down this time.
Tango is right about Gabbi. Gabbi's improvement was a key to this game. She had to be able to contain or at least slow down Niya. We had to have someone keep Nina off the boards. We even had Nina's shots get blocked a couple of times.
The team celebrated because they realized for the first time that they had made a statement. They're back. By playing together, they can play with anyone. They may not beat UConn. But, they won't back down and cower as they did in the first game against Baylor. As Sherri said, we played no defense in the first game. Even when we began to score, they kept the lead because we played defense in a panic mode for forty minutes. We had no panic in us this time.
It makes it easier on Gioya if she doesn't have to have a great game. It makes it easier on Peyton if she can miss a shot. It makes it easier on Kay Kay if she doesn't have to block the shot. They can win by just doing it right for forty minutes. If you do it right, the dry spells last a couple of minutes, not ten. The runs are six, not twenty-six.
Once you learn what they now know, the game becomes easier. There is no reason to panic against Kansas or Oklahoma State. Just come to play. Do that every game.
