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Pierre-Louis hopes to keep hot start going against Mustangs
By Tyler Palmateer
CNHI Sports Oklahoma
Vionise Pierre-Louis didn’t know she would have to run so much so early in the season.
Actually, she didn’t know she’d have to run this much ever.
Oklahoma’s 6-foot-5 center somehow managed her way through the Sooners’ 111-108 overtime loss to DePaul on Monday, in what became a track meet for the ages.
The Blue Demons’ fourguard look may as well have included five guards. Pierre-Louis’ defensive assignment, Mart’e Grays, rarely played inside during the fast-paced affair.
“I’ve never played in a game where all five guys ran for 45 minutes,” Pierre-Louis said. “It’s
just not something I was comfortable with. Even in high school, it wasn’t something I was comfortable with. I had to challenge myself getting up and down the court.” She still managed to carve out a big role, scoring 24 points and grabbing 16 rebounds to become the first Sooner since Courtney Paris to record back-to-back double-doubles to open a season.
It marked a hot start for the Lake Worth, Florida, product, who is now 10th nationally in field-goal percentage at 83.3 percent (20 of 24) heading into the No. 21 Sooners’’ home game Friday against SMU (7 p.m., FSOK).
Pierre-Louis is second nationally among players who have attempted more than 20 field goals.
She wasn’t thrilled with how she played against DePaul and felt her exhaustion showed, but OU coach Sherri Coale didn’t share that sentiment.
“It was a tough game for her. The toughest of circumstances, because it took her out of what she typically does, and I thought she handled it like a pro,” Coale said. “She did not let frustration creep in. She could have. She moved right on to the next play.
“She did not allow the speed of the game to effect her when she was around the rim. She shot [6 of 8], so I thought it was a landmark game for her in terms of reflecting her growth.”
For all her personal success so far, Pierre-Louis understands the Sooners (1-1) have work to do defensively.
They spent some extra time on that end of the floor during Wednesday’s practice, after DePaul made 19 of 45 shots from 3-point range.
“We need to have a defensive demeanor — defensive dogs,” Pierre-Louis said. “We should not let any team score over 80 points on us.”
Coale saw the game — which helped set a record for most combined points in back-to-back games in OU history — as a valuable learning experience.
The result was disappointing, with Blue Demons guard Amarah Coleman hitting a guarded 3-pointer at the buzzer to win, which could drop OU from the next Associated Press rankings.
But there were lessons to learn, namely at the 3-point line where DePaul made 19 of 45 attempts.
OU can talk its way through screens better, Coale believes.
“They came from, some out of transition. They really jam the ball down your throat,” Coale said. “[For freshmen] without a doubt, the single toughest part of the game to get up to speed to is transition. It happens so fast and is so much more complicated than high school.”
“A lot of [3s] came from not communicating well in half court, because they hit you with so many screens.
That’s really good for us it happened now, because we can get better at that.”
By Tyler Palmateer
CNHI Sports Oklahoma
Vionise Pierre-Louis didn’t know she would have to run so much so early in the season.
Actually, she didn’t know she’d have to run this much ever.
Oklahoma’s 6-foot-5 center somehow managed her way through the Sooners’ 111-108 overtime loss to DePaul on Monday, in what became a track meet for the ages.
The Blue Demons’ fourguard look may as well have included five guards. Pierre-Louis’ defensive assignment, Mart’e Grays, rarely played inside during the fast-paced affair.
“I’ve never played in a game where all five guys ran for 45 minutes,” Pierre-Louis said. “It’s
just not something I was comfortable with. Even in high school, it wasn’t something I was comfortable with. I had to challenge myself getting up and down the court.” She still managed to carve out a big role, scoring 24 points and grabbing 16 rebounds to become the first Sooner since Courtney Paris to record back-to-back double-doubles to open a season.
It marked a hot start for the Lake Worth, Florida, product, who is now 10th nationally in field-goal percentage at 83.3 percent (20 of 24) heading into the No. 21 Sooners’’ home game Friday against SMU (7 p.m., FSOK).
Pierre-Louis is second nationally among players who have attempted more than 20 field goals.
She wasn’t thrilled with how she played against DePaul and felt her exhaustion showed, but OU coach Sherri Coale didn’t share that sentiment.
“It was a tough game for her. The toughest of circumstances, because it took her out of what she typically does, and I thought she handled it like a pro,” Coale said. “She did not let frustration creep in. She could have. She moved right on to the next play.
“She did not allow the speed of the game to effect her when she was around the rim. She shot [6 of 8], so I thought it was a landmark game for her in terms of reflecting her growth.”
For all her personal success so far, Pierre-Louis understands the Sooners (1-1) have work to do defensively.
They spent some extra time on that end of the floor during Wednesday’s practice, after DePaul made 19 of 45 shots from 3-point range.
“We need to have a defensive demeanor — defensive dogs,” Pierre-Louis said. “We should not let any team score over 80 points on us.”
Coale saw the game — which helped set a record for most combined points in back-to-back games in OU history — as a valuable learning experience.
The result was disappointing, with Blue Demons guard Amarah Coleman hitting a guarded 3-pointer at the buzzer to win, which could drop OU from the next Associated Press rankings.
But there were lessons to learn, namely at the 3-point line where DePaul made 19 of 45 attempts.
OU can talk its way through screens better, Coale believes.
“They came from, some out of transition. They really jam the ball down your throat,” Coale said. “[For freshmen] without a doubt, the single toughest part of the game to get up to speed to is transition. It happens so fast and is so much more complicated than high school.”
“A lot of [3s] came from not communicating well in half court, because they hit you with so many screens.
That’s really good for us it happened now, because we can get better at that.”