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Sooners fatigued after playing too often with too few players
By Abby Bitterman
For The Transcript
Down 24 points in the fourth quarter, OU faced its biggest deficit of the game Tuesday night when Skylar Vann found herself wide open under the basket.
Neveah Tot hit her fellow freshman with a quick pass and Vann put in the easy layup. Sophomore Gabby Gregory hit a 3-pointer on the Sooners’ next possession after Tot stole the ball from Oklahoma State (4-2, 1-0 Big 12). Vann followed that up with a 3-point basket of her own.
Scoring became contagious for OU (1-4, 0-2 Big 12) for the first time in the game.
Vann’s layup triggered a 14-0 scoring run for the Sooners, but the comeback attempt proved too little, too late as Oklahoma State beat OU 66-53 in the first Bedlam game of the season inside Lloyd Noble Center.
“You could see the character of our team in the fourth quarter,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “A lesser bunch would have just packed it up and said ‘We’ll play another day,’ and the character of our guys wouldn’t allow that.”
After a slow start that saw OU only score 8 points in the first quarter and 20 points in the first half, the Sooners finished the game with their best ball. OU scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
“We were able to get back and play at the pace we’ve practiced with for40 plus days getting ready for the season,” Coale said. “… and you could see in that fourth quarter that that’s our sweet spot. That’s the way we like to play. But we’ve got to do what we have to do to survive during this.”
Coale placed most of the blame for the loss on fatigue. Bedlam marked OU’s third game in six days — a stretch that started with a loss at Kansas last Thursday, followed by a win over Texas State on Sunday.
The quick turnaround time between games has been especially hard while OU’s 9-playr roster has been cut down due to COVID-19 contact tracing.
“It’s hard,” Coale said. “Three games in six days with six players is hard. I thought we showed the effects of that tonight.”
OU now gets four days off before playing South Dakota on Sunday. The break should give the Sooners a chance to practice, something Coale said the team hasn’t been able to do lately.
“I made a joke today, we don’t even have a walk-through, we have a talk-through,” Coale said. “Because we’re just trying to get as much information as we can and preserve as much energy as we can.
“So it will be nice to actually practice and work on some things that create positive timing and reap dividends on both ends of the floor.”
By Abby Bitterman
For The Transcript
Down 24 points in the fourth quarter, OU faced its biggest deficit of the game Tuesday night when Skylar Vann found herself wide open under the basket.
Neveah Tot hit her fellow freshman with a quick pass and Vann put in the easy layup. Sophomore Gabby Gregory hit a 3-pointer on the Sooners’ next possession after Tot stole the ball from Oklahoma State (4-2, 1-0 Big 12). Vann followed that up with a 3-point basket of her own.
Scoring became contagious for OU (1-4, 0-2 Big 12) for the first time in the game.
Vann’s layup triggered a 14-0 scoring run for the Sooners, but the comeback attempt proved too little, too late as Oklahoma State beat OU 66-53 in the first Bedlam game of the season inside Lloyd Noble Center.
“You could see the character of our team in the fourth quarter,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “A lesser bunch would have just packed it up and said ‘We’ll play another day,’ and the character of our guys wouldn’t allow that.”
After a slow start that saw OU only score 8 points in the first quarter and 20 points in the first half, the Sooners finished the game with their best ball. OU scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
“We were able to get back and play at the pace we’ve practiced with for40 plus days getting ready for the season,” Coale said. “… and you could see in that fourth quarter that that’s our sweet spot. That’s the way we like to play. But we’ve got to do what we have to do to survive during this.”
Coale placed most of the blame for the loss on fatigue. Bedlam marked OU’s third game in six days — a stretch that started with a loss at Kansas last Thursday, followed by a win over Texas State on Sunday.
The quick turnaround time between games has been especially hard while OU’s 9-playr roster has been cut down due to COVID-19 contact tracing.
“It’s hard,” Coale said. “Three games in six days with six players is hard. I thought we showed the effects of that tonight.”
OU now gets four days off before playing South Dakota on Sunday. The break should give the Sooners a chance to practice, something Coale said the team hasn’t been able to do lately.
“I made a joke today, we don’t even have a walk-through, we have a talk-through,” Coale said. “Because we’re just trying to get as much information as we can and preserve as much energy as we can.
“So it will be nice to actually practice and work on some things that create positive timing and reap dividends on both ends of the floor.”
