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OU Women’s Basketball How ‘Ted Lasso’ helped Oklahoma claim its first victory of the season
By Joe Buettner
Transcript Sports Editor
Sherri Coale is embracing her inner Ted Lasso amid unprecedented circumstances — and perhaps doing a bit of pandemic television binging like the rest of us.
The long-time Oklahoma skipper has drawn from the fictional football coach, known for his unbreakable optimism in the face of adversity and main character of the Apple TV+ series of the same name, with just six players available to her.
The Sooners’ depleted roster, which is at its minimum of how many OU can carry and still play, is a result of COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. and Coale, wearing her emotions on her Jumpman sweatshirt’s sleeves, couldn’t have been prouder of her shorthanded group, winning its first game of the 2020-21 season by topping Texas State 52-40 on Sunday.
“Not to not be trite, it’s why we do what we, do” Coale said of the team’s effort. “The win is great, that stuff is gravy. We’re proud that we took care of it on our home floor, and all those little things, but finding your heartbeat, figuring out how to believe in yourself and your teammates and the process, that’s why we do what we do.
“So, I’m a card-carrying member of the Ted Lasso fan club, I’ll tell you that right now. He played a big role in this one, I’ll give him that, he needs a shoutout.”
Lasso, portrayed by Jason Sudeikis, embodies positivity and finding a way, and the Sooners found theirs against the Bobcats in their second game in four days.
OU lost its last outing to Kansas with the same six-player rotation. and Texas State was within three at halftime, looking to hand OU its fourth consecutive loss.
The Sooners pulled away to a 12-point lead, however, by the third quarter’s end and matched the Bobcats’ game-best 12 points in the final frame to prevail.
It was what OU couldn’t do in the first 20 minutes, though, that made it feel like it could come out on top.
“At halftime, they felt really good about having a lead, despite the way we had shot it,” Coale said. “I just feel like they they said, ‘OK, if this can happen and we’re still in the lead, we’re gonna play a lot better in the second half.’” Indeed, the Sooners shot 28.6% from the floor through the first two periods before hitting 60% of their shots in the final two.
OU was led by sophomore Gabby Gregory, who scored 16 points on 4 of 7 shooting and made all eight of her free-throw attempts.
Sooner freshmen Navaeh Tot and Skylar Vann also scored in double figures, providing 12 and 11 points, respectively, and playing all 40 minutes on Sunday.
Gregory was complimentary of the freshmen, who have assumed large roles just four games into their college careers.
“For them to have to just be thrown into it like that, it’s huge the way that they’re playing, Sky and Tot,” Gregory said. “I think Tot [on Sunday] and at Kansas, she looks like a point guard. She knows what she’s doing. She doesn’t look like a freshman.”
The Sooners will have a short turnaround and the same number of players available, Coale said, when they host Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Seeing the scoreboard in their favor at the end of the game should go a long way for OU’s resilient group, especially after how poorly its offense played in the opening half against Texas State but kept pushing to lasso their first victory.
“We’re not going to shoot the ball that terrible again,” Gregory said. “If we just come in and play like that, we will be fine. We just gotta come in, play hard, guard and we’ll be fine.”
By Joe Buettner
Transcript Sports Editor
Sherri Coale is embracing her inner Ted Lasso amid unprecedented circumstances — and perhaps doing a bit of pandemic television binging like the rest of us.
The long-time Oklahoma skipper has drawn from the fictional football coach, known for his unbreakable optimism in the face of adversity and main character of the Apple TV+ series of the same name, with just six players available to her.
The Sooners’ depleted roster, which is at its minimum of how many OU can carry and still play, is a result of COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. and Coale, wearing her emotions on her Jumpman sweatshirt’s sleeves, couldn’t have been prouder of her shorthanded group, winning its first game of the 2020-21 season by topping Texas State 52-40 on Sunday.
“Not to not be trite, it’s why we do what we, do” Coale said of the team’s effort. “The win is great, that stuff is gravy. We’re proud that we took care of it on our home floor, and all those little things, but finding your heartbeat, figuring out how to believe in yourself and your teammates and the process, that’s why we do what we do.
“So, I’m a card-carrying member of the Ted Lasso fan club, I’ll tell you that right now. He played a big role in this one, I’ll give him that, he needs a shoutout.”
Lasso, portrayed by Jason Sudeikis, embodies positivity and finding a way, and the Sooners found theirs against the Bobcats in their second game in four days.
OU lost its last outing to Kansas with the same six-player rotation. and Texas State was within three at halftime, looking to hand OU its fourth consecutive loss.
The Sooners pulled away to a 12-point lead, however, by the third quarter’s end and matched the Bobcats’ game-best 12 points in the final frame to prevail.
It was what OU couldn’t do in the first 20 minutes, though, that made it feel like it could come out on top.
“At halftime, they felt really good about having a lead, despite the way we had shot it,” Coale said. “I just feel like they they said, ‘OK, if this can happen and we’re still in the lead, we’re gonna play a lot better in the second half.’” Indeed, the Sooners shot 28.6% from the floor through the first two periods before hitting 60% of their shots in the final two.
OU was led by sophomore Gabby Gregory, who scored 16 points on 4 of 7 shooting and made all eight of her free-throw attempts.
Sooner freshmen Navaeh Tot and Skylar Vann also scored in double figures, providing 12 and 11 points, respectively, and playing all 40 minutes on Sunday.
Gregory was complimentary of the freshmen, who have assumed large roles just four games into their college careers.
“For them to have to just be thrown into it like that, it’s huge the way that they’re playing, Sky and Tot,” Gregory said. “I think Tot [on Sunday] and at Kansas, she looks like a point guard. She knows what she’s doing. She doesn’t look like a freshman.”
The Sooners will have a short turnaround and the same number of players available, Coale said, when they host Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Seeing the scoreboard in their favor at the end of the game should go a long way for OU’s resilient group, especially after how poorly its offense played in the opening half against Texas State but kept pushing to lasso their first victory.
“We’re not going to shoot the ball that terrible again,” Gregory said. “If we just come in and play like that, we will be fine. We just gotta come in, play hard, guard and we’ll be fine.”