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Sooner squads have chances to take steps forward Oklahoma respects No. 1 UConn, but eager to face the Huskies’ challenge
Asked about playing top-ranked Connecticut in what equates to a road environment, Oklahoma guard Gabbi Ortiz offered a respectful answer praising UConn’s tradition and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to challenge it.
Freshman guard Ana Llanusa did the same.
“Ditto,” OU redshirt Gileysa Penzo deadpanned. The women’s college basketball world usually identifies its top program in unison.
The No. 1 Huskies (110), who face the Sooners (5-5) at 6 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena — just 30 miles from the UConn campus — have earned that respect winning six of the last nine national championships.
“When this was first put on the schedule and I found out at the end of last year, I was super excited just because I want to play against the best. We’re excited for that,” Ortiz said.
Fourteen former UConn players are active in the WNBA. The Huskies have won six games by 30 points or more this season and are 10-0 all-time against the Sooners, winning by an average of 20 points.
The two programs most famously met for the 2002 national championship, a game won by the Huskies 82-70.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma can earn his 1,000th victory tonight, joining the NCAA’s twomember fraternity. Only Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and Stanford’s Tara Vanderveer have reached that milestone.
Respecting the Huskies is easy. Beating them is difficult.
“They’re great,” said Llanusa, who was named Big 12 freshman of the week Monday after her 27-point outburst against New Mexico. “I’m just excited to see what we can do with them.”
The Sooners will try to avoid the star-struck first halves that have foundered many UConn opponents. In the teams’ last meeting in 2012 at Lloyd Noble Center, OU fell behind 21-4 from the outset but played the Huskies within a point in the second half in an 18-point loss.
“We looked stunned,” OU coach Sherri Coale said then.
The Sooners are heavy underdogs again this time, but have improved odds after winning back-to-back games over then-No. 16 South Florida and then-unbeaten New Mexico in which they’ve averaged 92 points.
Ortiz averaged 28 points in those contests, while Llanusa and fellow freshman guard Shaina Pellington have emerged as the Big 12’s top freshmen scorers. The turnaround occurred after OU slogged through four straight losses, something the program hadn’t experienced since the 2003-’04 season.
A defensive resurgence — led in part by the gritty play of Gileysa Penzo — has helped recently, too. South Florida shot just 41 percent against the Sooners. New Mexico managed just 27 percent.
That resolve is OU’s best hope against a UConn lineup boasting five players averaging double-figures, led by Katie Lou Samuelson (17.8 ppg), Napheesa Collier (14.5 ppg) and Crystal Dangerfield (14.3 ppg).
Ortiz got to know all three players while competing with USA Basketball’s gold medal U19 team in 2015. That made last season’s Final Four all the more interesting for Ortiz, to watch Mississippi State stun UConn, ending the Huskies’ run at four straight NCAA titles.
Even those who don’t follow women’s college basketball game took interest in that result. UConn’s dominance has sparked theories about whether its reign is actually good for the sport.
“I’ve heard so many different opinions,” Ortiz said, “but I really appreciate Geno and I think he is a fantastic coach. I value what he does with his program, just from what I’ve seen from the outside.
“Huge, huge respect for their players and the things they’ve done.”
Asked about playing top-ranked Connecticut in what equates to a road environment, Oklahoma guard Gabbi Ortiz offered a respectful answer praising UConn’s tradition and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to challenge it.
Freshman guard Ana Llanusa did the same.
“Ditto,” OU redshirt Gileysa Penzo deadpanned. The women’s college basketball world usually identifies its top program in unison.
The No. 1 Huskies (110), who face the Sooners (5-5) at 6 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena — just 30 miles from the UConn campus — have earned that respect winning six of the last nine national championships.
“When this was first put on the schedule and I found out at the end of last year, I was super excited just because I want to play against the best. We’re excited for that,” Ortiz said.
Fourteen former UConn players are active in the WNBA. The Huskies have won six games by 30 points or more this season and are 10-0 all-time against the Sooners, winning by an average of 20 points.
The two programs most famously met for the 2002 national championship, a game won by the Huskies 82-70.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma can earn his 1,000th victory tonight, joining the NCAA’s twomember fraternity. Only Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and Stanford’s Tara Vanderveer have reached that milestone.
Respecting the Huskies is easy. Beating them is difficult.
“They’re great,” said Llanusa, who was named Big 12 freshman of the week Monday after her 27-point outburst against New Mexico. “I’m just excited to see what we can do with them.”
The Sooners will try to avoid the star-struck first halves that have foundered many UConn opponents. In the teams’ last meeting in 2012 at Lloyd Noble Center, OU fell behind 21-4 from the outset but played the Huskies within a point in the second half in an 18-point loss.
“We looked stunned,” OU coach Sherri Coale said then.
The Sooners are heavy underdogs again this time, but have improved odds after winning back-to-back games over then-No. 16 South Florida and then-unbeaten New Mexico in which they’ve averaged 92 points.
Ortiz averaged 28 points in those contests, while Llanusa and fellow freshman guard Shaina Pellington have emerged as the Big 12’s top freshmen scorers. The turnaround occurred after OU slogged through four straight losses, something the program hadn’t experienced since the 2003-’04 season.
A defensive resurgence — led in part by the gritty play of Gileysa Penzo — has helped recently, too. South Florida shot just 41 percent against the Sooners. New Mexico managed just 27 percent.
That resolve is OU’s best hope against a UConn lineup boasting five players averaging double-figures, led by Katie Lou Samuelson (17.8 ppg), Napheesa Collier (14.5 ppg) and Crystal Dangerfield (14.3 ppg).
Ortiz got to know all three players while competing with USA Basketball’s gold medal U19 team in 2015. That made last season’s Final Four all the more interesting for Ortiz, to watch Mississippi State stun UConn, ending the Huskies’ run at four straight NCAA titles.
Even those who don’t follow women’s college basketball game took interest in that result. UConn’s dominance has sparked theories about whether its reign is actually good for the sport.
“I’ve heard so many different opinions,” Ortiz said, “but I really appreciate Geno and I think he is a fantastic coach. I value what he does with his program, just from what I’ve seen from the outside.
“Huge, huge respect for their players and the things they’ve done.”
