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ooners will push tempo with smaller lineups this year
It didn’t take Shaina Pellington long to notice the product Oklahoma women’s basketball will put on the floor this season.
It was evident after one practice.
“We’re super athletic, we can all run,” the OU sophomore guard said. “It would be a shame if we didn’t take advantage of our strengths.”
And the Sooners plan to do that.
With just two experienced, true post players on the roster they’re leaning on a smaller lineup that will push the pace offensively instead of dumping the ball down low.
The new look debuts Friday in OU’s 7 p.m. regular-season opener against Western Kentucky at Lloyd Noble Center.
The 2017 squad was led in scoring by Vionise Pierre-Louis, a back-tothe- basket center who thrived in halfcourt situations. In Monday’s exhibition against Northeastern State, OU guards combined for 95 of the team’s 114 points.
“I think that you have to make the best of whatever scenario you have, and there are advantages,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “I’m sure the big teams in the Big 12 think they have an advantage because they’re big. I know when I had Courtney and Ashley Paris I thought that was an advantage.
“And yet, I think what we can do is be better decision makers, be faster decision makers to maybe out-wit and out-stretch some of that length and size we’ll see in our league.”
That’s music to Pellington’s ears. She was OU’s quickest player on the perimeter last season while winning Big 12 freshman of the year, averaging 13.1 points.
“It excites me a lot,” Pellington said. “Now it’s not just me running in transition. From a point guard’s standpoint, it helps a lot. There’s
so many different options to dish off to in transition, instead of just one.”
OU’s coming off a 1615 campaign trying for its 20th straight NCAA tournament berth. Of the seven freshmen coming in — the program’s most since 2002-03 — four should factor into playing time at guard immediately. McDonald’s All-American Madi Williams, who plays forward and guard, is the most accomplished.
Westmoore product Jessi Murcer and Tatum Veitenheimer are more traditional backcourt players, whose top priority has been jelling with Pellington and others in transition.
“You have to be able to play as fast as you can play collectively. There’s a lot of learning that goes into that,” Coale said. “You have to figure out one another, and Tatum and Jessi are getting used to Shaina’s speed and knowing where
they can throw it and she can run underneath it and go shoot a layup. And that’s not something you just know. You’ve got to do that for a while and figure out what that’s like.”
Coale sees advantages to this style when it comes to team chemistry too. More players see the floor and perform different roles. OU made 43 field goals on 29 assists in its exhibition, including 17 3-pointers.
“It’s an exciting brand, it’s fun to play that way,” Coale said. “There’s a buy-in up and down your bench when you know that’s going to be your situation. There are lots of benefits to it and I’m excited about it with this team.”
It didn’t take Shaina Pellington long to notice the product Oklahoma women’s basketball will put on the floor this season.
It was evident after one practice.
“We’re super athletic, we can all run,” the OU sophomore guard said. “It would be a shame if we didn’t take advantage of our strengths.”
And the Sooners plan to do that.
With just two experienced, true post players on the roster they’re leaning on a smaller lineup that will push the pace offensively instead of dumping the ball down low.
The new look debuts Friday in OU’s 7 p.m. regular-season opener against Western Kentucky at Lloyd Noble Center.
The 2017 squad was led in scoring by Vionise Pierre-Louis, a back-tothe- basket center who thrived in halfcourt situations. In Monday’s exhibition against Northeastern State, OU guards combined for 95 of the team’s 114 points.
“I think that you have to make the best of whatever scenario you have, and there are advantages,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “I’m sure the big teams in the Big 12 think they have an advantage because they’re big. I know when I had Courtney and Ashley Paris I thought that was an advantage.
“And yet, I think what we can do is be better decision makers, be faster decision makers to maybe out-wit and out-stretch some of that length and size we’ll see in our league.”
That’s music to Pellington’s ears. She was OU’s quickest player on the perimeter last season while winning Big 12 freshman of the year, averaging 13.1 points.
“It excites me a lot,” Pellington said. “Now it’s not just me running in transition. From a point guard’s standpoint, it helps a lot. There’s
so many different options to dish off to in transition, instead of just one.”
OU’s coming off a 1615 campaign trying for its 20th straight NCAA tournament berth. Of the seven freshmen coming in — the program’s most since 2002-03 — four should factor into playing time at guard immediately. McDonald’s All-American Madi Williams, who plays forward and guard, is the most accomplished.
Westmoore product Jessi Murcer and Tatum Veitenheimer are more traditional backcourt players, whose top priority has been jelling with Pellington and others in transition.
“You have to be able to play as fast as you can play collectively. There’s a lot of learning that goes into that,” Coale said. “You have to figure out one another, and Tatum and Jessi are getting used to Shaina’s speed and knowing where
they can throw it and she can run underneath it and go shoot a layup. And that’s not something you just know. You’ve got to do that for a while and figure out what that’s like.”
Coale sees advantages to this style when it comes to team chemistry too. More players see the floor and perform different roles. OU made 43 field goals on 29 assists in its exhibition, including 17 3-pointers.
“It’s an exciting brand, it’s fun to play that way,” Coale said. “There’s a buy-in up and down your bench when you know that’s going to be your situation. There are lots of benefits to it and I’m excited about it with this team.”
