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Five things to watch for during the 2018-19 season
Tyler Palmateer
Transcript Sports Editor @TPalmateer83 4 Oklahoma women’s basketball begins its season against Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. Friday at Lloyd Noble Center.
Here are five things to watch for this season:
1 Defensive improvement: Going into last year’s NCAA tournament, the Sooners ranked second-tolast in the Big 12 allowing 72 points per game. Their 3-point field goal percentage defense (35.4 percent) ranked last.
Strides on the defensive end are important, and on the inside, OU has few experienced post players to guard bigger teams.
2 Super sophomores: Second-year guards Shaina Pellington and Ana Llanusa were the Big 12’s top freshmen a year ago. OU will rely heavily on them for leadership and production.
Llanusa’s biggest offseason focus was defense. She committed 93 fouls, which was second on the team, but still averaged 12.6 points.
Pellington averaged 13.1 points and has added a jumper to repertoire. She made 5 of 7 shots beyond the arc in OU’s exhibition against Northeastern State after going 0 for 3 all last year.
3 Madi Williams: The 6-foot freshman guard/ forward from Fort Worth, Texas, had a quiet exhibition with five points in 19 minutes, but she was in the starting lineup.
Williams was ESPN’s No. 24 overall recruit and a Mc-Donald’s All-American last season and is expected to have an immediate impact.
“Physically as prepared for college basketball as maybe any freshman I’ve ever had,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “She is right now, when challenged, she’s really good. When not challenged, she’s not so good always … She’s got to learn how to every single possession, attack it. Regardless of the situation, the time, the score, the circumstance, the player, to attack it. If and when she figures
that out she’ll be one of the best to ever play here.”
OU’s freshman class is seven players deep and includes Tatum Veitenheimer, who started Monday and scored eight points off 4-of-11 shooting. Freshman guards Taylor Robertson and Jessi Murcer also logged significant time.
4 Sharp shooter: Robertson scored 25 points in a preseason scrimmage — it wasn’t a fluke.
The 2017 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year shot 48 percent from 3-point range as a senior at McPherson High School and poured in 21 points off 7-of-12 shooting from behind the arc in OU’s exhibition.
Her long-range ability is critical after Gabbi Ortiz’s graduation last year. Ortiz was the Sooners’ top outside threat at 38 percent.
5 Senior x-factors: Seniors Gileysa Penzo (guard) and Ijeoma Odimgbe (forward) won’t chart huge statistics, but they’ll play a critical role.
Penzo’s passing ability and knowledge of the offense helped the Sooners get out of a rut in midseason last year. She had two games with 10 or more assists.
Odimgbe’s shot-blocking and rebounding skills can add an active presence inside. She shot 52 percent from the field in 2017 and has tried to improve her offensive game.
“[The seniors] will be the important thing,” Coale said, “because I’ve never had a team do extraordinary things if the seniors weren’t extraordinary.”
Kyle Phillips / The Transcript
Tyler Palmateer
Transcript Sports Editor @TPalmateer83 4 Oklahoma women’s basketball begins its season against Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. Friday at Lloyd Noble Center.
Here are five things to watch for this season:
1 Defensive improvement: Going into last year’s NCAA tournament, the Sooners ranked second-tolast in the Big 12 allowing 72 points per game. Their 3-point field goal percentage defense (35.4 percent) ranked last.
Strides on the defensive end are important, and on the inside, OU has few experienced post players to guard bigger teams.
2 Super sophomores: Second-year guards Shaina Pellington and Ana Llanusa were the Big 12’s top freshmen a year ago. OU will rely heavily on them for leadership and production.
Llanusa’s biggest offseason focus was defense. She committed 93 fouls, which was second on the team, but still averaged 12.6 points.
Pellington averaged 13.1 points and has added a jumper to repertoire. She made 5 of 7 shots beyond the arc in OU’s exhibition against Northeastern State after going 0 for 3 all last year.
3 Madi Williams: The 6-foot freshman guard/ forward from Fort Worth, Texas, had a quiet exhibition with five points in 19 minutes, but she was in the starting lineup.
Williams was ESPN’s No. 24 overall recruit and a Mc-Donald’s All-American last season and is expected to have an immediate impact.
“Physically as prepared for college basketball as maybe any freshman I’ve ever had,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “She is right now, when challenged, she’s really good. When not challenged, she’s not so good always … She’s got to learn how to every single possession, attack it. Regardless of the situation, the time, the score, the circumstance, the player, to attack it. If and when she figures
that out she’ll be one of the best to ever play here.”
OU’s freshman class is seven players deep and includes Tatum Veitenheimer, who started Monday and scored eight points off 4-of-11 shooting. Freshman guards Taylor Robertson and Jessi Murcer also logged significant time.
4 Sharp shooter: Robertson scored 25 points in a preseason scrimmage — it wasn’t a fluke.
The 2017 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year shot 48 percent from 3-point range as a senior at McPherson High School and poured in 21 points off 7-of-12 shooting from behind the arc in OU’s exhibition.
Her long-range ability is critical after Gabbi Ortiz’s graduation last year. Ortiz was the Sooners’ top outside threat at 38 percent.
5 Senior x-factors: Seniors Gileysa Penzo (guard) and Ijeoma Odimgbe (forward) won’t chart huge statistics, but they’ll play a critical role.
Penzo’s passing ability and knowledge of the offense helped the Sooners get out of a rut in midseason last year. She had two games with 10 or more assists.
Odimgbe’s shot-blocking and rebounding skills can add an active presence inside. She shot 52 percent from the field in 2017 and has tried to improve her offensive game.
“[The seniors] will be the important thing,” Coale said, “because I’ve never had a team do extraordinary things if the seniors weren’t extraordinary.”
Kyle Phillips / The Transcript