Response under fire

[sybarite]

The announcers did a good job at pointing out some plays that were vital to turning away Texas when they got on a run.

16-24 3:57 Vionise turns it over after Texas makes a three. But, Peyton steals it and drives for a layup, 18-24 3:53. This kept Texas from breaking it open. Then, Maddie had a steal 3:26, and Vivi scores after a time out 20-24 3:16. Now, Peyton has another steal, 2:58, and Maddie makes two free throws, 2:47. After Enempkali hits a layup, 22-26 2:07, Maddie hits a driving jumper, 24-26 2:04.

Now comes a quick sequence that turns the game entirely to us. 1:59 Ortiz steals it from Enempkali. Ortiz missed a jumper, but Wyatt got the offensive rebound. Peyton is fouled 1:22 and hits the first FT 25-26. But, she misses the second. Maddie tips the ball to Peyton who is fouled again. This time, she hits both free throws, and OU has the lead, 27-26 and 2:19. OU would never relinquish this lead. It helped that Gabbi hit a three 30-26 at 0:32. This entire 14-2 run was fueled by Peyton's steal and layup when it looked like Texas was going to pull away.

In the second half, we began to pull away and took a 44-33 lead at 12:38. Texas eroded that lead and a three-pointer got Texas to within two at 44-42 9:44. Were we going to blow a lead like we had last year?

Gabi hit a three 9:27 47-42, assist Kay Kay. At 8:38, they fouled Sharane who made two FTs, 49-42. After a time out, Kay Kay hit a layup 51-42 off a feed from Sharane as she drove the lane after a scrum, 7:51.
The two point lead was now back up to nine.

Texas put on a small run again and got within three at 6:07 51-48.

Gabi beat the shot clock with a floater in the lane, 53-48 5:39. We worked it back up to 57-48 4:21 after which we never really looked back. It turned into a free throw shooting contest with Peyton and Maddie winning.

How critical was Peyton's steal and layup? How important were Gabbi's two shots as Texas closed the lead? We responded, and it was mostly due to freshmen and sophomores.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Great analysis. Ortiz, Little and Manning really stepped up. Hopefully that will become a familiar pattern and we may have even more potential there as Carter continues to develop.

 

[scrybe]

Can't recall exactly when it occurred (second half), but Texas scored to pull within two points, then Gabbi beat the defense down the court and drilled an open three. That high-arcing shot of hers is a thing of beauty. That basket seemed to take the wind out of Texas' sails.

 

[sybarite]

Can't recall exactly when it occurred (second half), but Texas scored to pull within two points, then Gabbi beat the defense down the court and drilled an open three. That high-arcing shot of hers is a thing of beauty. That basket seemed to take the wind out of Texas' sails.

That, at 8:38, was the first of Gabbi's two shots to quell a Texas run. Gabbi only made three field goals, two of which stopped Texas runs late in the game.

 

[tycat947]

Sherri said at luncheon in Dec that Gabbi was learning about a million things as point guard and her head was flooded with things to learn, mentioned that was part of why she was missing so many free throws up to that time. You can see that she's knowing what to do and who's supposed to be where instead of thinking thru all of that. She's swishing her free shots now. It's the same with Gioya and KayKay...they are slowing down in their heads enough to go and make plays. They just need to keep up with intensity and good things will come to them all!

 

[sybarite]

Sherri said at luncheon in Dec that Gabbi was learning about a million things as point guard and her head was flooded with things to learn, mentioned that was part of why she was missing so many free throws up to that time. You can see that she's knowing what to do and who's supposed to be where instead of thinking thru all of that. She's swishing her free shots now. It's the same with Gioya and KayKay...they are slowing down in their heads enough to go and make plays. They just need to keep up with intensity and good things will come to them all!

Have you noticed that Gabbi no longer picks up the dribble once she crosses halfcourt? Also, she rarely throws it away while trying to make an entry pass any more. She is still averaging three turnovers per game. But, she averaged over 3.5 in non-conference play. Every part of her game is improving, and she is showing more confidence.

 

[tycat947]

Have you noticed that Gabbi no longer picks up the dribble once she crosses halfcourt? Also, she rarely throws it away while trying to make an entry pass any more. She is still averaging three turnovers per game. But, she averaged over 3.5 in non-conference play. Every part of her game is improving, and she is showing more confidence.

Gabbi looks a lot more comfortable running the offense that just a month ago. And she has lots of improvement to do but that's just being a freshman. I think what's helping her also is the development of the other players on the court as well (i.e. Gioya, KayKay, etc). I think with all this youth, we're seeing the foundation laid for a very strong period of basketball in Norman (next 5 to 6 years or longer). There's still going to be bumps along the way this year IMO but they are making great strides in a relatively short period of time.