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Clicking for Hook |
At the start of the spring, when the Big 12 Conference schedule grinds on the mental and physical stamina of every player, Morgan Hook is playing the best basketball of her career.
The junior point guard has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in each of the last nine games and is third among Big 12 players for assists per game in conference play. Additionally, since collecting a career-high 12 assists against TCU, Hook is averaging eight assists per game to four turnovers.
"I think she's just maturing as a player," Coale said. "She's in her junior season. She understands tempo, cadence. She understands the people on the floor around her. She's figured out that fine line between pushing and playing fast and playing in a determined, deliberate sort of way."
Hook strides have come a long way from last year's campaign when the Sooners finished ninth out of 10 Big 12 teams in assist-to-turnover ratio. This season, the Sooners rank fourth in the category and appear to have an instinctual flow to their offense.
"It's just the feel for different players," Hook said. "I know where they are going to be. I'm not afraid to have turnovers. I'm not thinking, I'm just doing it."
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Recipe for Taking on No. 1 |
Oklahoma has had a long time to plan for its tough task of visiting No. 1 Baylor on Saturday, but the Sooners haven't paid much attention to the Lady Bears. Instead, they've been focusing their attention on improving what is in their control.
"We haven't spent that much time talking about it yet," Coale said of Saturday's matchup. "This has been an important week for us to sort of fine tune what we do and polish us up."
The Sooners are coming off a sweep of Texas with a 69-56 win last Saturday and, for just the seventh time in the 17-year history of the Big 12, have seven days off between games. Still, while many are looking ahead to a matchup against Baylor's star center Brittney Griner, Coale has her eyes set elsewhere.
"When I think of Baylor, I think of Odyssey Sims," Coale said. "She might be the best point guard in the country. She is tough in every single facet of the game. That 1-2 combo is the thing, but Odyssey Sims is the engine that makes them go."
Baylor's loss to Stanford, which ended a 42-game winning streak, happened with Sims sidelined due to injury. But since that hiccup, the Lady Bears have found no trouble behind the nation's No. 3 scoring offense and national leader in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Oklahoma and Baylor meet in Waco, Texas, at 11 a.m. Saturday. The game will be televised nationally on FSN.
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Volleyball Players Fitting In |
By now, most Sooner basketball fans know that OU volleyball players Tara Dunn and Eden Williams joined the team during the Winter Break after four players were sidelined with season-ending injuries. In the month since the relationship began, the two have seen court time in two games and are well-integrated into the team's on- and off-court chemistry.
The initial transition, however, was not a simple process. Sooner Sports TV takes a look back at the transition in this week's episode of Sooner Hoops with Sherri Coale.
"I literally thought it was a joke," Williams said about volleyball coach Santiago Restrepo's initial call asking if she would be willing to play basketball. "He kind of laughed and was like, 'No. Really.'"
Both Dunn and Williams were standout high school basketball players, so both knew understanding the game would come with time. The first hurdle would be getting in shape.
"I could play volleyball for five hours and I would be fine," Williams said. "You put me out here, running up and down the court for 10 minutes and I wouldn't look like I've played a sport."
Coale enacted the 'Sooner Olympics' and put the practice plan at square one for its new players, similar to preseason drills in October. The Sooners would walk through the drill, then the veterans would go full speed, and finally Dunn and Williams would hop in the rotation. When on the sidelines, injured players like Lyndsey Cloman and Whitney Hand would be in their ears, explaining the positions.
"They've been very encouraging and very positive with us," Dunn said. "They are always picking us up. It's been good.
"We knew coming in that we weren't going to play very much, that we were going to be practice players, and we've just been taking that on. We're both pretty talkative on the volleyball court ... and that's kind of escalated here." |
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UP NEXT
OU is on the road to take on No. 1 Baylor on Saturday before returning home Wednesday to take on TCU:
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
1/26 |
at Baylor |
11 a.m. |
1/30 |
vs. TCU |
7 p.m. |
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 Tickets | Full Schedule
 MOST RECENTLY
The Sooners swpet the regular-season series with Texas for the fifth time with a 69-56 win at the LNC last Saturday:
| Opponent |
W/L |
Score |
| Texas |
W |
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QUOTABLE
Head Coach Sherri Coale
"I think we are doing a really good job of executing what we call. The in-between part is where I want us to really grow -- In between primary break and set offense. That period where you have to recognize do I have an advantage, is this a high percentage shot, if not then we smoothly go back in and transition into what we try to accomplish."
Junior G Aaryn Ellenberg
"It does not really matter who (scores). If I have an open look or if I am feeling good, I am definitely going to take that shot. I'm not afraid to."
Senior F Joanna McFarland
"We talked about responding (from the loss at Iowa State) and the only way we wanted to respond was having a lot of energy and fight. I think in the first half it kind of lulled a little bit. In the second I think we really wanted to focus on fighting really hard."
BAYLOR PREVIEW
With the Sooners headed to Waco, Texas, on Saturday to take on No. 1 Baylor (17-1) at 11 a.m. CT, check out our game preview for everything you need to know:
Game Preview: Sooners at Baylor
Gameday Central | Notes
TEAM NOTES
The Sooners rank fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio among Big 12 squads (0.8). Last year, the Sooners finished ninth of 10 teams.
Despite having a high-powered offense, it is lockdown defense that wins games for the Sooners. In OU's wins, opponents shoot 33.3 percent from the field. In OU's three losses, opponents shot 44.4 percent.
OU's win over Texas last Saturday was its fifth sweep of the Longhorns in regular season play since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.
2012-13 Game Notes
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Junior G Morgan Hook
Hook has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in each of her last nine games, counting a total of 56 assists to 28 turnovers in the span.
Senior F Joanna McFarland
McFarland has recorded three double-doubles in six Big 12 Conference games. That statistic ties Baylor's Brittney Griner for the league's lead in the category.
Junior G Aaryn Ellenberg
Ellenberg is 77 points shy of reaching OU's top 10 in career scoring. With 1,435 career points, Ellenberg needs 17 to pass 12th-place Etta Maytubby, who scored 1,451 through the 1993-96 seasons.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Stay connected with the OU women's basketball team by following our feeds on Twitter and Instagram:
Twitter: @OUWomensHoops
Instagram: @ou_wbasketball
WRITE SPACE AND TIME
Follow along with OU women's basketball from the desk of head coach Sherri Coale via her blog on SoonerSports.com:
Write Space and Time Blog
HISTORY AND TRADITION
While this Sooner Report gives an in-depth idea of where the team is and where it's going, don't forget where we've been, either:
OU WBB History & Tradition |
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