Sooners will see a ‘mini Iowa State' when facing Redbirds
Illinois State launches a lot of 3s — and makes them

By John Helsley

Published: March 20, 2008

NORMAN — The Sooners' search for something comparable to Illinois State led right back to the Big 12: Iowa State.

The similarities are obvious, from the 3-point shooting barrage both teams employ, right down to the coach calling the shots. Redbirds coach Robin Pingeton is a Bill Fennelly disciple, having coached at Iowa State under Fennelly for a successful three-year run that saw the Cyclones win the Big 12 and advance to the Sweet 16.

"I was very blessed my three years with him,” Pingeton said Wednesday. "Bill's been a great mentor and a great friend.

"I learned a lot from him, not only on the court, but off the court as well.”

Some, though not all, is reflected in the Redbirds, OU's first-round foe Sunday in the NCAA Tournament.

A preference for the long ball connects the two closely. Illinois State led the Missouri Valley in 3-point field goal percentage, making 36.3 percent of their 521 attempts.

"That's taking a few,” said Sooner assistant Jan Ross.

The Redbirds, like the Cyclones, are built around their guards. For Illinois State, Kristi Cirone is the focal point on the offensive end.

"Kristi Cirone is the engine who makes us go,” Pingeton said, "just from a point guard leadership standpoint.”

Yet, Pingeton points out, her team isn't at all identical to Iowa State. The Redbirds like to run the floor more and push the pace. Their 77.4 scoring average ranks sixth nationally.

"We run more of a motion offense, do some different things defensively,” Pingeton said. "I learned so much from him, on the court and off the court, but I would say our style and systems are definitely different.”

OU coach Sherri Coale recognizes plenty of the same, particularly the positives.

"From what I can tell, they might be a mini Iowa State,” Coale said. "They've got two girls who have shot over 130 3s. They're efficient offensively. Their assist-turnover ratio is excellent. They share the basketball. They don't beat themselves.

"Sounds a little bit like Iowa State to me.”

As for those comparisons, the Cyclones battled the Sooners to the end in Ames, before OU finally pulled out a 67-64 win.

Of course, that's a loose comparison, because of the differences Pingeton pointed out and because of the difference in the leagues. The Missouri Valley is a drop down from the Big 12.

Where the Big 12 is rated as the nation's toughest conference, the Missouri Valley is ninth. In the team RPI rankings, the Sooners are No. 13, Illinois State No. 44.

Still, two ESPN analysts, Graham Hays and Melanie Jackson, pegged OU-Illinois State as the NCAA Tournament's best first-round game.

The Redbirds won the Missouri Valley regular-season and tournament titles, the latter securing the program's fifth NCAA Tournament bid.

After two seasons on the outside of the tournament field, the Redbirds went 26-6 this season behind a team featuring just one senior in the starting lineup for its Missouri Valley championship win over Drake.

While Cirone leads Illinois State at 16.6 points a game, five other Redbirds average at least eight points.

"Even though we're still a pretty young team, we're a real together team,” Pingeton said. "And we've got a lot of players who can do some different things for us. We've got a lot of depth, and I think that's played a big part in where we've got this season.

"We've got some players, in our league, at the Missouri Valley level, who can start for any program. When you've got those kinds of kids coming off the bench, it definitely helps you.”

Pingeton then tossed out her team's best traits.

Unselfish. Good ball movement. Balance.

Again, sounds a bit like Iowa State.

While Pingeton coached with Fennelly, Coale counts him among her close coaching friends.

Playfully, Coale appealed to Fennelly's conference loyalty when it comes to any tips or suggestions in this OU-Illinois State pairing.

"Well, we're really good friends,” Coale said, "so I'm saying right now, ‘Bill, stick with your league, buddy. Stay in the Big 12.'”

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