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One special season for close-knit Sooners

 
By Jenni Carlson | Published: April 5, 2010    Comment on this article Leave a comment

SAN ANTONIO — To understand how these Sooners not only made it to the Women’s Final Four but also proved they belonged, you need only know the reason for Abi Olajuwon’s tears.

photo - Oklahoma’s Abi Olajuwon, right, hugs Joanna McFarland after their loss to Stanford in the Women’s Final Four on Sunday. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma’s Abi Olajuwon, right, hugs Joanna McFarland after their loss to Stanford in the Women’s Final Four on Sunday. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

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The Oklahoma senior held them back for a bit. She sat stoically in the Alamodome locker room. She did one interview. She did another. She even smiled once.

Then, the finality of OU’s 73-66 loss to Stanford hit her.

Her emotions?

"It’s the shock,” she said. "Hard to believe your season’s over.”

She swallowed hard.

"Thinking about not seeing these girls every day is what makes me upset. These girls are my heart. If any one of them called me for anything no matter what, no matter how far I am, I’m going to make sure I got it for them. I love these girls.”

This Oklahoma team talked a lot about how much they loved each other. They talked about how they played for one another. They talked about how they just wanted to keep winning so they could keep playing together.

Then, they went out and they proved it.

This bunch wasn’t supposed to be in San Antonio this weekend. Not if you believe conventional wisdom. Not if you believe pundits and prognosticators.

A team couldn’t lose pillars like Courtney and Ashley Paris to graduation, then lose a young star like Whitney Hand to injury and manage to make the Final Four.

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