Sherri Coale and the Oklahoma women's basketball team should be on cruise control right now.
Not a ‘We don't care, we're just riding out this season' cruise control.
It would be more like a ‘Hey, we're ranked close to the top 10 in the country and we can shoot and we can guard and we can rebound' cruise control.
But a home-opening loss to UCLA last week showed some glaring holes.
The loss showed the Sooners have plenty of room to improve their physicality and their rebounding.
Coale hopes her Sooners show an improvement in both areas during Oklahoma's game against St. Louis on Sunday. She referred to it as “adjust or adapt.”
“Either that or impose your will and manner,” Coale said.
The Sooners will continue to look to their upperclassmen, junior Aaryn Ellenberg and senior Whitney Hand, for guidance.
Despite Ellenberg going from 7-of-9 from three-point range and ending with a game-high 24 points, the Sooners struggled offensively against the Bruins. They grabbed only eight total offensive rebounds.
“They understand what happened,” Coale said. “And now, the verdict is out. Their approach to getting better is good.”
Unlike Big 12 season, non-conference games bring a constant change of rhythm, according to Coale. St. Louis is “incredibly different” from UCLA. They aren't as big, for starters. Big 12 play usually brings similar play and a similar game flow. Regardless, Coale said it isn't about the next opponent, it's about Oklahoma.
“It's about us and our repetition,” Coale said. “We need to respond to that physicality.”
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