Oklahoma Sooners
Overall Rank: #43
Conference Rank: #5 Big 12
Oklahoma’s streak of 19 straight NCAA Tournament appearances came to a crashing end last season. The Sooners won a mere eight games in 2018-2019. It was a very tough year in Norman, but Coach Sherri Coale will have her team ready to start another run of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2020.
2018-19 Record: 8-22, 4-14
2018-19 Postseason: None
Coach: Sherri Coale
Coach Record: 489-264 at Oklahoma, 489-264 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Shaina Pellington, Guard, 13.0 ppg
Ijeoma Odimgbe, Forward, 2.5 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Ana Llanusa, Junior, Guard, 18.3 ppg
Taylor Robertson, Sophomore, Guard, 14.3 ppg
Madi Williams, Sophomore, Guard/Forward, 11.6 ppg
Mandy Simpson, Junior, Forward, 5.2 ppg
Tatum Veitenheimer, Sophomore, Guard, 4.4 ppg
Jessi Murcer, Sophomore, Guard, 9.4 ppg
Nydia Lampkin, Sophomore, Forward, 2.3 ppg
Aspen Williston, Sophomore, Center, 0.6 ppg
Key New Players
Chloe Bloom, RS Freshman, Forward/Center
Gabby Gregory, Freshman, Guard
Kamryn Lemon, Junior, Guard, JC Transfer
Liz Scott, Freshman, Forward
Projection:
Six players who started at least 15 games are returning, but this is still a very young team. Junior Ana Llanusa missed ten games with a foot injury, but was clearly the team’s top scoring threat when she was on the floor, averaging 18.3 points per game. Taylor Robertson is a great scoring threat too. As a freshman she hit an amazing 46.7 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc. Robertson may not do much other than shoot from long range, but she does that amazingly well. Jessie Murcer averaged 9.4 points per game as a freshman and is another consistent shooting threat. Madi Williams and Mandy Simpson will handle most of the minutes in the frontcourt. Williams is a dangerous interior scorer who can attack the basket and led the team with 8.0 rebounds per game. Simpson is tough on the glass too, but the team was consistently outrebounded last year and that needs to change if OU is going to be a contender in the Big 12. The addition of redshirt freshman Chloe Bloom and top 100 recruits Gabby Gregory and Liz Scott will add more size to the roster. Minutes may be tough to come by, but the influx in talent and competition will benefit the team and get them back to the NCAA Tournament following a forgettable 2018-2019 campaign.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 72.0 (61st in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 79.0 (348, 10)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.3 (84, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.0 (304, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.7 (108, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.6 (21, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.7 (265, 8)
Rebound Margin: -1.3 (226, 8)
Assists Per Game: 14.4 (92, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 20.0 (332, 10)
Madness 2019 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#39 Liz Scott
#84 Gabby Gregory
