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Oklahoma basketball: Sooner women will learn their postseason fate tonight

By Chip Rouse

SAN ANTONIO - APRIL 04: The Oklahoma Sooners bench is dejected in the second half against the Stanford Cardinal during the Women's Final Four Semifinals at the Alamodome on April 4, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. Stanford defeated Oklahoma 73-66. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO - APRIL 04: The Oklahoma Sooners bench is dejected in the second half against the Stanford Cardinal during the Women's Final Four Semifinals at the Alamodome on April 4, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. Stanford defeated Oklahoma 73-66. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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It wasn’t just the men’s Oklahoma basketball team that had something to worry about over the weekend.

The Lady Sooners have even more to be concerned about as they await the determination of the selection committee for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. So while the OU men are busy preparing for a trip to Pittsburgh and an opening-round matchup with Rhode Island as the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, Sherri Coale’s Sooners are hopeful they will be heading out of town shortly on their own journey into March Madness.

The OU women had a similar year to that of their male counterparts, finishing with a 16-14 record overall, but they fared much better in league competition, going 11-7 and tied for third with Oklahoma State in the regular-season standing.

Under Coale, who is in her 19th season at Oklahoma, the Lady Sooners have appeared in 18 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including three trips to the Final Four and runner-up in the national championship game in 2001-02, featuring All-American Stacy Dales.

According to an article by Doug Feinberg, an Associated Press basketball writer, in today’s editions of the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, the Sooners are one of eight teams in consideration for the final four spots in the NCAA Women’s Tournament.

Oklahoma last played on March 3, losing 90-83 to TCU in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Women’s Tournament. So the Lady Sooners have had to wait nine days to learn their NCAA Tournament fate. The last time OU went to the postseason in a tournament other than the NCAA Big Dance was in 1998-99 in Coale’s third season as head coach. The Sooners played in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament that season.

The Sooners have made the NCAA Tournament field three times with less than 20 wins: in 2002-03, the year after losing to No. 1 Connecticut in the national championship game, OU was 19-13; in 2005-05, the record was 17-13; and in 2013-14, the Sooners’ record was 18-15. All three times, the Sooners lost in the first round.

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