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Oklahoma basketball: Lady Sooners an NCAA Tournament lock

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma Sooners guard Taylor Robertson (30) tries to get past Oklahoma State Cowgirls forward Macie James (20) during a women's Bedlam basketball game between the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls (OSU) and the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Oklahoma won 79-76.Women S Bedlam Basketball
Oklahoma Sooners guard Taylor Robertson (30) tries to get past Oklahoma State Cowgirls forward Macie James (20) during a women's Bedlam basketball game between the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls (OSU) and the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Oklahoma won 79-76.Women S Bedlam Basketball /
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The women’s Oklahoma basketball team has missed the last three NCAA Tournaments.

That drought ends this year in head coach Jennie Barancyzk’s first season at Oklahoma. Baranczyk has led the OU women to 23 wins, the most in five seasons, and is a semifinalist for National Coach of the Year.

The only thing in real doubt at this point is where the Sooners’ will be seeded in the 68-team field. Before Selection Monday, however, the OU women have business to take care of in the Big 12 Tournament this week in Kansas City.

The Sooners finished the regular season with an overall record of 23-7 and the No. 21 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 19 in the Coaches Poll. OU was 12-6 in Big 12 play, including a pair of wins over conference champion Baylor.

Oklahoma heads into the Big 12 Women’s Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 Kansas in the opening game on Friday. The Sooners and Jayhawks split their regular-season games with OU winning 82-68 in Lawrence in early January and Kansas winning 73-67 in Norman last Saturday in the regular-season finale.

The Lady Sooners lead the Big 12 in scoring offense (83.7 points a game) with two of the top-five scorers in the league. OU All-Big 12 First Team selections  Madi Williams and Taylor Robertson, average 17.7 and 16.9 points per game, respectively. OU also leads the conference in rebounding and is second in both field-goal and free-throw percentage.

Williams and Robertson combined for 44 points (24 by Robertson and 20 by Williams) In OU’s 14-point win over the Jayhawks in their first meeting this season.

Williams is a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, which recognizes the top small forward in NCAA Division I women’s basketball. Robertson, who set an OU program record this season for the most made three-point shots, is also a finalist for national recognition. She is a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, presented every year for the best shooting guard in Division I women’s basketball.

The Jayhawks finished with an 11-7 conference record, one game back of Oklahoma in fifth place, and are 20-8 overall. Kansas’ two main scoring threats are junior guards Holly Kiersgieter, who is from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and Zakiyah Franklin. Kiersgieter averages 13.6 points per game and is the Jayhawks best shooter from long range. Franklin averages 12.0 per game.

KU junior center Taiyanna Jackson scored a game-high 18 points in the Jayhawks victory over the Sooners last weekend.

If Oklahoma wins its quarterfinal matchup with Kansas, the Sooners will play the winner of No. 1 Baylor vs. either No. 8 Oklahoma State or No. 9 Texas Tech on Saturday.

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