Senior Maria Villarroel Leaves Her Mark On OU Basketball.

Within the last two years Maria Villarroel has had success on the basketball court at the University of Oklahoma. She has come a long way from where she started and made opposing teams respect her and her style of play. By staying committed and being relentless when it comes to working hard she earned a key role within the women's basketball program.

Since Villarroel has been in the United States she has been making a name for herself. It all started in 2001 at her first junior college, Independence Community College, where she was named freshman of the year. After transferring to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M as a sophomore, she led the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in scoring with 24.4 points per game and field goal percentage with an amazing 73.4 percent. Villarroel found herself at Oklahoma in 2003, needing to quickly adapt to NCAA Division I play. She concluded the season ranked 14th in the NCAA in field goal percentage, shooting 57.6 percent, and was named the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 5, after earning Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow All-Tournament team honors.

“It was awesome coming to the United States. It was one of my dreams,” says Villarroel. Her attitude and her style of play have aided Coach Sherri Coale and the Sooners. Her improving defense, along with her strong transition game, has made a major impact on OU's success over the last 18 months.

As she gets stronger, quicker and better in the U. S., she still remains active with basketball in her native country, Venezuela. Villarroel, a native of Margarita, is still a member of the Venezuelan National Team, a team that competed in the South American Tournament in Ecuador last summer. Villarroel earned tournament MVP honors after averaging 23 points per game and hitting a tournament best 20 three-pointers.

Since her arrival, she has climbed into the OU record books. She is one of just six players to score 30 or more points in three or more games. She also currently ranks seventh in points per game with 15.0.

After basketball she says she would like to play in the WNBA or pursue a career in the communications field. “I would like to play in the WNBA if I have the opportunity,” said Villarroel. “I'm going to work hard the last two months and see what I can do with that. I'm majoring in communications and would like to work here in America if the WNBA doesn't work out.”

With her skills, she regularly breaks up plays and pulls away for the easy lay in. It has become a regular occurrence. But scoring isn't her only forte′. Villarroel can defend too and that is what Sooner basketball is all about. She has been a perfect fit with the style of basketball Coach Coale wants her team to play. She plays aggressive on defense while scoring in transition.

Villarroel has given the Sooner basketball team everything she has the last two seasons. Coach Coale has molded her as a scorer and defender and it has paid off for this transfer. “Coach Coale is a really good coach,” Villarroel said. “I enjoyed last year and this year has been fun, too. I'm happy. I feel like I'm at home and I am improving my game.”

The machine that Coach Coale has built has seen Sooner greats such as LaNeishea Caufield, Stacey Dales and Phylesha Whaley come through. Villarroel will have left her mark on the Sooner program at the conclusion of the 2003-04 season. Her aggressiveness on defense and scoring ability has made her a key figure in Coach Coale's schemes the last two years.

- By Ben Nesbitt

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Senior Maria Villarroel Leaves Her Mark On OU Basketball.

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