Women's Hoops Earns No. 1 Seed

NCAA Women's Championship Selection Monday

Click the links below to view reaction from Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale and players...

OU head coach Sherri Coale

Senior center Courtney Paris

Sophomore guard Danielle Robinson

Freshman guard Whitney Hand

Related Links

Oklahoma Selection Show Watch Party Gallery

Oklahoma NCAA Championship History

Tournament Central | Women's Basketball Blog

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Sooner women are the No. 1 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional and will head to Iowa City, Iowa, for their first-round NCAA Championship matchup with the 16th-seeded Prairie View A&M Panthers.

The 64-team NCAA Women's Championship bracket was announced Monday evening on ESPN's selection show. The team watched the announcement at OU head coach Sherri Coale's home in Norman and celebrated jubilantly once their seeding was announced.

"I think it's an honor," Coale said of earning a No. 1 seed. "It's a very, very difficult thing to attain. As you look through the bracket and see all the teams that were twos and threes and the quality of those teams that got those positions in the bracket, it really sits on you how much of an honor it is."

Tickets |

Printable Bracket (PDF)

An at-large bid, Oklahoma will play SWAC champions Prairie View at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, Sunday, March 22, at 6 p.m. Central. The game will be televised on ESPN2. The winner of that game will meet the winner of (8) Iowa/(9) Georgia Tech on Tuesday, March 24.

Coale wasn't concern with a possible home-court advantage for Iowa in the second round.

"I believe our fans will travel," Coale said. "I think people in Iowa will show up for that game and support Iowa. It can be a great, great women's basketball environment."

The 2009 Big 12 Champions earned a top seed for the second time in program history. OU's 2002 national runner-up team was the only previous Sooner squad to take a national No. 1 seed.

Should the Sooners advance through the first and second rounds, a return to Oklahoma City for the regional semifinal awaits.

"I think that's a huge motivation," Coale said of returning home on their path to a national title, "not that kids need any type of extra motivation when it comes to trying to get to a Final Four.

"I think they feel it's an advantage and I know we certainly feel it is an advantage to play in front of our home fans.

Big 12 Player of the Year Courtney Paris leads the Sooners, averaging 16.4 points and 13.7 rebounds. Paris needs just 30 rebounds to become the first college basketball player ever -- any gender, any membership, any division -- to collect 2,500 points and 2,000 rebounds in a career.

"I think it was cool we get to be a No. 1 seed and have the opportunity to get back to Oklahoma City again," Paris said. "Hopefully, we just take care of business and go out there and play as hard as we can and get back."

QUOTES
Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale
• On playing in Iowa City:
"We weren't thinking that. We were thinking somewhere south. Maybe Albuquerque or Lubbock but it doesn't matter. We're really pleased with the No. 1 seed. We'll find out what Prairie View has and go from there."

• On the potential of meeting Iowa on its home court in the second round:
"Well sometimes because of the way the tournament works and the way the committee is commissioned to do, which is to put together an equitable bracket but also put some people in the stands and grow this game, you're going to get some situations like that. If you're a No. 1 seed, you ought to be good enough to beat them wherever you play; that's just the way it goes and I'm alright with that. I think if we're supposed to win we need to go take care of business because before we can think about that one, we've got to go beat Prairie View."

• On being in the Oklahoma City Regional affecting first and second round placement:
"I think that's part of the madness in the next round. If we're able to take care of our business and get there, then we will be near our fans and that will be a fantastic regional so we have that to look forward to. Our fans travel well, they always have. That can sometimes be a blessing and a curse with the committee because the committee recognizes that. They know that when we went to Austin (2007 first and second rounds) they know the majority of the people in the stands were Oklahoma Sooner fans. I believe our fans will travel. I think people in Iowa will show up for that game and support Iowa. It can be a great, great women's basketball environment. Maybe we can even get some Cyclone fans in there from Iowa State, fellow Big 12 fans, that can't make it out...somewhere west, far away, and come cheer for us. You never know, the Big 12 is pretty loyal that way."

• On being the No. 1 seed:
"I think it's an honor. It's a very, very difficult thing to attain. As you look through the bracket and see all the teams that were twos and threes and the quality of those teams that got those positions in the bracket, it really sits on you how much of an honor it is. It doesn't put you in a position where anything is guaranteed. If you look at the whole bracket, twos are sometimes, in some situations, even better than ones. It just depends on who's lined up with you and what the matchups are like."

• On if Oklahoma has put behind it the loss in the Big 12 Championship:
"We hope so. We tried to exercise some demons that last couple of days. Contrary to popular belief, Connecticut wasn't the only team that practiced today."

• On if this year's Oklahoma team is in a better position that last year's:
"This (year's) team doesn't remind me of last year's team in any way, shape or form. We feel really, really fortunate that we had the Big 12 tournament to get Whitney (Hand) back worked in a little bit. (We were) a little bit rusty in timing and spacing and some things as that lineup changes. I think that was really good for us and I think that will be big. I already feel better about everybody together in timing and sync of our offense. I think our guys understand it's about effort at this point. We have really good pieces. If those pieces don't always play real hard, anybody can beat us. If those pieces all play hard and compete at the highest possible level, we can beat just about anybody, too. I think our guys get that and maybe the early exit from the Big 12 tournament drove that home a little deeper."

• On being able to play through Oklahoma City to get to a Final Four:
"I think that's a huge motivation, not that kids need any type of extra motivation when it comes to trying to get to a Final Four. I think they feel it's an advantage and I know we certainly feel it is an advantage to play in front of our home fans. I think we'll fill up the Ford Center if we're able to get back to that spot."

• On Courtney Paris' guarantee of a national championship or paying back her scholarship:
"I think that newspapers and TV stations look for headlines. They look for things that may people go, `oh my goodness.' I said it to ESPN during an interview in the (Big 12) men's tournament -- it was a great intimate moment between a player who appreciated her fans, her institution, the fan base in terms of what they had done for growing her as a person. It was more about the educational process than the basketball career. She's trying to quantify what it means to her. In this day and age of entitlement, where it runs rampant, to have a kid feel like she needs to give something back -- I think the message and the sentiment behind that -- we need to pay attention to that. That's a special thing and I think we're missing the point by talking about $64,000 all the time."

• On if the guarantee was a distraction or a motivation for the team:
"Anything can be a distraction if you allow it to. What we're focused on its competing on every single possession, blocking out, executing, setting screens, hard basket cuts, spacing, timing, making free throws and all those things that actually determine whether or not you win basketball games."

• On if the amount of attention surround Connecticut is an advantage for other teams:
"Geno (Auriemma) hit it on the head. Anybody who's watching anywhere in America is so sick of Connecticut they could throw up. He said it himself, he's almost sick enough to vomit. The key point is this: if you've got to beat them five times, you might be in trouble, whether it's Maryland, Oklahoma, Duke or whoever it is. But, basketball is really special sport. That's why this tournament is a focal point for everybody in America. Every office in America is paying attention to what happens in March because anything can happen. And, yes, you do have to have some key parts and I think we have those."

• On what situations help carry a team through the tournament:
"I think you pull from all your experiences. Depending on how you handle those as they occur, being good experiences or bad experiences, they can fuel you and put you in the best possible position to win the next possession. I think how you talk about those on a daily basis, how you use them in practice adds to that. It can't just be pull it out of the hat with six minutes to go in a game somewhere. I think if you talk about those things and what you learn from them, all kinds of things can be of value."

• On if being a No. 1 seed is a fair trade-off for not getting a closer first and second round site:
"I didn't really about that first round spot. I had the opportunity to go through the (NCAA) mock bracketing process back in February. At that particular time it looked like we could end up in Duluth and maybe Georgia would be there. We talked about that scenario...and I understand that there is a dual purpose to what we're trying to do here. We're trying to grow this sport. If we really are a No. 1 seed and we are what we're supposed to be, it doesn't matter where we play. We should win that game. I don't have a problem with it. I don't think it's unfair; I don't think it's inequitable. I think its part of the process and I think the committee's doing a wonderful job trying to grow our game."

Oklahoma senior center Courtney Paris
• On her thoughts of the bracket:
"I think it was cool we get to be a No. 1 seed and have the opportunity to get back to Oklahoma City again. Hopefully, we just take care of business and go out there and play as hard as we can and get back."

• On if having a No. 1 seed is a fair trade-off for not having a closer first round site:
"I personally don't know how all that stuff works as far as where you go. It doesn't matter to me. Just as long as we're able to play."

• On if the team has put their Big 12 Championship semifinal loss behind them:
"I think we're all still a little upset about it and upset at ourselves really. We are just trying to make sure we get back on the practice court and fix everything that we did wrong, get ready for the tournament."

• On what the key is to fixing problems:
"To continue to practice. Most of it is mental stuff and we can control it. Playing hard -- that stuff we know. We just have to get back to where we were. We can't get tired in the process. We have to stay hungry."

•On living with the guarantee that will play on ESPN every day of the tournament:
"I think it's been made more than it is. I stick to it and I believe in our team and that's what it is about. I'm not really worried about what ESPN does. It's their job to do everything they do."

• On her father's comments played during the selection show:
"My dad's is crazy. He's a funny guy. I think that was taken a little bit out of proportion, too."

Sophomore guard Danielle Robinson
• On being the No. 1 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional
"I definitely think we're excited about the opportunity we have being a No. 1 seed and being in Oklahoma City. Definitely somewhat of an advantage, but there's definitely something we have to take care of before we can get back to Oklahoma City. Excited about the opportunity and the opportunity to compete as a team."

• On what her high-energy style bring to the team:
"Well, being a point guard, you have to bring that energy, but you also have to lead. I think you have to have the poise to lead by bringing energy so I think they go hand in hand. I'm definitely excited about the opportunity I have to lead this team in our NCAA run."

• On what it would mean to win for the seniors:
"Our team definitely has something special including our three seniors -- Courtney (Paris), Ashley (Paris), Carolyn (Winchester) -- and we definitely want to make it a great final go-round for them. I definitely think we have what it takes to do something special with them."

• On the team putting the Big 12 Championship semifinal loss behind them:
"We're definitely disappointed in the outcome. But the NCAAs are a whole different tournament and you start out with a clean slate. So, we have to put the Big 12 tournament behind us."

• On her thoughts of Courtney Paris' guarantee:
"Courtney wouldn't have said it if she wasn't confident in our team and how special we are. As a team, we back her up and support what she says. We're definitely excited she would be bold enough to say something like that and help us make a statement.

Freshman guard Whitney Hand
• On coming back from the injury during the Big 12 Championship:
"It was obviously a frustrating weekend. I think, this week, practice is going to be good just to get some reps and get rhythm back offensively."

• On how she prepares for her first NCAA Championship:
"I think it's just taking it game by game. We have Prairie View first, so it's just not looking past that, going to Iowa and taking care of business then coming back home, hopefully."

• On the importance of playing well for the senior class:
"I think that's why we play. I think that's why all us underclassmen play. It's for them. I think that's what makes our team so special is that we care so much about each other and especially them going out just as a legacy and just leaving all they can behind them. This has been a goal since August 25th when we first started. We're all excited. We're ready and they're ready and its going to be great."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors