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January 18, 2013 | Record: 14-3 (4-1 Big 12) | Gameday Central | Stats

We Are Family

A number of Sooner alumni will return to Norman when Oklahoma hosts Texas at the Lloyd Noble Center at 2 p.m on Saturday.

For the current team, rarely a moment passes when they are not reminded of the groundwork - and resulting success - laid by the former Sooners into making the program one of the nation's elite.

"I think it's just an honor and a privilege to have them come back because they're who started this with all of the thousands of fans we have, the Big 12 championships and all of that," senior guard Jasmine Hartman said. "We just stand on their shoulders so we want to prove to them that we still honor them."

The traditional event reinforces the family-like culture that head coach Sherri Coale has injected the program with over the years. With Sooners moving on to families and careers, Coale said it's the sacrifices they make to come back that makes it special.

"It means a lot," senior forward Joanna McFarland said. "It means that there's genuine connection here. Of course, you say 'These people are my sisters. This is my family.' But if you never stay in contact, that's not really family. To have them come back, interact and want to be a part of our current program, it means continuation, building and growing."

Coale, in her 17th year at Oklahoma, summed it up best:

"Once you're a Sooner, you're always a Sooner. You're invested and every time they play, they play not only for themselves and this institution but for all of those that have come before them."

Saturday, the Sooners will just do it in front of them.

Tinker Air Force Base Visit

The OU women's basketball team has deeply-rooted ties with the U.S. military through the service of player's families, or even its own alumna such as Caton Hill and Phylesha Whaley. The Sooners spent two days of their preseason being trained by a Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Operator and visited the USS Arizona and Oklahoma memorials at Pearl Harbor during its week in Hawaii for a tournament.

Last week, the Sooners reached out close to home by visiting Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City, Okla. OU toured the base before practicing and signing autographs for service members and their families at the Gerrity Fitness Center.

"To have this team give up their time and come here to spend time with our airmen and sailors and their families, it means a lot," 72nd Air Base Wing and Installation Commander Col. Steven J. Bleymaier said.

The 72nd Air Base Wing provides base installation and support services for the headquarters, Air Force Sustainment Center, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex and 45 associate units assigned to six major commands, including the largest flying wing in Air Combat Command, the Navy's Strategic Communications Wing One and several defense agencies.

The Sooners also toured the flight line of the 552 Air Control Wing and stepped on board an E-3 Sentry commonly known as AWACS. The E-3 Sentry aircraft and is part of the Air Force's Air Combat Command mobile strike force. Its radar and other sensors provide deep-look surveillance, warning, interception control and airborne battle management.

Dinner at "The Shed"

Oklahoma's visit to Iowa earlier this week included a pass through Ankeny, hometown of freshman Maddie Manning. The Sooners added to the Manning family tradition by having spaghetti dinner at "The Shed."

"When I was growing up, I had 34 first cousins," Maddie's mother, Kim, said, "and we always used to go to my grandfather's house every Sunday night for spaghetti dinner. So, then when mom and dad moved here, they started up that tradition again. She has 18 grandkids and five children, so they built this shed so everybody would have room to sit down and enjoy themselves."

Dinner with the Mannings isn't "get it and go." It's a four-course meal with garden salad, pretzel salad, spaghetti, Iowa corn and, for dessert, ice cream with a chocolate brownie.

"The Shed" is decorated with years of mementos, from team posters to prize ribbons. And there were many athletic exploits in the Manning household. Maddie has four older brothers, including two who played collegiate baseball.

UP NEXT
OU looks to sweep the season series with Texas before having a week to prepare for its trip to Baylor:

Date	Opponent	Time
1/19	vs. Texas	2 p.m.
1/26	at Baylor	11 a.m.

Tickets | Full Schedule
MOST RECENTLY
The Sooners improved to 4-0 in Big 12 play before dropping their most recent contest on the road:

Opponent	W/L	Score
Iowa State	L	82-61
Texas Tech	W	65-55
TCU	W	85-79

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COACH!
Sooner head coach Sherri Coale's 48th birthday is Saturday. The first 1,000 fans who enter the Lloyd Noble Center will receive cupcakes in celebration of the anniversary.
CHEER LIKE A CHAMPION
Saturday's game marks OU women's basketball annual Cheer Like a Champion promotion. Cheer Like a Champion T-Shirts will adorn all 12,000 seats of the Lloyd Noble Center. Fans are encouraged to be extra loud as the Sooners welcome the Texas Longhorns to Norman.

Texas Game Preview

QUOTABLE
Senior F Joanna McFarland
"All the adversity that we've faced has made us even tighter; our chemistry is greater because we have a lot of leadership on the sideline now. We're all just playing for those people who can't, and we're trying to make a stand."

Head Coach Sherri Coale
"We've got a lot of room for growth, a lot of improvements to make but I just love their spirit. I love the way they fight together and their belief in one another and themselves and the way they represent our program. I couldn't be more proud of them, they are an absolute blast to coach because they are always reachable and they are always receptive and try to do whatever we ask them to do and that's fun."

THE PINK LADDER
This week's Big 12 Report features assistant coach Jan Ross' battle with cancer and the team's support:

Team Rallies Around Coach Ross
TEAM NOTES

The Oklahoma-Texas series is one of the most competitive. The Longhorns own the all-time record 23-20, but the Sooners' win in Austin on Jan. 5 gave OU a 19-18 lead since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.

Saturday night is all right with Oklahoma. The Sooners are 5-0 on Saturdays this season.

Of Oklahoma's 14 wins, 13 have a common thread -- the Sooner defense held its opponent to 40 percent or lower field goal shooting.

2012-13 Game Notes

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Junior G Morgan Hook
The Sooners' point guard has counted a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in eight straight games. Hook has not counted more turnovers than assists since a two-assist, three-turnover performance against North Texas on Dec. 6.

Senior F Joanna McFarland
Since returning to the starting lineup full time in the last eight games, McFarland averages 10.6 points and 10.3 rebounds and has double-doubles in three of five Big 12 games, which leads the league.

Junior G Aaryn Ellenberg
Ellenberg is within the century mark of Oklahoma's top 10 career scoring leaders. With 1,413 career points, the junior guard is just 99 shy of passing Angi Guffy, who scored 1,511 between 1992-95.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Stay connected with the OU women's basketball team by following our feeds on Twitter and Instagram:

Twitter: @OUWomensHoops
Instagram: @ou_wbasketball