Sooners Showcase Depth At Scrimmage

NORMAN -- Even though the regular-season opener is still nearly two weeks, leaving plenty of time for readjusting and fine-tuning, it is clear the Oklahoma women's basketball team has discovered a strength: depth. That was certainly on display during the Sooners Crimson and Cream scrimmage Thursday night.

Playing four 10-minute intervals, 11 players scored at least five points during the annual scrimmage at the Lloyd Noble Center, which was the first chance for the Sooner faithful to catch a glimpse of the 2014-15 team.

The score didn't matter much as players swapped teams after each 'interval' but for the record, the Crimson won 'interval one' 24-10, earned the 'second interval' victory 26-8 and the 'third interval' 30-13. The Cream came back to win the fourth and final interval 29-26 in overtime.

After a few weeks of battling each other behind closed doors, the squad seemed excited for the opportunity to play in an atmosphere more representative of a real game.

“It was very exciting,” stated redshirt sophomore Peyton Little. “We are in the practice gym quite a bit so to go live out on the main court was awesome. It was fun to play in front of our fans for the first time. They got to see our new players and just us and how we have come along.”

There were dome saucy passes and some good shots. We ran the floor and it was really fun out there.
Kaylon Williams

After a slow start for Little - the transfer from Texas A&M who is eligible to hit the hardwood after sitting out the 2013-14 campaign - she lit up the nets in the final two intervals. In the third interval alone, the guard drained 5-of-6 from the field, including a blazing 4-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc for a team-leading 15 points. She closed out the final 20 minutes with a total of 24 points, along with two assists and two steals.

“I was a little passive in the first couple quarters and coach told me, 'I brought you here to score not pass open looks', explained Little. “Once I started to play my game everything settled in.”

Junior center Kaylon Williams was a presence down low from the start. She led the first two intervals with 14 points and five boards and closed out the final 20 minutes registering a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Williams was pleased with not only her performance with her team's overall output on the night.

“It was a good scrimmage,” explained Williams. “For the most part we did a good job challenging each other and making each other better. There were dome saucy passes and some good shots. We ran the floor and it was really fun out there.”

Also hitting double-digits on the evening was junior guard Nicole Kornet. The sharpshooter had 10 points for the Crimson in the opening two intervals, sinking four of her five shots, including both 3-point attempts.

All-in-all the team shot the ball impressively. The Crimson finished the four intervals sinking 37-of-68 from the field, 54.4 percent, while the Cream nailed 40.3 percent of their shots, 23-of-57.

I was a little passive in the first couple of quarters. Once I started to play my game everything settled in.
Peyton Little

Sooner head coach Sherri Coale was also impressed with her teams accuracy on the night and happy with what she saw on the floor.

“We actually shot it extremely well for not having been in the arena any more than we have,” stated the 19^th year head coach. “We had two days of practice and this was our third time to be on the floor this year. I think we shot it close to 50 percent on the night. I don't know if that's good offense or bad defense when you are playing against yourself. I thought they handled the situation really well. That arena can be intimidating because of its size. Not having played in front of people before there were some jitters but I thought they handled themselves very well.”

Six newcomers were able to adjust to the bright lights, highlighted by freshman center Vionise Pierre-Louis who finished the 40 minutes with 10 points and had four rebounds and classmate LaNesia Williams added 12 points – all coming in the final two intervals.

The Sooners next test is an exhibition game against Southeastern Oklahoma State University Wednesday, Nov. 5. The contest at the Lloyd Noble Center is set for 7 p.m.