Sweet Sixteenth

NORMAN – For the 16^th consecutive year the Oklahoma women's basketball team has earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Sooners, an at-large selection at 20-11, were named a five seed in the Oklahoma City Region and will play 12^th-seeded Quinnipiac of the Metro Atlantic Conference in the first round in Palo Alto, Calif. Saturday, March 21 at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

“I love the bracket, because we're in it," head coach Sherri Coale said. "That's my favorite part of it always. I love the fact that we're a five seed. California is beautiful this time of year I hear, so we're looking forward to it.”

Oklahoma's streak of 16-straight tournament appearances is currently the sixth longest active streak among Division I teams. Oklahoma has made 18 total appearances in program history.

There are thousands of kids across the country who play for four years and never get to be in the seat that you're in. Don't for one second take that opportunity for granted.
Head Coach Sherri Coale

“We have talked a lot about the expectations of our program and the fact that we have been to 16 in a row and it's the sixth longest streak in the country," Coale said. "The five who are ahead of us are Stanford, Connecticut, Notre Dame and Tennessee. At the same time, you balance that with you have four years to do this. There are thousands of kids across the country who play for four years and never get to be in the seat that you're in. Don't for one second take that opportunity for granted.”

The Sooners finished the 2014-2015 season in second place in the Big 12 with a 13-5 record, and advanced to the semifinals round of the Big 12 Tournament with a win over West Virginia in the quarterfinals.

The Sooners are led into the tournament by a trio of award winners. Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Peyton Little, a redshirt sophomore, leads the Sooners in scoring with 13.2 points per game, and is shooting .422 from the field.

“We are excited about the draw," said the redshirt sophomore from Abilene, Texas. "It is a huge opportunity for us, and we are really excited to go to California. We are going to play some great teams, but we get these two games and then have the chance to come home and play in front of our fans here.”

All-Big 12 second team honoree Kaylon Williams leads the Big 12 in shooting at 59.3 percent and averages 11.9 points per game to go along with 6.7 boards. Big 12 Freshman of the Year Gabbi Ortiz averages 7.8 points per game and 3.3 assists.

"We get a fresh start with teams that aren't Big 12 teams and don't know us like the back of their hand," Ortiz said. "We are just excited to get a fresh start. We have been learning and growing everyday in practice.”

The Bobcats of Quinnipiac finished the year with a 31-3 record, winning both the MAAC regular season and tournament championships. The Bobcats have won their last 21 consecutive games. Oklahoma has never faced Quinnipiac.

“I don't know anything about Quinnipiac except, obviously, that they have won 31 games I think and that's a lot," Coale said. "That's hard to do. At the outset, I have the utmost respect for them. I took a quick look at them on the drive up here and don't know much right now, but we will certainly respect them.”

Head coach Tricia Fabbri, in her 19^th season with Quinnipiac, was named the 2015 MAAC Coach of the Year. The Bobcats are led by senior forward Val Driscoli who is averaging 12.7 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game. In addition to Driscoli, three other members of the Bobcat squad earned All-MAAC honors this year.

No. 4 seed Stanford and No. 13 seed CSUN will meet in the other first round game in Palo Alto at 5:30 CT, immediately following the conclusion of the Sooners' first round game. Stanford, which will be playing on its home court, is the only team to have beaten No. 1 overall seed UCONN this season. Second round play in Palo Alto will take place Monday, March 23 with time TBA.

With a pair of wins during opening weekend, the Sooners would be in the favorable position of playing their regional games just a few miles north of Norman inside the friendly confines of the Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City. Regional play runs March 27-30.

“I love the Oklahoma City part of it," Coale said. "It's interesting. Our kids were so excited. We're so young and it was like a bunch of kids at Christmas. Then our name popped up on the screen and they're all screaming and then in a little bit they're like 'Now where are we going?'. We're going to California. It took a little bit for them to understand that we were in the Oklahoma City regional and have an opportunity to win our way back home.”

OU's road to Tampa for a potential Final Four appearance will run through current AP poll No. 2 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish, a No. 1 seed, went 31-2 this season and are the tournament's second overall seed. A familiar foe holds the No. 2 spot in the Sooners' corner of the bracket. Big 12 rival Baylor comes in as the No. 2 seed. The Iowa Hawkeyes are the OKC Region's No. 3 seed.