Win AND Go Home

Stanford (25-9)

Oklahoma (21-11)

March 23 | 5:30 p.m. CT | Maples Pavilion | Stanford, Calif.

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PALO ALTO, Calif – If you are lucky enough to hang around the Oklahoma women's basketball team during the NCAA Tournament, there's little doubt you will hear the following phrase at least once or twice.

Win and go home.

By virtue of their No. 5 seeding, the Sooners need just two wins to have the opportunity to head back to the Sooners state for regional play at the Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City.

The Sooners' 111-84 win over Quinnipiac Saturday afternoon was the first step on the road back to OKC. The offensive explosion has the team feeling good.

“I just feel like we were having fun,” senior Sharane Campbell-Olds said. “When someone would make a pass that led to a shot, that connection between the person who passed and the person who shot—just eye contact, smiling and laughing. I know specifically when I got a block and got fouled I felt the bench wanting to come grab me. I just felt their energy and they made me excited.”

That connection is something the team strives for because when they find it, they can play with anyone.

“That is what we talk about,” redshirt sophomore Peyton Little said. “That is what it takes for us to win is for us to be connected on the court. We did that last night and we had a lot of fun with it. When we are playing like that baskets go in.”

Oklahoma's win Saturday leaves just one obstacle standing between them and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen just up the road from home. The home-standing Stanford Cardinal.

“Going back home would mean everything,” Little said. “Stanford is playing on their home court so it will be a tough one. They are a great team but we will be ready for it. Stanford has that aura about them. They have been really good in the past and they are the only team to beat UCONN this year. Nothing like that will stop us from doing what we need to do to win.”

The prospect of playing in front of the home crowd has all the Sooners buzzing with excitement.

“I feel like it would be a big advantage for us,” freshman Vionise Pierre-Louis said. “It would be in front of the home crowd, and when we have our fans there it is exciting. It's just exciting to be there surrounded by people that you love and your teammates.”

“It would mean the world,” Little said. “That's what we have been saying. Win and go home. We would get to go home and play in front of our home fans in Oklahoma City. That would mean everything.”

Campbell-Olds may have the most invested in Monday's outcome. The senior is playing to keep her career from ending. Game by game she fights for more time. Going back to Oklahoma would just be the icing on the cake.

“It would mean a lot,” Campbell-Olds said. “We didn't end the regular season the way we wanted to against Kansas. It's not in Norman, but it's in Oklahoma so of course it would be a home court advantage. Being able to go back and play in front of our fans and hopefully give them something a win that they deserve to see. I am enjoying it. That's the goal for me. I want to practice another week with these girls and the staff. I just want to make this last as long as it can. It's a win-win.”

Win and go home. The Sooners are just one win away.

“Just having the opportunity to go home has us excited,” Pierre-Louis said. “We are ready to get this mission done.”