OU Extends Streak with No. 6 Seed, Will Face Purdue

NORMAN – For the 17^th straight season, the Oklahoma women's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Sherri Coale.

The Sooners are 21-10 overall and were selected as No. 6 seed in the tournament's Lexington Regional Monday night. OU will face No. 11 seed Purdue on Saturday in Lexington, Ky., at 12:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 in the first round the NCAA Tournament at Memorial Coliseum.

If OU wins its opener, it will play Monday against the winner of No. 3 Kentucky and No. 14 UNC Asheville.

Oklahoma's streak of 17 consecutive NCAA berths ranks as the longest active streak of any team in the Big 12 and the fifth-best active streak among Division I teams. The Sooners have made 19 total appearances in program history.

“It never gets old, 17 straight years. We want to make sure our players still have a great deal of gratitude and excitement about that,” Coale said following the Sooners' selection to the NCAA Field. “Sometimes you can get so accustomed to it and everybody expects it then it's almost a relief. We don't want it to be that way. We want it to be a celebration.”

The Sooners, who tied for fourth place in the Big 12 Conference with an 11-7 mark and advanced to the conference championship's semifinals, are 5-3 all-time as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue is making its 25^th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and finished the regular season with a 20-11 record. The Boilermakers finished sixth in the Big Ten standings with a 10-8 mark in league play.

Oklahoma is 3-0 all-time against Purdue and 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament. The teams last met in the Elite Eight in 2009 in Oklahoma City with the Sooners earning a 74-68 victory. OU also defeated Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2000, topping the Boilermakers on their home floor, 76-74, in West Lafayette, Ind.

OU owns a 31-18 (.633) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and have made three Final Four appearances (2002, 2009, 2010) along with 10 Sweet 16 appearances.

Tickets are available here. Fans can also call the UK Athletics ticket office at 800-928-2287.

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