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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Photo by: Ty Russell
Women's Basketball Season Preview
November 23, 2020 | Women's Basketball
As basketball begins amidst the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oklahoma women's basketball team has worked to take the challenge in stride.
"Our rallying cry has been the word 'pivot.' As things change, we just pivot and look at them in a different way and attack," said head coach Sherri Coale, who is entering her 25th season at OU. "I have to give it up to our kids; they've done a great job of just being unflappable."
The Sooners' 2019-20 season came to an end just hours before OU was set to tip of the first round of the Big 12 Championships in Kansas City as safety concerns around COVID-19 halted sports around the world.
A new challenge was presented when quarantine began, but the players pivoted, putting up shots on well-loved backyard basketball hoops, dribbling in driveways and finding innovative ways to condition while confined to their homes.
"Back at the beginning of the pandemic, we had conversations about if players are going to choose, maybe for the first time in their lives, if they work or if they don't," said Coale. "No gyms were open and there were no trainers telling them when to get to practice. They had to decide if they wanted to get better. We had some kids who made some obvious choices and it's been fun to see them shine."
Now reunited in Norman, the Sooners are poised to reap the benefits of the work they put in during quarantine. Although they will be without Ana Llanusa, who will miss the year due to injury, OU returns three of its top four scorers from 2019-20 in Preseason All-Big 12 selections Taylor Robertson (19.1 PPG) and Madi Williams (16.3 PPG) as well as Gabby Gregory (11.3).
Robertson, an All-Big 12 honorable mention last season, shattered a host of OU and Big 12 records from the 3-point line. Robertson drained 131 treys to break the league's single-season record, which had stood since 2002 and became the first Big 12 player to hit 100 or more 3-pointers in consecutive seasons. The McPherson, Kan., native led the nation in made 3s as well as 3s per game (4.37).
Robertson joined the 1,000 points club on March 7, becoming just the third player in program history to achieve the feat in two seasons. Robertson tallied 15 games with 20 points or more, including three 30-point outings during the 2019-20 season.
"You talk about a fun kid to coach," said Coale of Robertson. "She loves basketball, she never wants practice to be over, she comes in and works on her own. She's getting better at understanding spacing and how to attack the ways opponents have found to limit her touches. This kid is going to blow every 3-point record out of the water and just continue to get 3s because she's understanding how to manipulate various coverages. She's a star."
Williams' Preseason All-Big 12 team nod is just the beginning for the junior from Fort Worth, says Coale.
"Madi's just a different player than she was a year ago. She's one who took the time in quarantine very seriously and worked on her handles, worked on her game, worked on her shot. Her skillset is better, but her presence is greater and she's playing harder with purpose all the time."
Gregory's breakout freshman season culminated in a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 freshman team. A proven scorer, Gregory poured in points in double figures in 18 contests, including a career-high 30 points at Baylor on Feb. 22. Gregory was the only player in the country to score more than 25 points against the Lady Bears and the only Big 12 freshman with a 30-point performance during the 2019-20 season.
It's her competitive mindset and maturation that Coale knows will continue to grow Gregory's game.
"It doesn't matter what you're playing, she' trying to win, and that's contagious," said Coale. "She's adding to that a better understanding of how to defend and she knows she has to be a better defender for us to be able to win games. She's growing there. She can just see more now offensively and defensively because the game has slowed down for her on the court."
Coale feels that although this year's roster is small, it is deep and that each player presents a threat for opponents.
Confidence will be a key for this squad, and Tatum Veitenheimer is one player Coale feels exemplifies the growth that comes with it best. While home in Windthorst, Texas, and limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, Veitenheimer refined her shot in an innovative way.
"Tatum's goal over the spring and summer was to become a better shooter. She worked on her game from a shooting standpoint the best she could, but she also spent a lot of time visualizing and going through the mental muscle memory pattern of being a great shooter. She's a much more confident shooter now than she was last year."
"Liz is growing like crazy," Coale said. "She can really pass the ball, she's clever with her finishes, she's developing consistency on her shot. There's a lot of growth for her right now. She's just attacking it and learning every day."
Veteran forward Mandy Simpson is back for her senior year. A seasoned rebounder, Simpson averaged 6.9 boards per contest last season. She also proved herself as a scoring threat when she poured in 18 points against LSU (Dec. 7), and showed off her court vision when she dished out 12 assists in OU's wild comeback at Kansas on Feb. 2.
Newcomers Heavenly Greer (Phoenix, Ariz.), Nevaeh Tot (McKinney, Texas) and Skylar Vann (Edmond, Okla.) will look to make a quick impact for the Sooners.
As a senior at Ganesha High School in California, Greer averaged a stuffed stat sheet of 26 points, 15 rebounds, seven blocks, five steals and seven assists per game. Still, Coale feels the 6-3 forward doesn't know just how effective she can be.
"Heavenly will sometimes do things in the post that just happen so fast and fluidly, I have to ask myself, 'does she even know what she just did?' She's got physical gifts that go for days."
Coale calls point guard Tot a "floor general" who moves with speed and can make decisions just as quickly. Tot scored over 2,000 points in her high school career and averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals as a senior.
An Oklahoma native, Vann averaged 18.9 points per game to lead the No. 4 team in the state in scoring while a senior at Deer Creek High School.
This season will certainly be one to remember as COVID-19 continues to present challenges for all. But the Sooners are well-prepared.
"I really do believe that this is one of these years above all others where the spoils are going to go to the team that's most capable of handling change," said Coale. "That paradigm is different than it's ever been before, and the team that handles it best is going to be successful."
As they continue to pivot and find new ways to grow, the Sooners are well on their way.
"Our rallying cry has been the word 'pivot.' As things change, we just pivot and look at them in a different way and attack," said head coach Sherri Coale, who is entering her 25th season at OU. "I have to give it up to our kids; they've done a great job of just being unflappable."
The Sooners' 2019-20 season came to an end just hours before OU was set to tip of the first round of the Big 12 Championships in Kansas City as safety concerns around COVID-19 halted sports around the world.
A new challenge was presented when quarantine began, but the players pivoted, putting up shots on well-loved backyard basketball hoops, dribbling in driveways and finding innovative ways to condition while confined to their homes.
"Back at the beginning of the pandemic, we had conversations about if players are going to choose, maybe for the first time in their lives, if they work or if they don't," said Coale. "No gyms were open and there were no trainers telling them when to get to practice. They had to decide if they wanted to get better. We had some kids who made some obvious choices and it's been fun to see them shine."
Now reunited in Norman, the Sooners are poised to reap the benefits of the work they put in during quarantine. Although they will be without Ana Llanusa, who will miss the year due to injury, OU returns three of its top four scorers from 2019-20 in Preseason All-Big 12 selections Taylor Robertson (19.1 PPG) and Madi Williams (16.3 PPG) as well as Gabby Gregory (11.3).
Robertson, an All-Big 12 honorable mention last season, shattered a host of OU and Big 12 records from the 3-point line. Robertson drained 131 treys to break the league's single-season record, which had stood since 2002 and became the first Big 12 player to hit 100 or more 3-pointers in consecutive seasons. The McPherson, Kan., native led the nation in made 3s as well as 3s per game (4.37).
Robertson joined the 1,000 points club on March 7, becoming just the third player in program history to achieve the feat in two seasons. Robertson tallied 15 games with 20 points or more, including three 30-point outings during the 2019-20 season.
""Our rallying cry has been the word 'pivot.' As things change, we just pivot and look at them in a different way and attack."
- Head Coach Sherri Coale
"You talk about a fun kid to coach," said Coale of Robertson. "She loves basketball, she never wants practice to be over, she comes in and works on her own. She's getting better at understanding spacing and how to attack the ways opponents have found to limit her touches. This kid is going to blow every 3-point record out of the water and just continue to get 3s because she's understanding how to manipulate various coverages. She's a star."
Robertson enters her junior season as Preseason All-Big 12 Team selection and a member of the 20-player watchlist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, the honor given to the top shooting guard in Division I women's basketball.In addition to averaging 16.1 points per game last season, Williams was the team's leading rebounder with an average 7.3 per contest. Williams scored in double figures in 27 of 30 games in 2019-20, including the last 18 straight. The Fort Worth native had seven performance with 20 or more points, including three contests with at least 10 made field goals. She registered a team-high six double-doubles in 2019-20.
Williams' Preseason All-Big 12 team nod is just the beginning for the junior from Fort Worth, says Coale.
"Madi's just a different player than she was a year ago. She's one who took the time in quarantine very seriously and worked on her handles, worked on her game, worked on her shot. Her skillset is better, but her presence is greater and she's playing harder with purpose all the time."
Gregory's breakout freshman season culminated in a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 freshman team. A proven scorer, Gregory poured in points in double figures in 18 contests, including a career-high 30 points at Baylor on Feb. 22. Gregory was the only player in the country to score more than 25 points against the Lady Bears and the only Big 12 freshman with a 30-point performance during the 2019-20 season.
It's her competitive mindset and maturation that Coale knows will continue to grow Gregory's game.
"It doesn't matter what you're playing, she' trying to win, and that's contagious," said Coale. "She's adding to that a better understanding of how to defend and she knows she has to be a better defender for us to be able to win games. She's growing there. She can just see more now offensively and defensively because the game has slowed down for her on the court."
Coale feels that although this year's roster is small, it is deep and that each player presents a threat for opponents.
Confidence will be a key for this squad, and Tatum Veitenheimer is one player Coale feels exemplifies the growth that comes with it best. While home in Windthorst, Texas, and limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, Veitenheimer refined her shot in an innovative way.
"Tatum's goal over the spring and summer was to become a better shooter. She worked on her game from a shooting standpoint the best she could, but she also spent a lot of time visualizing and going through the mental muscle memory pattern of being a great shooter. She's a much more confident shooter now than she was last year."
Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention Madi Williams averaged 16.1 points per game and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest in 2019-20.The Sooners also return a healthy Liz Scott, who missed last year's non-conference slate as she recovered from a knee injury sustained her senior year of high school. Now playing at 100%, the forward look to fill a bigger role.
"Liz is growing like crazy," Coale said. "She can really pass the ball, she's clever with her finishes, she's developing consistency on her shot. There's a lot of growth for her right now. She's just attacking it and learning every day."
Veteran forward Mandy Simpson is back for her senior year. A seasoned rebounder, Simpson averaged 6.9 boards per contest last season. She also proved herself as a scoring threat when she poured in 18 points against LSU (Dec. 7), and showed off her court vision when she dished out 12 assists in OU's wild comeback at Kansas on Feb. 2.
Newcomers Heavenly Greer (Phoenix, Ariz.), Nevaeh Tot (McKinney, Texas) and Skylar Vann (Edmond, Okla.) will look to make a quick impact for the Sooners.
As a senior at Ganesha High School in California, Greer averaged a stuffed stat sheet of 26 points, 15 rebounds, seven blocks, five steals and seven assists per game. Still, Coale feels the 6-3 forward doesn't know just how effective she can be.
"Heavenly will sometimes do things in the post that just happen so fast and fluidly, I have to ask myself, 'does she even know what she just did?' She's got physical gifts that go for days."
Coale calls point guard Tot a "floor general" who moves with speed and can make decisions just as quickly. Tot scored over 2,000 points in her high school career and averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals as a senior.
An Oklahoma native, Vann averaged 18.9 points per game to lead the No. 4 team in the state in scoring while a senior at Deer Creek High School.
This season will certainly be one to remember as COVID-19 continues to present challenges for all. But the Sooners are well-prepared.
"I really do believe that this is one of these years above all others where the spoils are going to go to the team that's most capable of handling change," said Coale. "That paradigm is different than it's ever been before, and the team that handles it best is going to be successful."
As they continue to pivot and find new ways to grow, the Sooners are well on their way.
Oklahoma opens the 2020-21 season on Wednesday when it hosts Houston at Lloyd Noble Center. The game will tip at noon CT. Season tickets, mini plans and single-game purchases can be made at SoonerSports.com/Tickets.
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