I am such a fan of women's basketball that I watched it before it became so popular. These days, women's basketball often out draws the men's sport.

Oklahomans are particularly addicted, thanks to our great coach, Oklahoma native, Sherri Coale, and her exciting teams. The Sooners drew crowds averaging over 10,000 a game this year, playing before three sell-out crowds.

Coach Coale took a women's program on the verge of extinction to the NCAA national championship game in just five years.

Since then the Sooners have been among the elite programs in the nation, having been back every year to the national tournament. They have been perennial Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight contenders.

At the beginning of the season, the Sooners were expected to contest for the national championship. However, Coale lost four starters, and this young team with no Seniors never seemed to gel as fans and Coale had anticipated.

Nonetheless, this year's hardboard version does not lack talent. Last year's National Player of the Year, Junior Courtney Paris, anchors a team complemented by her twin sister, Ashley,and Sophomore sparkplug, 5'4' guard Jenna Plumley. Plumley can light it up from outside when she gets hot.

The four-seed Sooners can still make the Sweet Sixteen, however, if they can get by five-seed Notre Dame tonight at 8:30 p.m.(CDT)in West Layfayette, Indiana. The game will be carried on ESPN 2.


Coach Sherri Coale, Ashley Paris, and an unidentified player visit with the press last Saturday following OU's first WNCAA win over Northern Illinois 68-61.

Widely believed to be a contributing factor in Oklahoma's placement in the Oklahoma City Region has been its outstanding fan support over the past several years. The Sooners have one of the nation's best followings, proven this season by ranking No. 3 nationally in home attendance with an average of 10,254 in the seats at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Oklahoma has played in front of several record crowds, including...

• The NCAA Championship Game record attendance of 29,619 at the San Antonio Convention Center for the 2002 national title game.
• The Oklahoma state record for women's basketball attendance of 13,611 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater during the January 2008 Bedlam game.
• The Big 12 Tournament Championship Game record of 12,413 from the 2007 title game at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City when OU defeated Iowa State.
• A program record three consecutive sellouts of the Lloyd Noble Center to finish the 2008 season.

APPROACHING 1,000
Oklahoma started its women's basketball program for the 1974-75 season and is approaching its 1,000th game. To date, the Sooners are two games shy of 1,000 in program history. Should OU make it to the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Regional Semifinal in Oklahoma City, that will mark the program's 1,000th game.

ONE FINAL NOTE:

COACH COALE NOT ONLY STRESSES DISCIPLINE ON THE COURT BUT IN THE CLASSROOM AS WELL. TAKE A LOOK AT THESE STATISTICS! "Coale is about more than "just basketball." While in college she was an Academic All-American and graduated summa cum laude from Oklahoma Christian University. She believes strongly success in the classroom is vital for a well rounded education that will stand her student-athletes in good stead once school is completed.

Four of Coale's teams have been named to the Top 25 WBCA Academic Team Honor Roll. Twenty two of her players have achieved Academic All-Big 12 honors on 47 separate occasions.

Coale has coached an Academic/Athletic All-American who received both honors in the same season and was voted the Verizon Academic Student-Athlete of the Year for all NCAA Division I athletics.(Stacy Dales) In addition Coale has coached two other Academic All-American student/athletes.