Long layoff gives Sooners chance to address recent struggles

3/19/2008 7:44 AM

By JEFF LATZKE
AP Sports Writer

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Never before has Sherri Coale had to deal with a streak like this at NCAA tournament time.

Three straight losses sent No. 14 Oklahoma stumbling into the postseason, a startling change from the past few years when her Sooners have been among the hottest teams in the country when the 64-team bracket was announced.

Now Coale's task is to get the fourth-seeded Sooners (21-8) turned around in time to make a tournament run, starting Sunday against Illinois State (26-6) in the Oklahoma City Regional.

``I don't think there will be a challenge to remind our team how important it is to get a win right now,'' Coale said. ``We are hungering and thirsting to get on the floor again and try to right the ship and really restore pride in the way we play and the way we compete.''

Largely due to a string of success in the Big 12 tournament, the Sooners had never headed into the NCAAs with even two straight losses during Coale's tenure.

Last year, her team had a nine-game winning streak heading into tournament play. The year before, it was 17 wins in a row.

``They've just not run from anything all year. For young guys to show up - and I don't mean just walk their body in, I mean really show up - when the world is just coming at them impresses me and it endears me to them and I'm proud of them for that,'' Coale said. ``They haven't been there just in body. They've really shown up.''

An extended layoff has given the Sooners a chance to exhale and loosen up from a grind that started with season-opening games against Maryland and Tennessee, along with expectations for a third straight Big 12 championship.

``I think our team has a lot of pressure just from the things we've done in the past few years, and we've got a bunch of young guys. They come in and they've got to live up to all that,'' center Courtney Paris said.

By game time Sunday, it will have been 12 days since their last game - plenty of time to let those losses soak in and then drift away.

``That's what we've been talking about: New season, new start,'' Paris said. ``We're just ready to go.''