Sooners tune up for tough stretch by beating Mercer
OU 108, Mercer 66
By Jenni Carlson, Staff Writer
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Published: November 14, 2009
NORMAN — Beating an undersized, outmatched bunch from Mercer proved to be no problem for Oklahoma.
Oklahoma forward Nyeshia Stevenson, right, goes up for a shot in front of Mercer forward Lacy Ramon, left. AP photo
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Now comes the tough part.
Even though the
Sooners cruised in their season opener 108-66 on Friday night at the
Lloyd Noble Center, it was merely a tune-up for the scary stretch that awaits them.
"Talk about tough stretches,” Sooner coach
Sherri Coale said. "Show me a part of our schedule that isn’t tough.”
True, but the next five games will set the tone for the season. Each game is against an opponent either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason polls, starting Sunday at No. 21-ranked
Georgia and ending two days after Thanksgiving against No. 4 Notre Dame.
And the way the Sooners finished Friday gives them a boost. OU pulled away in the second half after trailing midway through the first half and leading only 52-39 at halftime.
Just two opponents scored as many points in the first half against the Sooners last season as Mercer did —
Connecticut and
California.
"We were just so wound up on offense in the first half, just going too fast, trying to make things happen when things were readily available for us,” Coale said.
The Sooners slowed their play and accelerated their scoring in the second half. They shot 56.4 percent from the floor after halftime.
Still, they finished the game with some ugly numbers, including 19 turnovers.
"It was just us going too fast,” said Sooner point guard
Danielle Robinson, who had four turnovers. "In the first half, everybody was looking to do the hardest thing when the simple thing was right there in front of us.”
Coale said, "It’s hard to be too disgruntled when you score 108 points, but we’ve got to do a lot of things better.”
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