Oklahoma's Amanda Thompson (21) tries to block a shot by Connecticut's Maya Moore (23) during an NCAA college basketball game in Storrs, Conn., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008. Connecticut defeated Oklahoma 106-76. (AP Photo/Bob Child)

Head coach Sherri Coale and the OU women’s basketball team will look to pick up the pieces after Sunday’s tough loss to Connecticut with a win at home against Creighton tonight.

The Sooners were blown out in their last game, losing to UConn 106-78. Coale heaped praise on the No. 1 Huskies after the game.

“I told [Connecticut head coach] Geno [Auriemma] after the game that if they play like that and shoot like that they might win the men’s championship,” Coale said.

The loss gives OU two on the season, the other coming against No. 2 North Carolina in the championship game of the Preseason WNIT.

“I don’t think North Carolina and UConn are really close,” Coale said. “Maybe North Carolina had a bad night and UConn had a good night, but there’s a chasm between them.”

Last year, OU also had losses against two competitive teams going into December. One of those was to eventual national champion Tennessee.

After the setbacks, the Sooners were perfect for the month of December and posted double-digit wins in every game.

This week’s home game marks the first contest of December, and if history repeats itself it does not look bright for Creighton, which is just 2-3 this season.

While the trend seems to pattern years past, this year OU has a few new weapons to throw at its opponent.

Last year, most of the offense went through Courtney Paris in the paint. Shooting from outside five feet was fairly rare.

This year, freshman Whitney Hand and others off the bench have extended the Sooners’ shooting to three-point range.

Hand averaged 12 points in her last three games, and her production is helping pull defenses away from Paris under the basket.

Paris has seen her numbers drop recently. She is only averaging 15 points per game, but that is also because another Paris is picking up the slack.

Ashley Paris has improved her game and now leads the team with almost 16 points per game and seven defensive rebounds per game. The senior worked this summer to get in better shape and that has made her quicker and more mobile.

Danielle Robinson has also made a major impact off the bench as of late.

Head coach Sylvia Hatchell of North Carolina said Robinson was the one Sooner her team did not have an answer for.

Robinson is not generally a three-point shooter, but she has been able to drive to the basket and put up some of the team’s most jaw-dropping lay-ups. Her speed and confidence show with the 19 points she put up for the Sooners in their last game.

If Creighton wants to crack the Sooner’s offense, it will have to shut down both Paris sisters, cut-off Danielle Robinson streaking to the basket and take their chances with Hand on the perimeter.

Creighton is certainly a real underdog, but the Blue Jays are no stranger to Big 12 basketball.

In their third game of the season, the Blue Jays barely lost to an Iowa State team whose only loss this season is to No. 4 Stanford. Coale has already said she thinks Iowa State is playing some of their best basketball this season.

One Creighton player to watch is Chevelle Herring, who put up a career-high 24 points on the Cyclones last week. Herring sat out last year due to injury, but the guard was a McDonalds All-American nominee in high school.

It will be up to the Sooners to shake off Sunday’s loss and take care of business starting at 7 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center.