Yes
Would it be a disappointment if the women’s basketball team failed to win a national championship this year? Let’s just ask senior center Courtney Paris.
“I feel like we’re not missing pieces,” Paris said after the Sooners defeated Texas Tech 61-49 on Senior Night to claim the Big 12 title. “If we play hard [and] we execute, we are a great team that can win the national championship. If we don’t do that, it won’t be because we’re not good enough.”
Paris went on.
“So when you’re good enough and don’t do something, then you have to take accountability for that, and that’s your own fault. We can win a national championship. If we don’t, I’ll feel like I didn’t earn my scholarship,” she said.
Paris was right.
If the Sooners don’t win the national championship this season, they have no one to blame but themselves.
The fact of the matter is this team truly is stacked.
Sophomore point guard Danielle Robinson brings great poise and leadership.
Freshman shooting guard Whitney Hand is the purest outside shooter the Sooners have had in a long time.
Junior forwards Nyeshia Stevenson and Amanda Thompson, one starting and the other coming off the bench, bring the athleticism OU needs in the small forward position, players who can step up and hit shots from the outside but also drive or nail the mid-range jumper.
Then, the Paris twins, Courtney and Ashley, are the deadliest post duo in the game.
The high-low game is virtually unstoppable when the two are on their games.
Not to mention, the Sooners can roll out an up-and-coming freshman point guard Jasmine Hartman and sophomore forward Carlee Roethlisberger off the bench.
The Sooners are deep.
They are extremely talented.
Yes, the Connecticut Huskies are the best team in women’s college basketball, but the Sooners have all the pieces to upset them in the national championship, should both teams get there.
Let’s also take this to the next level.
Not only is it a disappointment if the Sooners don’t win the title, but it’s a disappointment that in Courtney Paris’ four years at OU, she never brought home a title.
Courtney Paris is the first player ever to be named an AP All-American four consecutive years.
It would be a shame if the Sooners were to let Courtney Paris leave without any national championship hardware.
-Joey Helmer is a journalism senior.
No
The madness is almost over.
There are four teams left in the Women’s NCAA Tournament and OU is one of them for the first time since 2002. To many Sooners fans that may come as a bit of a shock.
You would think with the Paris sisters on board OU would have reached the Final Four more than once. This begs the question for this year’s tournament, if OU does not win a title, is this season a disappointment?
Personally, I don’t think so.
I do think it will be a disappointment if the Sooners do not reach the title game, however, when they get there, we will probably be playing Connecticut and losing to them would not surprise me at all.
The Huskies are 37-0 on the season and probably good enough to beat some WNBA teams. As great as the Sooners have been this year, UConn has been better. UConn has the best player in the country, Maya Moore who is averaging 19.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. In the Huskies’ Elite Eight game against Arizona State she set the single-season scoring record at UConn and will continue to add on to that record in the next two games.
The Huskies also have big-time scorers in Tina Charles, who averages 16.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and Renee Montgomery, who averages 16.2 points per game and five assist. Compare those numbers to OU’s top three scorers, seniors center Courtney Paris, forward Ashley Paris and sophomore guard Danielle Robinson, and it is obvious that OU is just outmatched on paper and on the court.
Courtney Paris averages 15.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per game which is crazy good, but after that there is a big decline. Ashley only averages 12.5 points per game and Robinson is just more than 13.
It is also important to note that UConn is better on the defensive end than us as well. The Huskies hold their opponents to 53 points per game and win by a margin of 31 points on average. The Sooners allow 60 points per game and win by a margin of 15 which is while impressive, is just not better than the Huskies.
Don’t get me wrong I think it would be great for Courtney Paris to finally get one title under her belt before her OU career ends, but I am just being realistic.
The entire season in women’s college basketball, has been UConn and then everybody else. I think by this time next week, we will be talking about how the Huskies have had an undefeated season and how if it were any other year, the Sooners could have been national champs.
-James Roth is a journalism senior.
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soonercub 3 years, 1 month ago
James Roth is absolutely right; UConn is too good this year. Beating the Huskies is not impossible, but it would take a horrible game by them coupled with a near-perfect one by their opponent.
While not reaching the championship game would be a disappointment, the true disaster this season would have been not making the Final Four given OU's talent and its path through the Oklahoma City regional.