With the loss of one of OU’s greatest women basketball players, Courtney Paris, the Sooner women need to find a low post presence.

Joanna McFarland, freshman center, could offer that presence.

McFarland and Lyndsey Cloman are the only two freshman players for the women’s basketball team this season.

Big shoes to fill

McFarland grew up in Derby, Kan., a town of about 22,500 people.

She is the youngest of four children, and her two older sisters both played Big 12 college basketball, Jessica at Kansas State University and Jackie at the University of Colorado. Both of her sisters went on to play professional basketball overseas.

McFarland credits her sisters and her parents for getting her involved in basketball.

“There was this basketball league in Wichita called Bitty Basketball, and they had ages from five to middle school, so my parents entered me and both my sisters,” McFarland said. “I started out in the youngest age group and have been playing ever since.”

Record setter

McFarland was a standout in high school.

She attended Derby High School, where she holds many school records, including the single game scoring record with 47 points, the most points scored in a single season with 587 and the most career points with 1,818.

During her senior season, McFarland averaged 26.8 points, 17.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game and was named the Gatorade Kansas State Player of the Year.

McFarland was ranked No. 38 overall by ESPN HoopGurlz. All of her accomplishments caught the attention of OU head coach Sherri Coale and the Sooners.

“I was so ecstatic to know I was going to play for OU,” McFarland said. “When I came on my official visit, there was just something special about OU. It is hard to explain, but it is just there.”

McFarland not only has to adjust to the college game, but she has to adjust to college life in general. She is now 2 1/2 hours away from home and found that college has a lifestyle that has both its ups and downs.

“I like it,” she said. “It is fun to be able to do whatever I want. It is nice not to have to call my mom and tell her my every move,” she said.

“It gets kind of lonely sometimes, and it makes me miss my family, but I think that is expected.”

A different game

While she has only played five games in her college career, it was obvious for McFarland from the start that the college game is a lot different from the high school game.

As the old saying goes, she was not in Kansas anymore.

However, she has done well with the playing time she has been given. McFarland has been on the floor in every game this year and has scored at least once in every game but one.

“I think I am adapting pretty well,” she said. “It is a lot faster. I have to go a lot harder all the time.

“You have to make so many decisions in less than a second; it is a lot of pressure, but you just have to work at it.”

While it might be too much to ask of McFarland to be a dominant low post presence during her freshman year, she knows that there will be a time in her OU career where she will have to be one.

The team lost Courtney Paris last year, and the only other center upperclassman is senior Abi Olajuwon.

This year, McFarland is looking to play her role and being able to contribute in any way she can.

“I need to rebound,” she said. “We lost a lot of rebounds with Courtney, like 20 a game. I am just going to rebound and score when I can. I also know I need to set screens to get my teammates open looks.”

Goal setter

The chances and opportunities to have a solid career at OU look promising for McFarland. She has set many goals for not only herself but also her for her entire team.

“Obviously we want to win a national championship,” she said. “I won’t make a guarantee, but it is something we want. For myself, I would like to make first team all-Big 12 and all-academic team as well.”

While she is pursuing a degree in chemistry and would like to do pharmaceutical work in the future, she has not ruled out the chance to continue her basketball career after college. Like her sisters, she said she might consider playing overseas for a while.

Over the next four years, fans will get the chance to see if this young freshman from Kansas can turn out to be one of the greats here at OU.