In an unpredictable season for the women’s basketball team, senior forward Joanna McFarland stepped up far above expectation.
In Whitney Hand’s absence, McFarland became the glue that held the team together. She was the most consistent player on the court, and her play in the NCAA tournament carried the Sooners to the Sweet 16.
In the postseason alone, she averaged just better than 17 points and 16 rebounds per game. She may not have been the leading scorer, but her sheer amount of rebounds put Oklahoma in a good position to win.
But let’s widen the scope a little bit. Over the course of the entire season, McFarland averaged 9.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
Essentially, she had a double-double every time she stepped on the court. She also led the Big 12 in rebounds.
If that doesn’t qualify her as the team’s MVP, nothing does.
Sure, she may not be as explosive as junior guard Aaryn Ellenberg — McFarland never scored 30 points in a game. But for as many times as Ellenberg was on, she also had her share of struggles.
Following a string of ankle injuries, Ellenberg fell into a shooting slump that left the rest of the team to fill in for her scoring void. Junior center Nicole Griffin, junior guard Morgan Hook, sophomore guard Sharane Campbell and McFarland each had their moments to shine.
But McFarland, as a whole, was the most well-rounded and consistent player on the team. And at the end of the season, consistent beats explosive every time.
The craziest part about McFarland’s success is she didn’t even start every game this season. In the 35 total games, she only started 29 of them.
The only bad thing about McFarland was her tendency to fall into foul trouble, especially late in the season. While her time on the bench may have hurt the team as a whole, it makes her numbers even more impressive.
Just think about how good she really had to be to average 9.9 points and 10.5 rebounds in about 29 minutes per game. Just think about what would have happened if she could have stayed on the court for just five more minutes each game.
When Hand went down, McFarland stepped up. When Ellenberg’s scoring became uncertain, McFarland’s game was steady.
And when the team’s motto was “win and go home”, McFarland made sure her team would win.
