After falling to No. 23 Baylor 81-70 on Tuesday, Oklahoma and coach Jennie Baranczyk are looking to rebound with a win over No. 11 Iowa State, the highest-ranked team in the Big 12.
On Friday, Baranczyk said there are multiple improvements the Sooners (11-2, 1-1 Big 12) must make to defeat the Cyclones (10-2, 2-0) at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Norman.
“Probably our main areas are going to be the rebounding and the loose ball aspect,” Baranczyk said.
The Sooners turned the ball over 27 times against the Bears. They grabbed 42 rebounds compared to 36 by Baylor, but Baranczyk believes her team can do better.
“It’s cliche to say play harder but it’s also reality,” Baranczyk said.
Oklahoma’s high-powered offense, which ranks tied-for-fifth nationally in scoring by averaging 87 points per game, was held to five points in the first quarter against the Bears.
The second-year coach said a rhythm needs to be created earlier for her team to have a shot against Iowa State.
“We have to be ready to come out and be ready to play the next game to create a little bit more flow in our offense,” Baranczyk said.
The Cyclones are led by Ashley Joens, a two-time Cheryl Miller Award winner, which is awarded to the nation’s top small forward. She’s averaging 19.5 points per game this season, which ranks second in the Big 12.
Her sister, Aubrey Joens, transferred to Oklahoma before the season, and knows first-hand what Iowa State is capable of.
“All of us are just excited because it’s a big game,” Joens said. “Both teams are really good, and I think we’re just excited to get out there and play against another good team.”
Baranczyk sees the Baylor loss as a potential learning experience moving forward into OU’s matchup with the Cyclones.
Senior forward Madi Williams, who leads OU averaging 17 points per game this season, agrees.
“We want to forget that we lost but keep a little bit of it to use as motivation,” Williams said.
Williams added:
“From a leadership standpoint, I think it’s my job to make sure we know the things we need to get better at,'' she said. “We need to make sure that we’re actually working on getting at least 1% better at those things.”
For the Sooners, how they respond will be a key to its matchup against Iowa State.
“Response isn’t just when things are going bad,” said Baranczyk. “It’s how we respond to the every day. We have to be able to respond better together.”
