Still Going

The Norman Transcript

Q

Saturday, April 3, 2010

In the midst of a season that doesn’t want to end, Sooners two games from winning it all

Oklahoma vs. Stanford

Q

Connecticut vs. Baylor

We Have the

GO SOONERS!

Best RV’s

by Heartland

Patio Headquarters

North Country Big Country

Come see our comfy couches, chairs and sofas!

The Edge

366-7934

1707 Topeka Dr Norman, OK

AMELIA ANDRE GRI, CRS, TRC

cell 627-7822 1203 Brookhaven Blvd.

329-0256

GO SOONERS! Good Luck in the Final Four!

www.thompsonpool.com 1400 SW 24th Ave Norman • 364-1912 Mon-Fri 9-7, Sat 9-4

Oklahoma’s Real Estate Resource

GO SOONERS! Barry Hurley Realtor®

Vision. Passion. Purpose.

Do you believe it?

Can you feel it?

Are you committed?

Apply Today! www.sitel.com Or in person at 2701 Technology Place, Norman

Business (405) 366-7707 Voice Mail (405) 290-1372 Cell (405) 833-6820 barry@dillardgroup.com •www.barryhurley.com

EOE

1800 N. Interstate Dr. Suite 300 • Norman, OK 73072

Saturday, April 3, 2010

CONGRATULATIONS SOONERS! GOOD LUCK IN THE FINAL FOUR!

JOE’S PLACE FINE WINES & SPIRITS

100% Alcohol - NO GAS! 1330 ALAMEDA • 364 – 9262 www.joesplacewines.com

BOOMER SOONER

F3

F4

Why not win it all Saturday, April 3, 2010

After all that’s happened, there’s no reason to think Sooners can’t win two more Clay Horning Sports Editor

AN ANTONIO — Some teams are great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. The Oklahoma women are clearly in the middle camp.

Because truly great teams don’t lose 10 games before the NCAA Tournament. And, really, what does it mean to have greatness thrust upon you?

Whatever, it doesn’t seem to apply.

Instead, you’ve got this Sooner team that lost the best player in program history, Courtney Paris, and one of the best of the rest, Ashley Paris, to graduation last season.

Then there’s the loss of Whitney Hand to seasonending knee surgery, a loss that left the program with nine players in uniform until Kodi

S

Morrison found her place on the bench.

Then, personnel aside, you’ve got a whole bunch of not-very-good basketball, followed by some pretty-darngoodbasketball, followed by the victory that has the Sooners where they’re standing.

Or,

really, where they’re sprinting • Snapshots on the way to and smiling the Final Four and yelling Page F14 and carrying one because they’re so pleased with themselves they can hardly stand it.

It’s all about they way they beat Kentucky.

Down 15-2 about 5 minutes into the game, the Sooners came

Inside

back like it was Stacey Dales herself leading the charge.

Because isn’t that what this See HORNING Page F10

Final Four Alamodome San Antonio Sunday Stanford (35-1) vs.

Oklahoma (27-10), 6 p.m.

Connecticut (37-0) vs.

Baylor (27-9), 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday Winners, 7:30 p.m.

Sooner forward Amanda Thompson spears a rebound against Notre Dame last week at the Kansas City Regional.

AP Phto

Saturday, April 3, 2010

F5

NATIONAL VIEW: FOUR TEAMS WITY A STORY

Huskies, meet Brittney • Connecticut has beaten (and blasted) all comers, but the Huskies haven’t had to deal with Baylor center

By Doug Feinberg AP Basketball Writer

A record-breaking team on an unprecedented roll. An impressive freshman with her own remarkable numbers. And that’s only half of the women’s Final Four.

San Antonio will have a familiar feel with three teams that reached last season’s semifinals returning. Leading the way are the dominant Connecticut Huskies, who are two victories away from becoming the first women’s team with consecutive undefeated seasons.

The Huskies will have to go through 6-foot-8 freshman phenom Brittney Griner and Baylor to win their seventh national championship. Griner has carried the Lady Bears to the Final Four, already setting the NCAA tournament record for blocks in only four games.

“She’s the most unique player in college basketball today,” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said.

“There isn’t any one thing you can do against Brittney Griner. I need a couple days to think about it.”

The other game features Stanford against Oklahoma in a meeting of two teams that lost in the national semis last season.

Stanford is one game away from a highly anticipated rematch with Connecticut. The Cardinal are the

AP Photo

Baylor freshman center Brittney Griner (42) should present a very unique challenge to Connecticut. last team to beat UConn, in the 2008 NCAA semifinals in Tampa, Fla. — but lost to the Huskies in last year’s semis. They also lost by 12 in Hartford in December.

UConn (37-0) has been dominant since that 2008 loss, winning 76 straight games all by double figures.

The Huskies are in search of the school’s fourth undefeated season and the sixth in women’s basketball history. Connecticut wrapped up a spot in Texas that seemed like a foregone conclusion all season with a 90-50 victory against Florida State. The Huskies cruised

through the first four rounds, winning by an average of 47 points.

The last time the Final Four was in San Antonio, UConn won the first of three straight titles in 2002.

The Huskies beat Oklahoma that year.

Connecticut has entered

the NCAAs unbeaten on four prior occasions. It won the title in 1995, 2002 and last season, and lost to Tennessee in the regional final in ’97.

The Sooners are making their second straight trip to the Final Four. Oklahoma fell two points short last

season of reaching its second championship game, losing to Louisville.

While the Sooners (2710) weren’t able to fulfill Courtney Paris’ guarantee of a national championship last season, this year’s trip to the Final Four was an unexpected surprise.

The Sooners had to replace Paris and her twin sister Ashley. They also lost shooter Whitney Hand to a torn ACL early in the season.

The Lady Bears (27-9) advanced to their second Final Four in school history, knocking off Duke in the Memphis Regional final by rallying from an eight-point deficit in the final 5 minutes.

The only other time Baylor made it this far was in 2005 when the Lady Bears won the national championship.

Griner, who blocked 14 shots in the second round against Georgetown to set an NCAA tournament single-game record, has 35 through four tournament games. That broke the previous record of 30 by Duke’s Alison Bales in 2006.

With Griner in the middle, Baylor has held each of its opponents in the NCAA tournament to under 35 percent shooting.

Only a three-hour bus ride away in Waco, Texas, the Lady Bears are the first team to reach the Final Four in their home state since Missouri State made it to St. Louis in 2001.

F6

Saturday, April 3, 2010

OKLAHOMA (27-10) 108 Mercer 51 Georgia 74 TCU 75 South Carolina-x 87 San Diego State-x 71 Notre Dame-x 100 UT-Arlington 87 Arkansas 80 Marist 59 Army 67 Creighton 95 Cal-State Fullerton 75 Tennessee 73 Texas Tech 47 Baylor 74 Texas A&M 62 Missouri 81 Kansas 56 Iowa State 70 Texas Tech 57 Texas 77 Oklahoma State 62 Baylor 65 Colorado 60 Connecticut 64 Kansas State 64 Nebraska 75 Texas 55 Texas A&M 95 Oklahoma State 59 Baylor-y 74 Oklahoma State-y 67 Texas A&M-y 68 S. Dakota State-z 60 UALR-z 77 Notre Dame-z 88 Kentucky-z

66 62 70 67 49 81 67 86 71 46 58 76 96 58 57 65 61 69 63 66 75 66 60 55 76 58 80 60 78 62 54 69 74 57 44 72 68

x-Paradise Jam y-Big 12 Tournament z-NCAA Tournament

Noteworthy • Sherri Coale is in her 14th season as Oklahoma head coach and has now taken the Sooners to three Final Fours, seven Sweet 16s and 11 straight NCAA Tournaments. The last time the Final Four was at the Alamodome, OU reached the title game against Connecticut.

Confidence surging • Sooners have come so far this season they feel like they can do anything … and it shows

By Clay Horning Transcript Sports Editor

SAN ANTONIO — You could see it, sense it and hear it even in the moments after Oklahoma walked off the court following its 88-68 Kansas City Regional victory over Kentucky.

“It just feels like we are going to fight through anything,” Sooner center Abi Olajuwon said.

But if that’s a thought many a player might feel after a very big win, the Sooners nontetheless appear to have hit a new level.

Before they began to play consistently well, they were already began learning how to win close games, and from behind.

That’s how they came back from way back to beat Arkansas, to top Marist in overtime at Marist, and to claim narrow victories on the Big 12 road, at Missouri and Texas Tech.

Still, just as the Sooners clearly closed the season playing at a new and sustained higher level, they appear to have done it again after taking down Notre Dame and Kentucky at Sprint Center.

Short of winning a championship, the simple act of getting better is hard to beat. There’s just no See OKLAHOMA Page F11

FYI • The last time the Sooners met Stanford in San Antonio, the game was at the AT&T Center, where No. 4 seed Stanford beat No. 2 seed OU 88-74. That was the freshman season for Courtney and Ashley Paris.

Sooner guard Nywshia Stevenson (1) is embraced by Jasime Hartman, as they stand in front of Sooner center Abi Olajuwon, after Stevenson scored during OU’s overtime victory over Notre Dame last Sunday night at Sprint Center in Kansas City.

AP Photo

Saturday, April 3, 2010

F7

STANFORD (35-1) 89 Old Dominion 81 Rutgers 99 Pepperdine 76 UC Davis 60 Utah 105 Gonzaga 96 DePaul 71 Duke 67 Tennessee 68 Connecticut 68 Fresno State 79 Cal 82 Southern Cal 65 UCLA 80 Washington State 66 Washington 63 Oregon State 100 Oregon 71 Arizona State 83 Arizona 74 UCLA 77 USC 58 Washington 98 Washington State 104 Oregon 82 Oregon State 62 Arizona State 75 Arizona 63 Cal 72 Arizona-x 64 Cal-x 70 UCLA-x 79 UC Riverside-y 96 Iowa-y 73 Georgia-y 55 Xavier-y

56 66 50 51 41 74 60 55 52 80 46 58 62 61 43 51 47 80 48 62 53 39 36 67 60 48 43 48 48 52 44 46 47 67 36 53

x-Pac 10 Tournament y-NCAA Tournament

Noteworthy • Fifth-year senior Rosalyn Gold-Onwude was on the Stanford team that last played Oklahoma in San Antonio at the AT&T Center. The star of that game was lefty Stanford post Brooke Smith, who led the Cardinal with 30 points, ending a 19-game Sooner winning streak.

Cardinal’s turn?

• In third straight Final Four, Stanford really wants to win its first national championship

By Janie McCauley AP Sports Writer

STANFORD, Calif. — It used to be Tara VanDerveer would accompany All-American Candice Wiggins to the Final Four and they settled for watching, because the Cardinal already had been eliminated.

Now, Stanford is headed for a third straight Final Four, determined to finally take the next step and win it all even if daunting defending champion Connecticut still stands in the way.

VanDerveer’s Cardinal program experienced a 10year absence between Final Four appearances from 1998 to 2007 before Wiggins led them back at last in ’08, when Stanford beat UConn 82-73 in the semifinals before falling to Tennessee.

“This time around I want more and I know our team does, and I think that is healthy,” VanDerveer said Wednesday as her team prepared to play Oklahoma in Sunday’s national semifinals in San Antonio.

Stanford is trying to win its first national championship since 1992. The Cardinal just barely advanced this time, needing Jeanette Pohlen’s buzzer-beating layin in a See STANFORD Page F11

FYI • In Stanford’s only loss, an 80-68 setback to No. 1 Connecticut, the Cardinal led 40-38 at the half in Hartford, Conn.

The only other team to lead UConn during the second half this season is Oklahoma.

Stanford center Jayne Appel goes to the basket during the Cardinal victory over Xavier that put them in the Final Four. This is Appel and Stanford’s third straight Final Four. Stanford is also the last team to beat Connecticut, topping the Huskies in a 2008 national semifinal.

AP Photo

F8

Saturday, April 3, 2009

CONNECTICUT (37-0) 105 Northeastern 83 Texas 87 Holy Cross 91 Hofstra-x 91 Richmond-x 87 Clemson-x 84 Vermond 80 Hartford 90 Iona 80 Stanford 78 Florida State 91 Seton Hall 84 USF 83 Cincinnati 88 North Carolina 68 Marquette 70 Notre Dame 81 Duke 74 Villanova 73 Rutgers 98 Pittsburgh 80 West Virginia 84 Louisville 95 DePaul 66 St. John’s 76 Oklahoma 85 Providence 87 Syracuse 84 Georgetown 76 Notre Dame 77 Syracuse-y 59 Notre Dame-y 32 West Virginia-y 95 Southern-z 90 Temple-z 74 Iowa State-z 90 Florida-z w-WBCA Classic x-WBCA Classic y-Big East Tournament z-NCAA Tournament

35 58 34 46 37 48 42 45 35 68 59 24 42 51 47 43 46 48 35 36 56 47 38 62 52 60 53 66 62 51 41 44 32 39 36 36 50

Noteworthy • Of Connecticut’s 76 straight wins, every single one has been by at least 10 points.

It’s four NCAA tourney victories thus far have been by an average 47 points. In order, the Huskies’ closest games this season have come against Stanford, St. John’s, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

The roll of all rolls • Everybody agrees UConn is going to lose eventually, but will it happen in San Antonio?

By Paul J. Webber Associated Press Writer

SAN ANTONIO — Former President George W. Bush called Baylor coach Kim Mulkey on her cell phone Wednesday while she spoke with reporters about playing mighty Connecticut in the Final Four.

Bush was told to call back.

Even in a phone face-off, the Huskies can’t be beat.

“The thing that you gotta remember, guys, is I don’t care how good UConn is,” Mulkey said before her phone rang. “One day they will lose.”

Few expect that day to come anytime soon.

The Huskies are entering the Final Four on a roll. An unprecedented 76-game winning streak. No margin of victory closer than 12 points.

With two victories in the Alamodome starting Sunday against Baylor, the Huskies will notch the first back-toback undefeated seasons in history.

Connecticut (37-0) crushed Florida State by 40 points Tuesday to make the national semifinals. Stanford (35-1) needed a stunning finish in the last 4.4 seconds against Xavier to get here.

“They’ve made just some tremendous statements,” Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We’re getting there different ways. But we’re all there.”

See UCONN Page F12

FYI • Geno Auriemma and Sherri Coale are longtime friends going back to the recruiting process that brought Stacy Hansmeyer from Norman High to UConn. Auriemma was a reference when Coale got the OU coaching job.

Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma lobbies for a call during the Huskies 90-50 Elite Eight victory over Florida State.

The Huskies are looking for their third straight national championship beginning Sunday night against Baylor.

AP Photo

Saturday, April 3, 2010

F9

BAYLOR (27-9) 65 Tennessee 100 Tennessee Tech 69 Cal 104 Jacksonville State 82 Idaho-w 89 La.-Lafayette-w 87 Lamar-w 77 La. Tech 68 Boston College 101 Oral Roberts 70 Gonzaga-x 70 Arizona State-x 100 Texas Pan-Am 99 Texas State 65 Oklahoma State 57 Oklahoma 56 Nebraska 62 Missouri 61 Texas A&M 50 Texas 65 Kansas State 76 Colorado 60 Oklahoma 45 Iowa State 65 Texas Tech 80 Oklahoma State 65 Texas A&M 70 Kansas 69 Texas Tech 54 Texas 72 Colorado-y 54 Oklahoma-y 69 Fresno State-z 49 Georgetown-z 77 Tennessee-z 51 Duke-z

74 55 49 45 37 42 65 67 55 76 49 66 46 18 78 47 65 70 53 61 47 42 62 69 48 69 63 47 60 70 65 59 55 33 62 48

w-World Vision Classic x-Las Vegas Hoops Classic y-Big 12 Tournament z-NCAA Tournament

Noteworthy • Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey is no stranger to champonships. In addition to the one Baylor won in 2005, she won two national championships as a player at Louisiana Tech as well as an Olympic gold medal.

Mulkey motivates • Lady Bears have taken their coach’s lessons to heart and put them to use on the court

By Chuck Carlton Dallas Morning News

WACO – As she approaches her 12th appearance in the NCAA Women’s Final Four, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey carries the same anticipation that came with the 11 previous ones.

She views the adrenaline rush that accompanies the trip to San Antonio and a chance to make history Sunday against Connecticut as a positive sign.

“When a coach can’t feel the same excitement and joy, you need to get out,” Mulkey said. “It means you don’t have the passion anymore.”

Her emotional edge has been on full display after upset tournament wins against Tennessee and Duke. Mulkey has taken a team with just one senior and four freshmen in the regular rotation further than expected.

After Baylor started 2-4 in the Big 12, Mulkey said her team has “exceeded and overachieved” this season, even with 6-8 game-changing freshman Brittney Griner.

“Kim has done a superior coaching job with a very talented but extremely young team,” Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw said. “Most great See BAYLOR Page F11

FYI • The Lady Bears are making their first Final Four appearance since the 2005 season when they won the national championship. The Lady Bears are 19-7 all time (nine trips) at the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor forward Morghan Medlock (55) grabs a rebound during the Lady Bears regional final victory over Duke. Baylor did not even receive a bye in the first round of the Big 12 tourney, but have caught fire at the Big Dance.

AP Photo

F10

Saturday, April 3, 2010

FINAL FOUR: OKLAHOMA, STANFORD, BAYLOR, CONNECTICUT

Horning • Continued from Page F4 team reminded everybody of against the Wildcats?

That team, the Sooners of Dales and Laneishea Caufield and Caton Hill and Rosalind Ross, some of which are sure to be at the Alamodome Sunday, played like that for an entire season.

This one played like that against Kentucky. And yet, there’s this sense it is who they really are.

Because the whole season has been like a single trip up a spiral staircase. Sometimes, it

seemed, OU was running in place or in circles. Yet here they are, standing at the top.

Now to be the last team standing.

But when you think about it, why not?

What’s so great about Stanford anyway? Yeah, the Cardinal’s lost but one game, to Connecticut, by 12 points, and nobody’s played them any closer.

So what?

It’s not like the Cardinal looks like a million bucks standing still, the way Connecticut and Tennessee do, and it’s not like

ROOFING BY

DAVID FRIES Free Estimates Commerical Residential Roofing In Norman Since 1964

360-4772

the Pac-10 is any great shakes.

What, Stanford’s so good because it crushed Arizona State twice? Come on.

Still, it’s a great team OU must knock off Sunday. But did you see what the Sooners did to Kentucky?

It’s a whole new ballgame.

Then there’s Connecticut.

OU has plenty to fall back upon when it comes to the Huskies.

The Sooners took a brief second-half lead over

UConn Feb. 15 at Lloyd Noble Center. They hit only a third of their shots, but they were right there for a while.

Maybe, if they can win Sunday night, they can be right there to the end Tuesday, even in the same building Dales’ group was right there until about 2 minutes remained against another bunch of unbeaten Huskies.

Or lightning could strike two days earlier and we could have an All-Big 12 title game, the first one since it was the OU and Kansas men.

Baylor might even get the favorite’s nod, what with the way Brittney Griner’s fast achieving Lady GaGa notoriety, fast becoming a pop culture icon.

Yet OU has played Baylor three times this season and won twice. In the end, anything can happen.

Even miracles.

The Americans beat the Russians. Notre Dame beat UCLA. Notre Dame beat Oklahoma. The Jets beat the Colts. Villanova beat Georgetown. Chaminade beat Virginia. Buster

Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson.

These things happen.

It might take lightning in a bottle, but did you see those Kentucky guards chasing Danielle Robinson all over the court and Nyeshia Stevenson knock down all those shots and Amanda Thompson get to every ball?

The Sooners have sure caught something.

Might as well ride it all the way.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

F11

FINAL FOUR: OKLAHOMA, STANFORD, BAYLOR, CONNECTICUT

Baylor • Continued from Page Bx leaders don’t tend to be particularly patient people.

She has a shown a great deal of maturity and intelligence with this team.”

Now she just needs to work a miracle, something even more surprising than Baylor’s 2005 national title.

Mulkey has been nothing if not consistent regarding UConn, possessor of a 76-game win streak, all by double figures. A few weeks ago, she proclaimed that the women’s college basketball world consisted of UConn and everybody else.

“And you want to know if I think any differently?

No, UConn is up here and the rest of us are playing for second place,” Mulkey said Wednesday, raising her hand above her head.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re going to go out there, give up and start waving the [white] flag.”

A couple of hours later,

Oklahoma she was coaching her team on how to do the unthinkable.

Griner said she loves the way Mulkey challenges her. After Griner claimed a career-high 21 rebounds against Texas A&M, Mulkey asked, “So how many are you going to have the next game?”

Said Griner: “She really pushes me to be better every day.”

In an interesting bit of symmetry, Sunday will mark the 10th anniversary of Mulkey’s hiring at Baylor from Louisiana Tech.

“While I knew I made the right decision, I was still uncertain. I was scared,” Mulkey said. “It wasn’t as enjoyable a press conference as it should have been because my heart was hurting.”

She had been Louisiana born and bred and was leaving her comfort zone.

“Ten years later, I can tell you it was the greatest decision I’ve made,” Mulkey said.

Since then, she’s become what McCaw calls “a remarkable ambassador” for Baylor. Mulkey has been rewarded with a 10-year contract paying her $1 million annually.

Next season, Mulkey gains two significant transfers in Brooklyn Pope and Destiny Williams, along with Irving MacArthur’s Odyssey Sims, the nation’s topranked point guard. Baylor may be even better prepared for UConn, which joins the Lady Bears’ schedule next season and for 2011-12.

People have noticed the program’s success.

Former President George W. Bush, who met Mulkey in 2005 at the White House, phoned her twice Wednesday. The first time, she was on a national media conference call, so he called back to wish her luck in the Final Four.

• Continued from Page Bx substitute for confidence and OU’s clearly feeling it.

The squad arrived home from Kansas City very late Tuesday night and did not practice Wednesday. That left Thursday for one more Lloyd Noble Center practice before leaving for the Alamo City. As explained, it was like what happened against the Wildcats bled right into OU’s workout.

“We were really good today,” Sooner coach Sherri Coale said. “We went about an hour and 20 minutes and I’d say about an hour and 15 minutes of it was really, really good.”

There were times earlier in the season OU never had a practice like that.

The again, the Sooners haven’t felt exactly like they’re feeling these days until now.

“It’s like, I don’t know, we’ve been working all year and you finally see it paying off,” senior team captain and starting forward Amanda Thompson said. “You see it in the game, literally, and that’s what makes it great. We didn’t just almost get to the

Final Four, we got to the Final Four and that’s what makes it so great.”

After a 78-55 loss at Texas A&M March 2, the Sooners began to build again. They crushed Oklahoma State by 33 points in their regular season finale, then played three strong games at the Big 12 tournament. They lost the championship to A&M, but still left knowing they’d played well.

If they were a little slow against South Dakota State and UALR to begin NCAA tourney play, they were still making things happen that seemed to bode well moving forward, like a big first half against the Jackrabbits and a huge game from Olajuwon -— while others struggled — against the Trojans.

Next they offered the resilience to outlast the Irish in overtime, followed by maybe their finest 35 minutes of the season after a slow start against the Wildcats.

Not yet have the Sooners plateaued.

“It just feels amazing,” said sharpshooting guard Nyeshia Stevenson, who

scored 52 points over two games in Kansas City, “because we’re going into this thing where basically nobody’s been on our side except for us … We’ve never been the underdog with Courtney and Ashley (Paris) and all that. And this year, we were kind of low, so it feels good to rise to the top.”

Think about it.

It’s hard to get drunk on press clippings telling you how great you are when you don’t have press clippings like that. Really, the Sooners have had to earn everything. It’s not a case of false confidence.

“I don’t think we could be in a better spot right now … We’re beyond confident right now,” point guard Danielle Robinson said. “We’re just at a spot where we know what we can do and we’ve proven it time and time again.”

The Sooners have done it by getting better and better.

It’s a good feeling.

Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com

F12

Saturday, April 3, 2010

FINAL FOUR: OKLAHOMA, STANFORD, BAYLOR, CONNECTICUT

UConn • Continued from Page Bx Here for the second straight season are Stanford, Connecticut and Oklahoma, which also made the Final Four in St. Louis a year ago.

The lone newcomer is Baylor, making its first Final Four appearance since winning the national title in 2005. Beating Connecticut in the semifinals may be even a bigger feat.

“Somebody’s gotta beat Connecticut,” Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said.

“Somebody has got to stop the madness at some point.”

Baylor also isn’t intimidated. Mulkey likened it to watching others play against her at Louisiana Tech in the 1980s, when Mulkey was a guard on a Connecticut-like team that went 130-6 and won two national titles over four seasons.

“We understand the challenge. We understand that we’re not supposed to win,” Mulkey said. “We understand 37 other teams haven’t won. We understand the win streak. But we still have to play.”

Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said he doesn’t see the Huskies crushing the tournament field so far as a sign of weak competition, but rather his team playing well.

Even more so than usual.

“We’re celebrating everything every day,” Auriemma said. “And maybe that’s why we are able to keep doing it, because we’re not obsessed with what’s next. I want them to celebrate, because it’s going to end. It’s going to end Sunday or it’s going to end Tuesday. It’s going to end.”

Stanford was the last team to beat Connecticut, ousting

the Huskies in the 2008 national semifinals.

“There’s no substitute for being on the floor with your foe,” Coale said. “There’s maybe a mystique that can be dismantled.” If it’s a mystique with Connecticut, Auriemma will be careful this week about describing it.

Auriemma said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins — whose Mountaineers are in the men’s Final Four — left a nasty voice mail earlier this season when Huggins thought Auriemma told the press that Connecticut was the best team in college basketball.

Huggins challenged him to a game before Auriemma told him he never said that.

“I guess he was tired of fighting with his team. He wants to fight with me now,” Auriemma said. “So we had a big laugh about that.”

Saturday, April 3, 2010

FINAL FOUR: OKLAHOMA, STANFORD, BAYLOR, CONNECTICUT

Stanford • Continued from Page Bx thrilling 55-53 victory over Xavier in the Sacramento Regional final Monday night. That after Dee Dee Jernigan missed two wideopen layins in the closing 12 seconds for Xavier.

VanDerveer was hardly happy with how her team played. She watched video in the front of the bus during a two-hour drive home while her players sang and danced in celebration in the back.

“I watched Jeanette’s play and Jernigan’s miss a million times in my head,” she said. “I just feel like we’ve been given a second basketball life and I know our team will make the most of it. We saw our season pass before our eyes. It was over. We are just so thankful to be playing.”

Stanford, the top seed out West, will face thirdseeded Oklahoma (27-10) on Sunday in the Alamodome. The last time these teams met was also in San Antonio, an 88-74 victory by the Cardinal in the NCAA tournament’s regional semifinals in 2006.

Star Sooners guard Danielle Robinson — a Bay Area product from San Jose’s Archbishop Mitty High — beat Pohlen’s Southern California power Brea Olinda in the California Division II state high school finals in 2007.

Stanford center Jayne Appel played against Robinson way back in 10and-under and 11-andunder ball.

“She was just as quick then. She’s a lightning bolt,” Appel said.

Both teams will look to push the tempo and run.

Both run the triangle offense.

“There are probably more similarities than differences,” VanDerveer said. “It should be a great matchup.”

Stanford is riding a 26game winning streak and hoping to make it 27 and set up a rematch with UConn. The Huskies, who face surprising Baylor in the other semifinal Sunday, handed the Cardinal their lone loss back on Dec. 23 and haven’t lost since Stanford beat them in the ’08 national semifinals when Wiggins was leading the way.

VanDerveer knows that Wiggins, now with the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, fueled the program’s latest rise with that run. Wiggins endured losing the regional final as a freshman and sophomore and a second-round shocker to Florida State at home in Maples Pavilion as a junior before taking the team to Tampa for the Final Four as a senior.

“There’s a TV thing on what kind of brought Stanford back to the elite level. It was Candice,” VanDerveer said. “And Candice experienced going to the Final Four as an All-American and every year I was there with her I was like, ’This is boring, we want our team here.’ I think she really dedicated herself and she bought

into this is what we needed to do. Jayne and all the kids watched Candice.

They all admired how hard she played and learned from her. Jayne has kind of picked up the baton so to speak and is teaching Nneka (Ogwumike) and teaching Kayla (Pedersen) and the rest of them.”

Appel and fifth-year senior Rosalyn GoldOnwude — part of that last game against Oklahoma — hope they are leaving a legacy in which reaching the Final Four becomes an annual thing for Stanford.

“You could call it a

standard right now, especially for our team because there are so many veterans coming back who have been there for the three,” Gold-Onwude said.

“There are players on our team who haven’t played a season without a Final Four. But to say a standard, though, you don’t want to take away anything from how hard it is to get to a Final Four. As your personnel changes it will present new challenges. I’m sure Jayne and I both hope there’s a nice pathway and legacy for those players coming in.”

Diplomate American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Fellow American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery

Implants Wisdom Teeth Extractions TMJ Facial Cosmetic Surgery Sleep Apnea • Facial Trauma

364-6777 447-FACE 866-234-FACE

640 24th Ave, SW • Norman, OK 73069 www.normansurgicalarts.com

F13

F14

Saturday, April 3, 2010

THE JOURNEY: SNAPSHOTS ON THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR

Moments to remember • Sooners’ path to Alamo City involved several twists and turns

OU travels well Many Sooner fans made the trip to Kansas City to watch OU advnace to the Final Four.

Many more are sure to be on hand Sunday night at the Alamodome.

By Clay Horning Transcript Sports Editor

SAN ANTONIO — It’s not like Oklahoma’s run to the Final Four caught everybody by surprise, but … all right, it’s just like that.

That doesn’t mean folks didn’t think they’d get past Kentucky. Not having to play Nebraska against looked like a break that went the Sooners’ way. Still, in the big picture, who saw it coming?

Perhaps that’s why the scene on the court following the Kansas City Regional final was so unique.

Stacey Dales, there doing radio work for Westwood One, no longer on the air, just stood there, her chair behind her, taking it all in and smiling as OU enjoyed the postgame spoils of victory.

Media, the great unwashed forbidden to have a rooting interest, nonetheless absorbed the moment, too, kind of stunned. In the business of reporting what happens on the fields of play, it’s always more captivating to watch something unique and what the Sooners pulled off was clearly that.

AP Photo

Then there was the players’ clear joy, perhaps in juxtaposition to last season, which also included a strong dose of relief, what with finally getting to the Final Four in the era of the Paris twins and still having a shot to fulfill Courtney Paris’ promise of a national championship or scholarship reimbursement.

That was one moment.

There were others.

Good, bad, ugly Q Bad: Whitney Hand tore her ACL during the first half of OU’s 87-48 victory over San Diego

State. Clearly, it didn’t come with the season-long consequences many thought it might — just look where the Sooners are now — but it was no fun for Hand, who continues to rehab and wear a brace.

Oddly, it remains OU’s largest margin of victory this season, and not against a bad team. San Diego State was ranked No. 23 at the time and reached the Sweet 16.

Q Ugly: The ugliest game of the season was the Sooners’ 75-57 Lloyd Noble Center loss to Texas that had Sherri Coale questioning her team in direct tones. The worst home-

court defeat since 2003, it is the season’s low point. Still, for other reasons, it is a fond memory.

Q Good: But for one trip to Texas A&M, everything’s been better for OU since that Texas loss. It began in the locker room, when the players conducted a long-needed heart to heart that put everybody on the same page.

Immediately, dividends were paid. The very next game, even in Stillwater, the Sooners took care of the then No. 10 Cowgirls.

Danielle Robinson played like champ, lighting OSU up for a career-high 36 points.

Emerging Amanda Long a primary contributor and long a big-game player, Amanda Thompson took it to another level late in the season, inspiring her teammates along the way.

Her propensity for huge games began when Baylor visited Feb. 10 and Thompson went for 19 points and 19 rebounds.

Two games later, she went for 16 and 13 against Connecticut, then 29 and 11 against Oklahoma State, then 17 and 18 against the Cowgirls at the Big 12 tourney, then 20 and 19 the next day against Texas A&M.

Quiet against the backdrop of Nyeshia Stevenson’s 31 points, Thompson went for 17 and 14 rebounds against Kentucky.

Last LNC practice The Sooners left for San Antonio Thursday, finishing their last Lloyd Noble Center practice of the season at 12:30 p.m.

Once again, like they hadn’t come down from Kansas City, it was smiles all around.

Nice and easy, it’s a happy bunch of Sooners waiting to play Stanford at the Alamodome.

GO SOONERS

APARTMENT GUIDE

NORMANTRANSCRIPT.COM

normantranscript.com

111 Page #3 2/1, OU Apt........$440 1021 Rambling Oaks 2/2 THm$650 3212 Meadow#20 2/1.5..........$750 1909 Oakhurst 2/2/2 FP.........$800 1105 SE 8th, Moore 3/2/2.......$800 408 Garland CT 3/2/2.............$950 Edge Condo 4/4..................$1000

366-RENT rent@bpmok.com

Norman’s Oldest Agency

1225 W Main • 321-9629 TOP PAY & EXCELLENT BENEFITS Orientation at a Comprehensible Pace!

FULLTIME! OKLAHOMA CITY RN – Psych – Salary – SHAWNEE No call PT – Salary ($100,000)

GO OU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Used Mowerss $ 85

596-3667 B&B Property Clean-up Commercial & Residential • Real Estate • • Repos • Rentals • • Yard Clean-Up • • 1 Time Service •

Free Estimates

(405)343-5975

RN – Psych – Salary – No call

Benefits: Medical & Dental, 401k, AFLAC, PTO, Flexible Spending, Tuition Reimbursement, Mileage Reimbursement ContactShelley: hr@carterhealthcare.com Fax: 405-947-7300 Tel: 405-947-7700

MACK’S

LAWNMOWER REPAIR FREE Pick-Up & Delivery

M-F, No Call

NORMAN RN – Salary - Field

CAREER FAIR April 8 • 12 pm to 7pm Inside Business to Business Sales Positions Sales Positions Have Base + Commission, Mon-Fri 40 hr work week Competitive benefits including Medical & 401K

Location: @ 2601 Technology Pl. Norman, OK 73071 Conducting Onsite Interviews Come Prepared With Resume in hand.

Please feel free to pre-register by applying online: www.Jobs.OfficeMax.com The Position available is: Business Development Manager - Inside Sales.

Soda and Popcorn

LINDSEY STREET MOTORS 1122 24th Ave. SW • Norman OfÀce: 405.364.1800 • Fax: 405.364.2594 www.LindseyStreetMotors.com

Natural Look Water Features Koi Ponds • Pondless Waterfalls • Rebuilds Repairs • Clean Outs Flagstone Patios Golf Greens • Retaining Walls • Fire Pits

Landscape & Design

405-388-2870

We wish the OU Sooner Women’s Basketball Team Great Success in San Antonio!

McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church 419 S. University Blvd. (405) 321-3484

April 4 Easter Services Sunrise Service of Light at 6:30 AM on the South Lawn llSunday School 9:40 AM Traditional and Contemporary Worship Services at 8:30 & 10:55 AM

McFarlinUMC.org

Sunday School: 9:40 AM Traditional Worship Services: 8:30 & 10:55 AM every Sunday LifeLine Contemporary Service at 10:55 AM every Sunday

HONEY DO’S????

RENT MY HUBBY!!!!!

• General Home Repair • Landscaping • Lawn Maintenance • Tree Trim/Rem. • Fence Repair • Free Est with Job • Senior Disc.

Local/Area Wide

Brian 317-8735 I’ll Get R Done!

Arbor House Assisted Living 4501 W. Main • Norman

292-9200

FLOWER BEDS, LAWNCARE SOONER FENCE Moore/Norman & LANDSCAPING Specializing in Stockade/Chain-link • Mowing • Leaves • Limbs • Yard Clean-Up • Rototilling

FREE ESTIMATES GARY

1-405-612-8912

Making your dreams, your memories!

Giving New Meaning to Life

Repairs • Insured • Free Estimates!

15yrs! Senior Disc.

408-4939

Bridal Gowns - Bridesmaid Dresses Flower Girl Dresses and Wedding Accessories Ask how to get a FREE Tuxedo for the Groom!

Tues.-Thurs. 11-6 Fri. 11-5 Sat. 11-4

133 N.W. 24th Ave., Norman 405-360-2577 www.bridalcharm.biz

McConnell Realty 313 ROSEWOOD $122,900.

1403 ft. 3 Bed., 1.5 Bath, 2 Liv. LARGE 2 CAR. Tile Roof.

Cleveland School GREAT HOME 602 SYMMES $99,500.

Built in 1900 1251 ft.

4 bed beautiful home. 2 lots.

808 COCKREL $89,500.

1015 ft. All Updated and Ready to Go. Even Newer Windows

1315 RALEIGH CIRCLE $101,000.

1251 ft. 3/1.5/2 Close to O.U.

1303 BRYANT CIRCLE Amazing Architectural Masterpiece $595,000. 5685 ft. Close-in, 5 Acres

1149 PINEHURST $212,000.

3/2/2 RIVERCHASE

Carrie @McConnell Realty • 831-1294

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★★ ★ ★

The Chickasaw Nation Is accepting applications for the following: *Staff Pharmacist (Ada) Job ID: 14447

*Shelter Aide PT (Ada) Job ID: 14752

*RPMS Coordinator (Ada) Job ID: 14626

For a description of the Chickasaw Nation, or to complete an application and view detailed information, please refer to http://www.chickasaw.net If you would like additional information, you may contact: 580.436.7259, or PO Box 1548, Ada, OK 74821.

American Indian Preference.

www.normantranscript.com