The streak is alive and well as the Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team found out on Monday night that they are going dancing for the fourteenth consecutive year.

The Sooners made it in as No. 6 seed and will face No. 11 seed Central Michigan on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, which is part of the Oklahoma City Regional. UCLA and Stetson are the other two teams playing in Columbus this weekend and will take on the winner of that game for Round 2.

The second game will be played sometime on Monday, with time yet to be determined.

Sooners head coach Sherri Coale:

I’m very excited with a 6 seed and very proud of the representation of the Big 12 Conference in the NCAA Tournament. That’s amazing and, I think, because of the respect the committee had for the league, that’s probably why we got the seed we did.

On the possibility of getting a Sweet 16 spot in Oklahoma City:

That’s maybe the best part of it. I know we have to do big things, tough things before we have the opportunity to come back here, but that’s the lure. That’s the carrot that’s out there. Just win two and you get to come home and anything can happen at home. It’s a really special opportunity.

In 2012, the Sooners went out in Round 2, losing to St. John’s, 74-70 in Norman. For the last seven seasons, the Sooners have advanced past the first round.

Good luck to both Sooners teams – men and women – as their tournament journey’s start this weekend.

The Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team has not been very lucky this season on the injury front. On Thursday night, Whitney Hand-Jones tore her ACL in the Sooners 71-68 win against over North Texas.

The 5th-year senior is the team leader and suffered the injury before halftime and the Sooners second half rally. The crowd gave the senior a standing ovation when she was being taken from the court after a contested layup attempt that resulted in a bad fall.

They trailed the mean green late in the game and rallied back to pull out the win. Sooners head coach Sherri Coale after the game:

I don’t know if I’ve ever been prouder of a team in 17 years of doing this. Unbelievable determination and they revealed their mettle and their character. I talk about their character all the time. It’s one thing to talk about it, it’s another thing for however many people got to witness it tonight.

Joanna McFarland and Nicole Griffin stepped up to push the Sooners to the win, with McFarland having her first double-double game and Griffin led the scoring for the Sooners with 15 points and 9 rebounds.

The No. 13 ranked Sooners are now 8-1 on the season. They have a week off for finals and will return to the court to face Vanderbilt on December 16th.

The annual Naismith Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year watch list was announced on Thursday and it includes two Sooners. The players on the list are Aaryn Ellenberg and Whitney Hand-Jones.

Hand-Jones who married Sooners QB Landry Jones over the Summer will still go by Hand on the court, but will be listed as Whitney Jones elsewhere. Hand averages 16.5 points and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds so far this season. She is fifth among the Big 12 Conference’s active career scoring and rebounding leaders.

Ellenberg has been the team’s leading scorer so far this season, averaging 21 points per game. She holds the record at Oklahoma for all-time 3-pointers scored, with 179.

The Sooners are sitting at a 1-1 record after a surprising loss Wednesday night against UCLA. Even with Ellenberg and Hand’s 43 combined points, the Sooners still fell short. The Sooners got completely beat under the backboard for offensive rebounds, giving up 24. Coach Sherri Coale after the game:

I’m disappointed with our effort and our response to the physical play. If that’s the way they’re going to play then we have to adjust to it, and we have to fight back and be just as physical as they’re being. I didn’t think we responded in the right way.

You don’t beat anybody when you give up 24 offensive rebounds. It’s just a number that’s unheard of. At halftime, 23 of their points were from offensive rebounds, that is us beating ourselves. All of this stems from the physicality, on the ball and away from the ball.

The Sooners move on to host St. Louis on Sunday for game 3.

The No. 6 Sooners, who are in the Fresno Region of the tournament, will host No. 11 Michigan in Norman at the Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday. The winner will advance to play either Creighton or St. John’s in the second round game scheduled for Tuesday.

The Wolverines are in the women’s tournament for the first time in over a decade to face a Sooner team who has experience and quite a bit more depth. If/When the Sooners win on Sunday, they will most likely be playing St. John’s. The same St. John’s team who broke the amazing 99 win home-court streak held by UConn.

Sooner players to keep an eye on are Whitney Hand and Aaryn Ellenberg. Ellenberg is the Sooners leading scorer, averaging 15.4 ppg. Michigan’s Jenny Ryan leads the Wolverines in rebounds, steals and assists and averages 6.9 ppg. She was also named to the B1G’s All-Defensive team.

Sooner head coach, Sherri Coale said about the Wolverines:

Just scrappy. They play really tough man defense and share the ball really well. They don”t have a go-to play but they move the ball well. They seem to be really tough.

You can check out the Sooners road to the Final Four here, with complete bracket coverage and tv schedule.

The tip-off against Michigan is scheduled for 6:30 PM CST on ESPN2.

*Lack of updates lately can be credited to covering the Big XII in the Men’s NCAA Tournament on the Neutral Zone.

Sooners Whitney Hand and Danielle Robinson

There has been a love hate relationship with the Oklahoma Sooners and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish that goes way back to the early history of both college programs. Predominately in football, but in recent years, this rivalry has spilled over to women’s hoops. Today, the 6th seeded Sooner women’s basketball team takes on 2nd seeded Notre Dame in Dayton, Ohio for  a Sweet 16 match up. The Sooners were in this exact situation last season against the Irish and won 77-72 in an overtime finish.

This is going to be another one of those overtime finishes. Both teams are known for high scoring offenses and nine of the Irish wins were by 35 points or more. The Sooners are lead by Senior Danielle Robinson who averages 18 points per game, but Whitney Hand, who is Sooner QB Landry Jones’ girlfriend by the way, has been the break out star of the tournament, leading the team in scoring.

One thing is for sure, Head Coach Sherri Coale, who is in her 15th season with the Sooners, will have her ladies ready. Coach Coale leads the Big 12 in conference wins and all time winning percentage since the conference has been established. She is “Big Dance” ready.

The game tips off today at 1:30 from the University of Dayton Arena in Ohio. You can catch the game on ESPN. Boomer Sooner.

Photo provided by Associated Press