Women's NCAA Tournament: What to know about Oklahoma, Iowa's second-round opponent
Iowa easily took care of business of No. 11 seed Murray State in the women's NCAA Tournament opening round. Now, a matchup with plenty of familiarity awaits.
The No. 6 seed Hawkeyes take on No. 3 seed Oklahoma in the second round. Here's what to know about the game.
Iowa vs. Oklahoma: How to watch women's NCAA Tournament games
- When: 3 p.m. CT Monday, March 24
- Where: Lloyd Noble Arena, Norman, Oklahoma
- TV: ESPN
Women's NCAA Tournament tickets for Iowa vs. Oklahoma
Tickets are still available through the NCAA's website.
You can .
Oklahoma women's basketball: NCAA Tournament history, stats and more
- Record: 26-7
- Conference: SEC (11-5; fourth place)
NCAA Tournament history: The Sooners are synonymous with the NCAA Tournament. From 2000 through 2018, Oklahoma never missed March Madness and made three trips to the Final Four. The Sooners lost to Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi's Connecticut team in the 2002 national championship game.
After a three-year drought at the end of the Sherri Coale era, Oklahoma is back making regular NCAA Tournament appearances. Oklahoma had no trouble taking care of Florida Gulf Coast in the first round Saturday. The Sooners led 21-12 after the first quarter and never looked back, rolling to an 81-58 victory.
Forward Raegan Beers, a transfer from Oregon State, averages 17.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. She does nearly all of her damage inside, leading the SEC in 2-point field goal percentage and rarely taking 3-pointers.
This is OU's fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament under coach Jennie Baranczyk, but the first three trips all ended in the second round.
Speaking of Baranczyk...
Oklahoma vs. Iowa: Jennie Baranczyk faces her alma mater
Known then as Jennie Lillis, Oklahoma head coach Jennie Baranczyk was a star for the Hawkeyes in the early 2000s. She spent four years as a player at Iowa from 2000-04 and was a three-time All-Big Ten honoree (first-team in 2003, second-team in 2002 and 2004). Her 1,762 career points ranks ninth in Hawkeye history.
While at Iowa, Baranczyk was coached by then-assistant Jan Jensen, now in her first year at the helm for the Hawkeyes.
Baranczyk became the head coach at Drake in 2012 and spent a decade in Des Moines where her teams garnered a reputation for selfless passing, a fast tempo and dangerous 3-point shooting. Drake finished in the top 10 nationally in assists in each of Baranczyk's final six seasons.
This year's team plays like a classic Baranczyk team, leading the nation in assists per game (21.9) and launching threes (26.2 attempts per game; 14th most in Division I). For the season, Oklahoma ranks No. 5 nationally in points per game (85.1).
Other Iowa connections
Sophomore Sahara Williams, a Waterloo native, ranks third on Oklahoma's team in scoring with 10.5 points per game. Iowa City native and former Cyclone Aubrey Joens has appeared in 22 games for the Sooners this year.
Additionally, OU assistant coach Shannon Gage spent two stints on the bench at Iowa as an assistant (2003-05, 2007-13). Markisha Kastantin (née Wright), Oklahoma's director of player development, is a Des Moines native who won a state title at East High before playing college ball at Notre Dame from 2011-15.
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