Oklahoma Preview & Game Thread

kystroup

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Mar 29, 2017
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I'm going to disagree on those ragging Reniya Kelly. 4 of 10 shooting (2-6) a 7:1 A:TO is a workman-like, average performance. .

And she drew the Chavez assignment the most today, and held the national freshman of the year mostly in check. Yes, Chavez certainly had teh better game of teh two, but that is to be expected.

Kelly was not our biggest problem by any means. If you were expect her to carry teh team, then no, that did not happen. But did anyone thank she was going to be the go to player this year?

Sahara Williams marked Harpring mostly and vice versa. Williams won that matchup , scoring the same amount on 11 less shots a a 4:2 A:TO ratio. Williams is a really good player; we know she would do well. 2X Cheryl Miller SF nominee.

If it is any consolation, this will be one of the better guard tandems we will see this season.
Half her stats came after the game was out of hand. same with Harpring. I don't expect her to carry the team, but when we have those shaky moments like we did in the 3rd quarter, I expect her to be the steadying hand and I felt that she fell gravely short of that expectation today.
 
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kystroup

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675
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<removed> everyone on this board is here to support the team no? We weren’t playing Pitt or BC and lost. OU played in the S16 last year and had the best Freshman returning. <removed by moderator>
Love the team and will continue to support avidly, but the entire point of this board is for people who support to be able to discuss it honestly. If I can't voice frustration here where can I
 
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blueblood7

Redshirt
Feb 2, 2026
7
11
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Lots to fix but it’s literally November 2nd yall… are we going to mention we started 5 players that didn’t start for us in our last game last year??? Kate is a freshman and is going to be really good. Burrows played her first game at UNC and was presumably a little injured before this game. Kelly was out most of last year and also had really good moments. Idk. Hate to lose this one but we will be OKAY. Bummer that Bell couldn’t miss or else we would’ve won this game. Holding Chavez to 10 points was big. White played well and was all over it defensively. AGAIN, Basically an entire new team from last year. Now we might most likely start 0-2 but playing better competition early will help us later in year. Oklahoma will be better than people thought and will also help is later in the year.

<removed> everyone on this board is here to support the team no? We weren’t playing Pitt or BC and lost. OU played in the S16 last year and had the best Freshman returning. <removed by moderator>

Oh wow. Was Oklahoma full of returners and upper classmen. I must have missed that part. That showing after the HYPE does not warrant bottle feeding. Sorry but to quote coach. Looks like we still taking knifes to a gun fight. Heck plastic ones at that lol
 

Easy Game

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Sep 30, 2025
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I know better than to get on these post-game threads when we lose. Just look at some of the above posts. Pretty disappointing, to say the least.
 
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3397char

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Moderator
Jun 30, 2025
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Lots to fix but it’s literally November 2nd yall… are we going to mention we started 5 players that didn’t start for us in our last game last year??? Kate is a freshman and is going to be really good. Burrows played her first game at UNC and was presumably a little injured before this game. Kelly was out most of last year and also had really good moments. Idk. Hate to lose this one but we will be OKAY. Bummer that Bell couldn’t miss or else we would’ve won this game. Holding Chavez to 10 points was big. White played well and was all over it defensively. AGAIN, Basically an entire new team from last year. Now we might most likely start 0-2 but playing better competition early will help us later in year. Oklahoma will be better than people thought and will also help is later in the year.

<removed> everyone on this board is here to support the team no? We weren’t playing Pitt or BC and lost. OU played in the S16 last year and had the best Freshman returning. <removed by moderator>

GO HEELS
Did not realize we had an entire new starting lineup; that is a pretty crazy stat, though accurate.

It is indeed game 1; plenty of time to rebound. (no pun intended)

I put on my moderator hat for a second and edited your post. Personal insults are not allowed on this board. Please follow board rules.
 
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2forheels

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Aug 2, 2025
1,424
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I've been attending women's basketball games for over 40 years and I have had enough of CB. Carolina is not Princeton. What she did there doesn't work in the ACC or anywhere else. She is not a good coach. She reminds me of Hubert. Just puts players on the court and lets them go. She can't beat good teams because her teams are undisciplined. They lack fundamentals, run no offensive sets, can't shoot layups or free throws, only pop threes once in a while. They don't box out on the boards and play very little defense without fouling. Her teams have very little basketball IQ, It's a CB trademark. And Brooks makes horrible decisions over and over and she leaves her in the game instead of teaching her.. Before some of you rake me over the coals, and you have a right to voice your opinon just as I do, I am a 45 year member of the Rams Club and I played D1 ball for a top coach but I won't mentiion who. I will respect your retorts, but you must respect mine as well. We need a better coach. Go Heels!
 
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mpaer

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Jul 1, 2025
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I've been attending women's basketball games for over 40 years and I have had enough of CB. Carolina is not Princeton. What she did there doesn't work in the ACC or anywhere else. She is not a good coach. She reminds me of Hubert. Just puts players on the court and lets them go. She can't beat good teams because her teams are undisciplined. They lack fundamentals, run no offensive sets, can't shoot layups or free throws, only pop threes once in a while. They don't box out on the boards and play very little defense without fouling. Her teams have very little basketball IQ, It's a CB trademark. And Brooks makes horrible decisions over and over and she leaves her in the game instead of teaching her.. Before some of you rake me over the coals, and you have a right to voice your opinon just as I do, I am a 45 year member of the Rams Club and I played D1 ball for a top coach but I won't mentiion who. I will respect your retorts, but you must respect mine as well. We need a better coach. Go Heels!
I don't pretend to be an expert But some friends I know that I consider experts agree
Now lets straighten it out somehow
 
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royunc

Redshirt
Aug 1, 2025
19
30
13
I left after the first quarter of the Davidson exhibition game. Anyone who watched that game knew this team was not ready to win this game today. I really tried to optimistic about this season, but same ole same ole!
 

royunc

Redshirt
Aug 1, 2025
19
30
13
Yep. Enjoying Paris too much. That's why we can't put much stock in these early season games far from home.
That's totally unexceptable and on the coaching staff and just not true. Davidson gave this team a good game. Davidson!
 

Gio2dahouse

Senior
Aug 10, 2025
249
471
63
I mean she wasn't great but I have far more patience for her as freshman in her first game than I do for Reniya, who didn't do anything until the game was out of hand, or Laila and Cardy, who were unplayable.
Not great is being very nice! She is a freshman who is given the keys to the car! And Laila and Cardy played bad but there play didnt result into easy baskets. This isnt the first time this happened. The 1st scrimmage she turned the ball over while pressured in open court.
 

nicheel

Senior
Oct 6, 2025
588
500
63
Oh wow. Was Oklahoma full of returners and upper classmen. I must have missed that part. That showing after the HYPE does not warrant bottle feeding. Sorry but to quote coach. Looks like we still taking knifes to a gun fight. Heck plastic ones at that lol
Coach lately talking about taking spoons to a knife fight. Now armed with our knives she said. Announcers said that. Same ole plastic spoonery, coach. Some here INSIST that we put great trust in words of biased folks. Not me. Words are in the air. Games are real and played between people on wood floors.
Some here are insistent on belief in words from others. That has always been the way of this board IMO. Talk does not gain ACC tops. It doesn't even gain 4th place in the ACC. Play damned ball to win. Today this team was exposed. I believe Harpring, Burroughs, Brooks, Akot can play. Not much else positive today. Hope for improvement. Hope for Toomey. Talk .....
 
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6string

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Jul 24, 2025
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Considering how many new players were going to be trying to develop chemistry etc. I really wish this team had taken the opposite approach and begun with a much easier schedule. Throwing someone into the deep end of the pool before they learn to swim can have some bad results.
 

kystroup

All-Conference
Mar 29, 2017
675
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Not great is being very nice! She is a freshman who is given the keys to the car! And Laila and Cardy played bad but there play didnt result into easy baskets. This isnt the first time this happened. The 1st scrimmage she turned the ball over while pressured in open court.
Again, some shakiness from her is to be expected. Not so much from our seniors. If she’s still turning it over like this in January, we can talk about taking the keys away
 
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Gio2dahouse

Senior
Aug 10, 2025
249
471
63
Nobody else had the guts to take them!

Should we be harder on the freshman in her first game? Or the senior?
I wouldn't say harder but obviously the plays revolve around KH taking shots. Other people have the guts to shoot the shot but 27 shots on one on one basketball is very RJ ish! Why put so much pressure on the freshman? She is going to be elite absolutely. But work it thru an offense. Get others involved. Im very critical of RK but she can get the team into sets, not a turn over risk. Harpring had a bad game. Thats ok
 

uman1

All-Conference
Aug 8, 2005
555
1,027
93
Interesting first game. I thought the guards played one on one too much but then we don't have much of an inside presence right now beyond Akot.

Defense might take a few games to pan out with so many new faces, but I think it will.

I am all for giving Bofia10-15 minutes per game as this may pay dividends down the road. Not happy we lost but honestly I am not really that concerned.
 

kjcooper

Senior
Nov 26, 2009
225
537
63
Interesting first game. I thought the guards played one on one too much but then we don't have much of an inside presence right now beyond Akot.

Defense might take a few games to pan out with so many new faces, but I think it will.

I am all for giving Bofia10-15 minutes per game as this may pay dividends down the road. Not happy we lost but honestly I am not really that concerned.
It's early in the season, playing Oklahoma and SC back to back will result in an 0-2 start. But some ridicule's Duke last season for starting out as a sub par below .500 team, but tough competition early will only help this team mature as the season progresses.
 
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3397char

All-American
Moderator
Jun 30, 2025
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I think we can all agree that the wheels fell off in the 3rd Quarter.

Here is the Q3 box score:

North Carolina 3rd Quarter Box Score
��
#PlayerPTSFG3FGFTORDRREBAPFTOBLSTMIN+/-
7*BROOKS,N10-10-01-2000100006-15
8*AKOT,A21-30-10-0101030016-13
10*KELLY,R21-10-00-00001010010-17
11*HARPRING,K21-50-10-0011111016-10
26*QUEIROZ,T00-00-00-00000000000
3WHITE,G21-30-10-0011130007-12
4HULL,L00-20-20-0000001003-5
5BURROWS,S31-31-30-0000011004-4
13CLARDY,C00-00-00-00000000000
34THOMAS,B00-00-00-00000000000
52BOFIA,N21-20-00-0314010117-9
QTR TOTALS146-201-81-263949413
QTR PCT30.012.550.0

Box scores do not really show defense. As bad as the shooting is above, the biggest issue was allowing 31 points in Q3. We actually won the other three quarters combined:

TEAM1234T

OU
1821312191

UNC
1919142779


I will make the caveat that one quarter in a single basketball game is a really small sample size. statistically, there is no significance here.

But what did your eyes see? I saw a lot of small ball, and it simply did not work. We played roughly 4 min in the quarter with Harpring, Kelly and White on the floor together. we fouled a ton when we were overmatched in the interior. OK outrebounded us +6 this quarter. 12 second chance points for OK. We matched them pretty even in rebounding the other 3 quarters combined.

I actually thought our interior offense and defense improved once we put Bofia in, though still not great. This was one of the fastest teams in the country and she was processing/reacting at their speed.

Oklahoma has great guards. But in this game at least, small ball did not work. we matched them at best on the perimeter, but they killed us on the interior.
 
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Chooch

Senior
Apr 15, 2026
486
528
63
That was ugly, poor shooting, wild passing, got outhustled & whupped.
Preseasons rankings are hard to figure but if we were #12, OU was way overlooked.
Courtney, like Malone has some major work to do. OU has some impressive young talent.
 
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Jriv23

All-Conference
Jul 31, 2025
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Half her stats came after the game was out of hand. same with Harpring. I don't expect her to carry the team, but when we have those shaky moments like we did in the 3rd quarter, I expect her to be the steadying hand and I felt that she fell gravely short of that expectation today.
We got hurt down in the post during the 3rd quarter. Their guards posted our guards, and they just bullied us down low. When CB went to that small lineup, that is when OK got a lot of offensive rebounds because we were just too small.
 

Jriv23

All-Conference
Jul 31, 2025
2,807
2,945
113
I think we can all agree that the wheels fell off in the 3rd Quarter.

Here is the Q3 box score:

North Carolina 3rd Quarter Box Score
��
#PlayerPTSFG3FGFTORDRREBAPFTOBLSTMIN+/-
7*BROOKS,N10-10-01-2000100006-15
8*AKOT,A21-30-10-0101030016-13
10*KELLY,R21-10-00-00001010010-17
11*HARPRING,K21-50-10-0011111016-10
26*QUEIROZ,T00-00-00-00000000000
3WHITE,G21-30-10-0011130007-12
4HULL,L00-20-20-0000001003-5
5BURROWS,S31-31-30-0000011004-4
13CLARDY,C00-00-00-00000000000
34THOMAS,B00-00-00-00000000000
52BOFIA,N21-20-00-0314010117-9
QTR TOTALS146-201-81-263949413
QTR PCT30.012.550.0

Box scores do not really show defense. As bad as the shooting is above, the biggest issue was allowing 31 points in Q3. We actually won the other three quarters combined:

TEAM1234T

OU
1821312191

UNC
1919142779


I will make the caveat that one quarter in a single basketball game is a really small sample size. statistically, there is no significance here.

But what did your eyes see? I saw a lot of small ball, and it simply did not work. We played roughly 4 min in the quarter with Harpring, Kelly and White on the floor together. we fouled a ton when we were overmatched in the interior. OK outrebounded us +6 this quarter. 12 second chance points for OK. We matched them pretty even in rebounding the other 3 quarters combined.

I actually thought our interior offense and defense improved once we put Bofia in, though still not great. This was one of the fastest teams in the country and she was processing/reacting at their speed.

Oklahoma has great guards. But in this game at least, small ball did not work. we matched them at best on the perimeter, but they killed us on the interior.
That is my assessment as well. When we went to small ball, that was when OK killed us in the interior. CB finally but Noelle in and we saw how Noelle was making a difference in the paint. She had a nice block and she altered some shots.
 

unc80

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2009
2,805
4,941
113
Didn't see the game but appears we got our doors blown off in the 2nd half. Sure, it's Nov. 2nd, but that wasn't what I was expecting. Time for CB to show us something.
 

Jriv23

All-Conference
Jul 31, 2025
2,807
2,945
113
Moving forward, we might need to have Noelle in from the jump start until Toomey gets back with Akot at the four. TQ did not do much nor did LH. RK was struggling as well. Against SC, I would start Noelle at the 5 if Toomey is not ready, Akot at the four, NB at the 3, SB at the two, and Kate at the one. Coming off the bench should be Gabby, RK, and CC. I just don't know what happened to LH. She was missing wide opens threes, etc. RK did not look comfortable as well. When Toomey comes back, Noelle, Gabby, RK, and CC will need to be the first ones off the bench. I was impressed with Noelle again with little minutes. She definitely needs to play more simply because she can rebound on both ends, block and alter shots, runs the floor very well, and get score around the rim. I would like to see Nyla drive more to the hole.
 

CCHeel1

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
582
1,104
93
LeeLee Bell is what happened. 9-21, 4-7 from 3, 8 reb. Pretty great debut for a freshman against a ranked team. She's 6-3 and we couldn't guard her. I know we recruited her but OK won the battle for her services. She may never have a game like this again but I would bet she will be a big force for them.
 

DreDre81

Redshirt
Oct 24, 2026
4
7
3
Moving forward, we might need to have Noelle in from the jump start until Toomey gets back with Akot at the four. TQ did not do much nor did LH. RK was struggling as well. Against SC, I would start Noelle at the 5 if Toomey is not ready, Akot at the four, NB at the 3, SB at the two, and Kate at the one. Coming off the bench should be Gabby, RK, and CC. I just don't know what happened to LH. She was missing wide opens threes, etc. RK did not look comfortable as well. When Toomey comes back, Noelle, Gabby, RK, and CC will need to be the first ones off the bench. I was impressed with Noelle again with little minutes. She definitely needs to play more simply because she can rebound on both ends, block and alter shots, runs the floor very well, and get score around the rim. I would like to see Nyla drive more to the hole.
I agree with almost everything except KH at the 1. Shes not a point guard on this level right now. If CB rolls her out there at the 1 against SC, it might due irreversible damage to KH’s confidence. Play her off the ball so she can work on becoming a mire efficient scorer.
 

4theHeels19

Sophomore
Dec 21, 2025
33
117
27
We got taken to the woodshed…outcompeted completely. It looked to me like Banghart wanted to run with OK and we did not have the horses. Very undisciplined basketball, bad decisions, didn’t play smart.

But I actually think it’s good for this team. There’s not a clear identity or leaders on our squad. Definitely not on the court at least. Reniya should have settled us down but I don’t think she’s confident enough in her game right now. So Harpring, White, Akot are going to have to step up as leaders. Tough spot for young/new kids but I think those are the 3 that are going to have to set the tone if we’re going to be any good. Compose everybody else, run some offense, play smarter basketball, win their matchups, and make the others better. Banghart needs to get Akot more involved and use her athleticism in the pick and roll. Harping and White have the tools to be an excellent backcourt but they’re young and inexperienced. They need to develop chemistry together. We don’t need those two plus Reniya on the court at the same time.

Bofia is the brightest surprise to me on this team and she makes plays almost every possession (a deflection, block, O board…and that hook shot is money). She is a tremendous presence and needs the minutes. She will be very good come March if given the opportunity. I hope Banghart has learned from being gun shy with our unproven Bigs…it’s hurt us. Put her in there and let her learn. Toomey will be a leader on the court when she’s back and a matchup problem for a lot of teams. Kelly will get her confidence by easing back in and not being central to the offense right now. Clardy and Burrows can be good, steady role players. I don’t know that I’ve seen enough from Brooks to think she’s going to be much more than a spot up shooter, she doesn’t impact the game enough anywhere else right now. I hope I’m wrong and I’m sure there’s another gear in there somewhere. But TBD.

Banghart really needs to coach this year more than she has since her first year or two in the program. I think she was overconfident in her pieces and she just let them go out and play…that’s not going to work with this group. We are not talented or experienced enough yet. The power and athleticism of Chavez, Bell, and Williams overwhelmed us. Banghart’s going to have to define roles and figure out who her leaders are. Run sets and play a lot more disciplined. She’ll get this group together, but she didn’t have us ready today.

I am so glad we have Harpring and I see the competitiveness in her. She forced things today bc she felt like she had to…like she had to against Maryland, but her biggest growth will be learning she can rely on her teammates. That means everyone else needs to step up too.

It’s gonna be a rocky first month I think for this group, but we’ll get there.
 
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Jriv23

All-Conference
Jul 31, 2025
2,807
2,945
113
LeeLee Bell is what happened. 9-21, 4-7 from 3, 8 reb. Pretty great debut for a freshman against a ranked team. She's 6-3 and we couldn't guard her. I know we recruited her but OK won the battle for her services. She may never have a game like this again but I would bet she will be a big force for them.
Yeah, I agree totally on Bell; however, I never say Akot really guard her or Noelle. I think Noelle is quick enough to guard her on the wing, but we never say that match up. I cannot recall how many times Akot guarded her on defense side of the ball. It might have been once or twice at the most. We had smaller people trying to guard her and that was no answer like TQ and SB mostly. She is really good, but I believe Noelle could have made her arch the ball higher in order to shoot over her length and that could have caused her to miss some of those shots; just a thought.
 

Jriv23

All-Conference
Jul 31, 2025
2,807
2,945
113
We got taken to the woodshed…outcompeted completely. It looked to me like Banghart wanted to run with OK and we did not have the horses. Very undisciplined basketball, bad decisions, didn’t play smart.

But I actually think it’s good for this team. There’s not a clear identity or leaders on our squad. Definitely not on the court at least. Reniya should have settled us down but I don’t think she’s confident enough in her game right now. So Harpring, White, Akot are going to have to step up as leaders. Tough spot for young/new kids but I think those are the 3 that are going to have to set the tone if we’re going to be any good. Compose everybody else, run some offense, play smarter basketball, win their matchups, and make the others better. Banghart needs to get Akot more involved and use her athleticism in the pick and roll. Harping and White have the tools to be an excellent backcourt but they’re young and inexperienced. They need to develop chemistry together. We don’t need those two plus Reniya on the court at the same time.

Bofia is the brightest surprise to me on this team and she makes plays almost every possession (a deflection, block, O board…and that hook shot is money). She is a tremendous presence and needs the minutes. She will be very good come March if given the opportunity. I hope Banghart has learned from being gun shy with our unproven Bigs…it’s hurt us. Put her in there and let her learn. Toomey will be a leader on the court when she’s back and a matchup problem for a lot of teams. Kelly will get her confidence by easing back in and not being a central to the offense right now. Clardy and Burrows can be good, steady role players. I don’t know that I’ve seen enough from Brooks to think she’s going to be much more than a spot up shooter, she doesn’t impact the game enough anywhere else right now. I hope I’m wrong and I’m sure there’s another gear in there somewhere. But TBD.

Banghart really needs to coach this year more than she has since her first year or two in the program. I think she was overconfident in her pieces and she just let them go out and play…that’s not going to work with this group. We are not talented or experienced enough yet. The power and athleticism of Chavez, Bell, and Williams overwhelmed us. Banghart’s going to have to define roles and figure out who her leaders are. Run sets and play a lot more disciplined. She’ll get this group together, but she didn’t have us ready today.

I am so glad we have Harpring and I see the competitiveness in her. She forced things today bc she felt like she had to…like she had to against Maryland, but her biggest growth will be learning she can rely on her teammates. That means everyone else needs to step up too.

It’s gonna be a rocky first month I think for this group, but we’ll get there.
I agree totally with your assessment. I think RK needs to come off of the bench to get her confidence back. Having her, Kate, and Gabby is not going to work. I would like to see SB at the two or Gabby at the two starting the game off like you said with NB starting at the 5.
 
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