The women’s basketball team won their second consecutive and 12th overall Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title.
On March 3, the team won 89-63 against the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
“This year we co-champed in the conference play, but when it came to the regional tournament we were seated number two, which meant we were not guaranteed a bid to nationals, so we knew going into regionals we had to win out this tournament,” said Senior Guard Daniela Galindo. “We faced two teams that had upset us during the season, which was a great opportunity for us to redeem ourselves. Saturday night we took the championship against a very good team and got our bid to nationals.”
Galindo was named the SAC Tournament’s most valuable player. Her average for the season is 21.5 points a game. Galindo and her teammates, Senior Center Alexis Hill, Junior Guard Michaela Kay and Junior Center Taylor LaCour were all named part of the SAC Conference All-Tournament team. Galindo said this recognition is given to the top athletes who compete in the tournament.
“I’m a senior, and so to get to experience this kind of opportunity with my team, it’s an unbelievable experience,” she said. “It’s players I’ll never forget playing with, and I think it’s something that’s made this year so special and memorable. We have a lot of momentum going right now. Everyone’s playing great, and it only makes us more excited for the national tournament next week.”
If the team wins the tournament, they will go on to the national tournament next week in Billings, Montana. They are set to play the University of Providence in the first round of the Cramer bracket at 2:15 p.m. March 15. The teams that win the first round of their bracket will play the second round March 16 and the quarterfinal the next day. The semifinals with the champions from all four brackets will take place March 19, and the national championship game will be the next day. The team will attend the tournament with a 28-5 record for the season, the highest out of any other schools in the Cramer bracket.
“I think we’re really excited for the next step with this national tournament,” said Bo Overton, women’s basketball coach. “We lost some good players last year, so I’m really proud of this team for being able to bounce back and play the way they have played with basically a new team. We have some good seniors who really led the way for us. I think when you’ve had as good a year as we’ve had, you’re just really proud of how they’ve played.”
Leave a Reply