Why OU basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk says Sooners are 'not even close' to potential
OU’s trio of Ana Llanusa, Taylor Robertson and Madi Williams have played plenty of games together during their careers.
But it’s been awhile since all three have been healthy for a significant stretch of the season as they have been this year.
“They’re still finding their groove of playing together for a whole season,” Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “I know that sounds weird because they have experience.”
Llanusa’s recent re-emergence, after missing the entirety of the 2020-21 season and all but 10 games last season, is a big reason why OU is tied atop the Big 12 standings entering Tuesday night’s game at TCU (6:30 p.m., ESPN+).
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The Sooners moved up to No. 15 in this week’s Associated Press poll, the first time since 2009 they’ve been the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the poll.
After easing into things a bit, Llanusa has taken off over the last five games, averaging 21.4 points per game with 16 assists and nine turnovers.
Llanusa’s return has helped take plenty of the pressure off Robertson and Williams.
Last season, if one of the duo struggled offensively, the Sooners were unlikely to come out on top.
This season, they’ve been able to overcome an off night by one or even both.
“It’s not like, ‘OK, Madi has to do so well or we don’t win a game,’” Baranczyk said. “Madi wants to do well, and there’s a difference because that’s going to propel us as time goes on, because she wants to play well and she wants her teammates to play well, right?
"If it’s ‘I have to,’ then it can be a little bit of an issue or you start to get tight at the end of the game or you get tight toward the end of the season. Right now, we’re still meshing and we’re still grooving.”
Against Kansas on Saturday, Williams struggled plenty over the first three quarters, going 3 of 13 from the floor before catching fire in the fourth to help the Sooners to an 80-74 come-from-behind victory to stretch their winning streak to three.
“We complement each other really well,” Williams said. ‘What one person can’t do, the other one will pick up for that person. … I missed Ana playing well. We missed that. But for her to be able to come back and play even stronger than she was last year (prior to her injury), we needed that.”
More:Taylor Robertson is closing in on NCAA's 3-point record. Here's how the OU guard got here.
The Sooners (14-2, 4-1 Big 12) are seventh nationally in scoring offense, averaging 86.4 points per game. They lead the conference with 20.7 assists per game.
But Baranczyk said there’s still plenty of more growth potential.
“We’re still meshing,” Baranczyk said. “And as much as you want to be hitting your groove right now and you win these games and you’re feeling good and all that kind of stuff — what’s scary is we’re not even close. We’re not close.
"I think from that standpoint, once we really start to read each other a little bit more, you’re gonna see a little bit better movement offensively. We’re close from that standpoint, but we’re not there.”
Williams agreed that there was still plenty left in the tank for the Sooners.
“We’re learning and we’re getting ready for March,” Williams said. “This is the time when we’re going to keep continuing to grow and keep sharpening our skills in all the small things that we do well and keep doing that and yeah, keep winning.”
OU vs. TCU
TIPOFF: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas (ESPN+)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's basketball streaking but 'not even close,' Baranczyk says
