By Anne McLaren
Staff Writer

With little turnaround time between Saturday night’s victory over Dartmouth and tonight’s matchup against Oklahoma, the Boilers have quickly turned their focus to the Sooners.

No. 4-seed Purdue (23-7) takes on fifth-seeded Oklahoma (24-7) at 8 tonight in Mackey Arena. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 in Richmond, Va.

The Sooners advanced to the second round game by defeating BYU 86-81 on Saturday. Senior Phylesha Whaley led the Sooners with 33 points, while sophomore LaNeishea Caufield added 26.

"Hopefully LaNeishea can get to the basket and be able help us in breaking down (Purdue’s) defense as she was effective against BYU," said Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale.

"We’ll try to get the ball to Whaley and see if she can score a little bit too," said Coale. That may be an understatement because Whaley, a 5-foot-10 forward, is the Sooners’ leading scorer at 21 points per game. She also became Oklahoma’s all-time leading scorer during Saturday night’s game.

Purdue coach Kristy Curry has been impressed with Whaley since she saw her play in high school. Curry said that Whaley’s not like any other player the Boilers have faced, "with her ability to hit the three and her penetration."

Caufield averages 14.7 points per game and sophomore guard Stacey Dales adds 12.7 for the Sooners.

Oklahoma finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 during the regular season. The Sooners lost to Texas 71-68 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

Coale said she watched Purdue defeat Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament and was impressed by the Boilers.

"I think that we need to do a great job in defensive transition because (Purdue) is a team that loves to run," she said. "And when they run, they’re as good as any team in the country. We’re going to have to find a way to rebound against their size. We are very, very small in comparison to them. I think we can do some things to offset that, and I think a critical factor in this game is going to be our controlling the tempo. And often the tempo is a direct reflection of rebounding."

The Boilers do have a height advantage. The Sooners start a three guard, two forward lineup with the tallest player standing at 6-foot. Center Camille Cooper at 6-4 and guard Katie Douglas at 6-1 are Purdue’s leading scorers at 14.7 and 21.0 points, respectively. Off the bench, redshirt freshman Mary Jo Noon is the tallest Boiler at 6-5.

"I think in certain areas we match up pretty well, but of course we don’t have an answer for the size of Cooper, or when they bring Noon off the bench," said Coale. "Their size is something that we’re going to have to offset with quickness and strength hopefully."

Though the Boilers and the Sooners have never faced each other, they do have one common opponent this season. On Dec. 11 the Boilers traveled to face North Texas. Purdue controlled the tempo in the second half and was able to earn the 79-68 victory. The Sooners faced North Texas on Jan. 5 and won 86-63.

Even though Purdue is the defending national champion, Coale believes her team will be able to combat the Boilers’ experience and the home court advantage.

"We know that the odds are stacked against us a bit because we’re playing in their arena and the gym will be filled with Black and Gold," she said. "But at the same time, our kids have played in Lubbock, Texas in front of 15,000, and at Hilton in Ames, Iowa, in front of a packed house. We’ve been here before and I think we’ll be able to handle it."

Douglas and Cooper, on the other hand, feel they have an advantage from last season.

"I just think last year’s tournament experience and winning (the championship) just really helps our confidence and not losing our composure and sticking with what we do," said Douglas.