Sooners See It Through

Five years ago, Oklahoma Coach Sherri Coale could offer recruits little beyond a down-and-out program and a sparkling vision that was more sunshine than substance.

Stacey Dales and LaNeishea Caufield bought into it, and now they’re all going to the Final Four.

Caufield scored 25 points and Dales had 20 points and nine assists as top-seeded Oklahoma rolled past No. 3 Colorado, 94-60, Monday night in the West Regional final, sending the Sooners to San Antonio.

“These guys bought into a vision. They bought what I was selling,” said Coale, who went 5-22 in her first season as coach in 1996-97. “And we’re not finished. We’ve got a lot more work to do.”

Caufield shot five for five from three-point range in the second half and scored 14 points during a 32-6 burst that guaranteed Oklahoma (31-3) of becoming the first Big 12 team to reach the women’s Final Four.

Jamie Talbert and Rosalind Ross each scored 12 for Oklahoma, which lost in the NCAA tournament’s third round the previous two years. Coale has won three straight Big 12 titles and now has the Final Four she always believed she’d get.

“I’m speechless,” said Coale, in her sixth season. “I have thought about this for six years, and I knew what I was going to say. Now, I have no idea.”

In the final minute, Oklahoma fans chanted, “Final Four, Final Four.” Players put on their championship T-shirts and hats as Colorado’s Virginie Delepine shot free throws at the other end of the floor.

“I’m thrilled to be going to the Final Four,” Dales said. “I’m savoring tonight.”

Oklahoma will play Duke in Friday’s national semifinals. The Blue Devils advanced by winning the East Regional, 77-68 over South Carolina.