Published: March 26, 2008 02:56 am            

Plumley’s slump finally ends

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Looking for a silver lining? Try Jenna Plumley.

The Red Rock, Okla., product might have saved the season for Oklahoma last year; however, thrust into a leader’s role as a sophomore, she became a poster child for the slump that often befalls athletes in their second season.

Perhaps Tuesday night was the coming out party of her junior season.

OU was bounced out of the Women’s NCAA Tournament by Notre Dame, losing a 79-75 heartbreaker, but the Sooners might have been finished before the half without a quartet of Plumley 3-pointers and never would have reached overtime were it not for Plumley’s fifth 3-pointer, bringing OU within 65-63 with 1:32 remaining, nor would the extra session have been reached without Courtney Paris’ game-tying basket with 14 seconds to play that was set up by one of Plumley’s five assists.

“Both teams shot the ball pretty well,” Sooner coach Sherri Coale said. “For two teams who came in with not very pretty 3-point percentages, both of us lit it up from there tonight.”

The sad truth for OU was as well as Plumley played — after throwing an ill-advised outlet pass on OU’s second possession, she committed only one more turnover — Notre Dame guard Charel Allen was even better, hitting all three of her 3-point attempts and all 12 of her free throws to finish with 35 points. But it shouldn’t diminish the 5-foot-4 guard’s resurgent effort.

She only scored 18 points one other time this season, at home against Texas A&M. Afterward, Aggie coach Gary Blair proclaimed her the difference in the game. However, until Tuesday night, she had been off and on at best, netting double figure points three times while struggling terribly from the field.

In the return game at A&M, Plumley hit 3 of 14 shots. Next, against Missouri at the Big 12 tournament, it was 3 of 12. And Sunday against Illinois State it was 1 of 7.

Nonetheless, she went out strong at Mackey Arena.

“That 3 she hit late in the game really was a dagger for us,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said.

It just wasn’t enough.



Clay Horning writes for The Norman (Okla.) Transcript.

        

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