• Atop the Big 12, OU visits Kansas

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Not that the Oklahoma women ever thought they’d be coming from so far off the pace.

That’s not to say the Sooners aren’t still atop the Big 12 Conference as they walk into Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse tonight. At 20-4 overall and 10-3 in the league, they are tied with Baylor and Texas A&M.

But that’s the season and what OU’s looking for is less tangible but no less certain: their very best game.

Coach Sherri Coale has turned over the lineup and it’s paid dividends with two straight wins over Texas and Texas Tech, both of which included decisive turns from freshman point guard Jenna Plumley.

Not that OU wants Plumley to have to make 6 of 8 3-point attempts on the road, giving the Sooners a chance to win despite 15 second-half turnovers against the Red Raiders.

“It’s a little bit frustrating,” said Ashley Paris, one of many Sooners who struggled at Lubbock. “Last year at this time, we were ready to go. We went 19-0 and felt like we couldn’t get beat.

“We got lucky but we also worked hard and we enjoyed every minute and we didn’t have near the issues we’ve had this season.”

The Sooners have struggled defensively at times, most particularly against Ohio State and against Texas Tech the first time around, when they emerged 86-81 victors in double overtime. But the most stubborn issue remains turnovers and a the horribly inconsistent halfcourt offense that has produced so many of them.

There’s still time, just not very much.

Following tonight, the Sooners play host to Missouri at 2 p.m. Sunday before taking on Baylor, also at Lloyd Noble Center, a week from tonight.

Coale sees hopeful signs.

“What I like is that there are more stretches where we’re putting ourselves in position to blow it open,” she said. “And we weren’t even doing that at all (before). It was just battle, battle, battle.

“At least we’ve had that three to four to five consecutive offensive possessions where it was just bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Now, our next step is, now that they’re standing on the edge of the cliff, we need to go ahead and knock them off.”