There's a freedom to November basketball.

It's not like the games don't count. Indeed, a strong RPI can be built upon big wins long before conference play begins.

Yet grinding over an opponent is not only uncommon, it's a bad idea, especially when all you've got is a day between games.

That's where the 13th-ranked Oklahoma women find themselves today, in Athens, Ga., taking on No. 21 Georgia.

The Sooners are coming off their season-opening 108-66 victory over Mercer. The Bulldogs are playing their first game.

Against Mercer, OU struggled to make shots early and trailed 25-24 into the game's 13th minute. Between that point and the 2:58 mark of the second half, the Sooners outscored the Bears by 49 points.

Today, OU wants more of what it did during the last 27 minutes of its opener and less of what it did during the first 13.

"We have to be ready to go against Georgia," OU coach Sherri Coale said. "We can't have that cold spell we had to start the game (against Mercer) and survive (against Georgia)."

Still, OU knows it's going to endure some cold spells to go along with its offensive explosions. What OU can do is not help those cold spells along with turnovers, like the 19 committed against Mercer. It can also do something about letting its opponent pour it on while it struggles.

"That's just going to be the nature of the way we play," Coale said. "Now, hopefully, those droughts don't last quite as long as they did early (against Mercer). That's kind of going to be our identity and we're going to have to defend during those drought periods."

Georgia, coming off an 80-49 exhibition victory over Clayton State, returns three starters from a team that went 18-14 a year ago, closing with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Arizona State.

One of those Bulldog returnees is senior point guard Ashley Houts, who averaged 12 points and 4.7 assists last season.

"You have two quality teams that both are in a little bit of a rebuilding state," Georgia coach Andy Landers said. "At the same time, both teams have some veterans coming back who have proven that they're good players."

It's just another one of those intriguing early season games you find on the court more than anywhere else.

Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com