Here’s one way to look at Oklahoma’s late-season struggles that bottomed out with three straight losses before entering the NCAA Tournament Sunday at Purdue’s Mackey Arena.

Quite literally, the Sooners’ problems revolved around Courtney Paris.

Maybe the best woman ever to play the collegiate game, certainly the best to make a home of Lloyd Noble Center, the reigning national player of the year and a soon-to-be three-time consensus first-team All-American enters Tuesday's round-of-32 8:30 p.m. matchup against Notre Dame averaging 18.5 points and 15 rebounds. Sooner coach Sherri Coale has nonetheless made the decision her team must get away from Paris to successfully navigate March Madness.

If it was once a lingering issue, Coale brought it to a head in a recent practice.

“She stopped us in the middle of one of our drills, working on halfcourt offense,” Paris said. “(She) just said, ‘If we’re just going to look to throw Courtney the ball, then I can’t play Courtney any more.’”

Consider hat happened against the Redbirds a qualified success on the getting-way-from-Courtney meter. The Sooners never really got things going until the second half, and probably never had in mind getting quite so far away from their star as they did. Still, on a day Paris took only five shots, the Sooners advanced.

As wrong as it might sound, nobody has to look very far to realize the wisdom of forcing some of the load off Paris’ broad shoulders.

“She’s had 30 points and over 20 rebounds and we’ve still lost,” Ashley Paris said. “So I think we realize that Courtney can have the game of her life and we can still lose the basketball game.”

That’s exactly what happened in OU’s first-round Big 12 tournament loss to Missouri, when Courtney Paris finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds, as well as the game that ended last season, a 65-46 setback to Ole Miss in which Paris scored all but 15 of OU’s points while grabbing 20 rebounds.

“It’s just one of those things where we’re better if everybody’s moving around, if everybody’s being aggressive, and you don’t just have to rely on me,” Paris said. “If you’re open, then you can knock down the shot. And eventually, it comes back to help free me up even more.”

The “eventually” part didn’t come to pass against the Redbirds, though in addition to their center’s 12 points, the Sooners got 12 Rose Hammond and Danielle Robinson, as well as 13 from Ashley Paris. The last time prior to Sunday OU had placed so many in double figures was Feb. 27 at Texas Tech — the last time OU won.

Even as Illinois State mounted a furious rally in the closing minutes, Coale continued to direct the offense away from her star, figuring she’d still be around for an offensive rebound. That might have led to several to-soon shots at a time running clock was paramount, yet still be the necessary gamble that must be waged for the Sooners’ greater good.

“We have a lot of talented players on our team and I think sometimes when you have a player like Courtney Paris on the floor with you, sometimes as a player around her, you can lose your identity,” Coale said. “You can forget that there are lots of things that you’re really, really good at, too. Because you think, ‘If I don’t throw it to her, what am I? (I’m) an idiot.’”

And the Sooners need everybody contributing, perhaps, just to get past Notre Dame today with a Sweet 16 date at the Ford Center on the line, and must get the whole cast involved if they are to make it from Oklahoma City to the Final Four in Tampa, Fla.

“It’s important for all of us to use our talents,” Ashley Paris said. “Courtney is a great player but I think we’re all pretty good in our own right. We just have to realize that’s what’s going to get us far in this tournament.”