Impressed? Absolutely. Intimidated? Absolutely not. That is the mindset of Oklahoma's women's basketball team as the Sooners await today's NCAA tournament encounter with James Madison and prolific point guard Dawn Evans.
Evans, the Dukes' senior dynamo, will enter the first-round contest with a 23.2-point scoring average and 98 3-point field goals. She seized Oklahoma's collective attention from the moment the first JMU tape began to play late Monday night in the Sooners' athletic office complex.
"You pretty much have to guard her the entire length of the floor," said Oklahoma senior Danielle Robinson, who likely will be matched against Evans when the Sooners unfurl their man-to-man defense. "Her range [on her 3-point shot] is amazing. But the thing is, if you go out to challenge her, she has the ability to blow past you and either take it to the rim or kick it (to an open teammate). She's definitely a special player."
Sooners coach Sherri Coale called Evans "as complete an offensive player as we've seen anywhere, all year long."
Coale compared Evans' skills to those of former Oklahoma State All-American Andrea Riley.
"I just hope Danielle remembers how she used to play against Riley," Coale said.
If Robinson remembers, 11th-seeded JMU (26-7) could be in trouble. Riley, now in the WNBA, was 1-for-8 against the Sooners.
Evans is fully cognizant of the challenge awaiting her. She met and played against Robinson, one of the sport's most gifted athletes, at a USA Basketball tryout in 2009.
"It should be exciting. I'm looking forward to it," Evans said. "She's as quick as lightning. But you know, I pride myself on being pretty quick, too."
Coale's sixth-seeded club (21-11) could face a somewhat hostile reception today. JMU's campus is an hour's drive from Charlottesville. As of Saturday afternoon, Dukes fans had snapped up nearly 1,400 tickets.
Said Coale: "A situation like this — a higher seed having to play virtually on the home court of a lower seed — is the kind of thing our (selection) committee gets abused for, which to me isn't fair. If we're not good enough to come into this environment and win in order to advance, then frankly, we don't deserve to advance."
Oklahoma has a significant edge in success on this stage. The Dukes last won an NCAA tournament game in 1991. Oklahoma has appeared in the past two Final Fours.
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