Jim Valvano would be proud!!

"Never give up....never, never,never, NEVER give up!" ~ Jimmy "V" Valvano inspired millions with his message as he fought back against the cancer that ravaged his body and ended his life way too early.

I don't know if OU women's coach Sherry Coale used that inspriational message during her halftime talk yesterday, but it would have been appropriate after the Sooners fell behind by 26 points at HALFTIME against the California Golden Bears.

The Sooner women closed the game with a 34-6 run in the Battle by the Bay Classic in San Jose.

"One of the craziest games I've ever been a part of," Coale said. "Complete role reversal from one half to the other."

Reserve Nyeshia Stevenson hit back-to-back 3-pointers and gave Oklahoma its first lead of the game with 3:43 to play, and the fifth-ranked Sooners made an improbable comeback from a 26-point halftime deficit to shock No. 9 Cal 86-75 on Saturday night in the Basketball by the Bay Classic.

Visuals from escaping the BEAR TRAP.

They say that sports are a microcosm [definition at bottom of this post~] of life... yesterday's comeback by the Oklahoma Sooner ladies is a prime example that adhering to Valvano's LIFE message of never quitting.....can pay dividends in sports.

And now for today's vocabulary review:

mi·cro·cosm (mī'krə-kŏz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n. A small, representative system having analogies to a larger system in constitution, configuration, or development: "He sees the auto industry as a microcosm of the U.S. itself" (William J. Hampton).