Pioneer Library System

The OU Women’s Basketball team and the Children’s Department of the Norman Public Library are giving each other a home court advantage with a pair of Read to Win Family Story Times.

On Friday, January 15, at 3 p.m., the library, 225 N. Webster in downtown Norman, welcomes Head Coach Sherri Coale for a Story Time in the Children’s Department. Coale will share some of her favorite children’s books and recommend books that she thinks are particularly inspirational or motivating. Norman schools are closed that day, families and children of all ages are invited to attend.

Norman Public Library and Pioneer Library System card holders are eligible to purchase tickets for the OU Women's game, for  Saturday, January 23, when the Sooners host Kansas at 2:00 p.m. for only $5 by logging into their library account. Once authorized to the ticket sale site you will need to enter the following case sensitive information:

ID: readtowin  Password: Boomer

You may purchase and print as many tickets for the game as you wish, while supplies last. The story time at the library is free to attend. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Coale to the library for this very special Story Time,” said Basha Hartley, Children’s Services Manager for the library. “I know she will have some inspiring books to share, but she, herself, is such an inspiration for so many people… I know this will be a truly memorable experience.”

At the Saturday, January 23 game, the team hosts Norman Children’s Librarians Ms Charlotte and Ms Kim for a half-time Family Story Time at the OU/Kansas game. The first 2,000 children eighth grade and younger will receive a Build-A-Bear Sooner Mascot stuffed animal and a copy of Where Is Story Time? written for the occasion by librarians Charlotte Gordon, Susan Lura, and Kim Zahller. Zahller also illustrated the story.

Coale taught English at Norman High School for six years while simultaneously leading the Lady Tigers to 147-40 stats before taking over the floundering OU program in 1996. During Coale's 14-year reign at OU, 16 players have earned All-Big 12 honors 34 times. Coale has won four Big 12 Coach of the Year awards and the Sooners have six total Big 12 Players of the Year. Both are league highs. OU appeared in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time under Coale in the 10th week of the 1999-00 season. Since then, the Sooners have been ranked in 165 of 180 polls.

Coale, who was an Academic All-American and graduated summa cum laude from Oklahoma Christian, is a firm believer in succeeding in the classroom as well as on the court. Under Coale's guidance, her teams have consistently produced some of the highest grade point averages within the Athletics Department and posted a combined team GPA of 3.0 or better for a program record 23 of 26 semesters since 1996. Four teams (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003) have been named to the Top 25 WBCA Academic Team Honor Roll, while 37 players have earned Academic All-Big 12 honors 76 times.