The 12th-ranked OU women’s basketball team was named the No. 3 seed in the Kansas City Regional in the women’s NCAA tournament Monday night.

The Sooners (23-10) reached the final of the Big 12 Championship Sunday, but lost to No. 9 Texas A&M by a 74-67 margin.

OU is coming off a season in which the team reached the Final Four for the second time in program history, the first coming back in 2002 when OU was defeated by Connecticut in the national championship game.

In 14 seasons under head coach Sherri Coale, the Sooners have accumulated a 309-142 (.685) overall record, and a 145-77 (.653) mark in the Big 12.

Coale has guided OU to six regular-season conference titles, four conference tournament crowns with a 20-10 (.667) record, and has been named Big 12 Coach of the Year four times.

This year, OU was awarded an at-large bid in what will be the 11th-consecutive season in which the Sooners will compete in the NCAA field.

Coale currently holds a 19-10 (.655) record in NCAA tournament postseason play in 10 appearances in the Big Dance.

In addition to being placed in the Kansas City Regional, the Sooners are slated to open play against No. 14-seed South Dakota State (22-10) in Norman.

The Sooners could also potentially play their second-round game at home should they defeat the Jackrabbits.

The winner of the OU-SDS game will play the winner of the matchup between No. 6-seed Georgia Tech and No. 11-seed University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

The Sooners are projected to face No. 2-seed Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 should they make it that far.

OU has history with each of its projected matchups should the Sooners advance.

OU knocked off the Yellow Jackets by a score of 69-50 in the second round of the Oklahoma City Regional last year, while the Fighting Irish can account for two Sooner losses in recent memory.

The Fighting Irish dealt OU its defeat in the 2008 NCAA tournament, fending off the Sooners 79-75 in overtime to advance to the Sweet 16.

Notre Dame also defeated the Sooners by a 71-61 score earlier this season when the two teams faced off in the final of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Nov. 28.

Junior guard Danielle Robinson led the team with 26 points in its first game playing without sophomore guard Whitney Hand, who suffered a season-ending, complete tear of the ACL in her right knee in the semifinals the day before.

While the Sooners head into the tournament with 10 defeats, the most for the team since the 2004-05 season, none are considered “bad” losses.

The Sooners boast the toughest schedule in the country and the eighth-highest RPI rating, according to CollegeRPI.com.

The Sooners are 8- 10 against opponents ranked in the top-25, and 11-10 against opponents with a top-50 RPI rating.

OU has also played three of the No. 1 seeds at some point during the season, including overall No. 1 Connecticut.

The Sooners lost 96-75 to Tennessee on Jan. 3 in Knoxville, Tenn., and were defeated 76-60 by Connecticut (Feb. 15) and 80-64 by Nebraska (Feb. 24) at home.

OU will be led by Robinson, averaging a team-high 16.9 points per game, and senior forwards Nyeshia Stevenson and Amanda Thompson.

Stevenson is the Sooners’ top 3-point threat, having made 75 shots beyond the arc on the year while holding a 13.9 scoring clip.

Thompson is the only Sooner averaging a double-double this season, posting averages of 13.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

However, the Chicago native has increased her output to 20.3 and 14.0 in OU’s last four outings, while also dishing out 4.0 assists per game during that span.

Game info

OU women’s basketball v. South Dakota State

Place: Lloyd Noble Center

Time: 8:30 p.m. Sunday

Television: ESPN2

Webcast: ESPN360.com