In March 1990, Oklahoma officials released a statement saying that the women's basketball program was to be dropped, after many years of sub-par performance and low attendance.

In 1996, Oklahoma hired former Norman High School women's basketball coach Sherri Coale to the same position at the university.

The Sooner women's basketball team developed in years since to status as a leader in attendance across the nation.

In the 2005–06 season, the Sooners were led by their coach Sherri Coale and the nationally known sophomore twins Courtney and Ashley Paris, daughters of former San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Bubba Paris, to the third round of the national tournament.

3 seed St. John's Red Storm in a 74–70 defeat in front of several thousand Sooner fans in Norman, Oklahoma.

Adding to the corps were two National Top 20 recruits, Maddie Manning and Nicole Kornet, and Sooners Jasmine Hartman and Lyndsey Cloman rejoined the active roster.

After another break, the Sooners made their third appearance in the 1999–2000 season, and have become a mainstay in the tournament since then, entering the field of 64 every year since.

In that time period, the Sooners have reached three Final Four appearances, which is tied for 9th in NCAA Women's Basketball History.