NORMAN —
The surprise team in the Big 12 Conference is the Texas women and for Longhorn fans there’s nothing pleasant about it.
Oklahoma’s job Saturday afternoon at Lloyd Noble Center was making certain Texas didn’t find itself in time to land an upset.
The Sooners sputtered for a while but locked up a 69-56 victory with a strong second half that kept the Longhorns winless in league play.
Coming off its worst shooting night of the season OU hit 9 of 14 from the floor to begin the second half, including 4 of 5 3-point attempts, pushing its lead out to 19 points. Texas was never any closer than the final margin.
Though OU didn’t shoot very well most of the game — 23 of 58; 39.7 percent — that flurry was the difference.
“It was all about tempo,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “The first half we had eight opportunities to run. Eight … The start of the second half we had some opportunities and we found our rhythm and gained our confidence.”
The Sooners scored on seven of eight possessions to begin the second half, getting 3-pointers from Aaryn Ellenberg and Morgan Hook along the way. That turned a six-point game into a 48-34 advantage.
Another stretch saw the Sooners convert on three of four trips, including 3-pointers from Sharane Campbell and Joanna McFarland, making the score 56-37.
“In transition it was easy to confuse them and run,” Hook said. “(Joanna), I think, outran their post every time … It was transition and tempo that got us going.”
Style aside, what the Sooners got four days after falling by 21 points at Iowa State, Tuesday, was three solid games from their three most important players.
Ellenberg hit 8 of 13 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3-point land to finish with 22 points. Hook only made of 1 of 8 shots but led the Sooners with seven rebounds and nine assists. McFarland stayed out of foul trouble, played 36 minutes and canned 5 of 7 shots, two of them 3-pointers, on the way to 15 points.
“We had to have some sort of resolve,” Ellenberg said. “Getting beat at Iowa State and getting killed on the boards was not the ideal situation. We really had to make a statement for ourselves.”
Texas’ terrible struggles continued.
The Longhorns turned the ball over 23 times to OU’s 17 and got almost nothing on the inside from their frontcourt of Nneka Ememkpali and Imani McGee-Stafford.
The duo had a size and athleticism advantage over Sooner center Nicole Griffin and McFarland, yet combined to make just 3 of 11 shots, score nine points and grab 10 rebounds.
A few late garbage-time rebounds gave Texas a 41-39 edge on the boards, but that was a figure Coale, who had focused on rebounding in practice, could handle.
“We had to change the tide and I thought we did,” she said.
Texas’ Chassidy Fussell led both teams with 21 points and nine rebounds, but OU made sure she had little help.
Texas finished shooting 38.6 percent (22 of 57), but nobody joined Fussell in double figures. Gigi Mazionyte was closest, adding nine points.
Coale said the victory might not have been pretty, but the Sooners would take it.
“The only way we wanted to respond,” McFarland said, “was having a lot of energy and fight.”
Sports
BIG 12 WBB: OU's win over Texas keeps Longhorns in cellar
- Sports
-
-
Gasso trusts that Ricketts will find her timing again
Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts was not at her best on Sunday. The defending USA Softball Player of the Year didn’t give up a run in her two and two-thirds innings of work, but she was far from the dominant pitcher who tossed a no-hitter last week.
-
Sooners claim regular season finale with win over K-State
Oklahoma managed to end the regular season on a positive note Sunday. Kolbey Carpenter went 2 for 4 and drove in three runs to help power the Sooners to a 7-3 victory over Kansas State at Tointon Stadium.
-
Chamberlain's curtain call only the beginning
The chant reaching near-deafening levels, Lauren Chamberlain finally realized what she was supposed to do.
Moments after blasting a three-run home run that broke open what had been a close regional final, the sophomore tepidly stepped up out of the dugout and waved to the home crowd, enjoying the first curtain call of her career. -
OU's dominant victory a shining example of how tough Sooners are in softball
On the first day Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso thought it was better to go with Michelle Gascoigne over Keilani Ricketts against Arkansas’ bats, the Sooners beat the Razorbacks by five runs.
A day later Gasso had the same thought. OU prevailed by 13 runs. -
Cowboys fall short in Big 12 regular season finale
Oklahoma State University played catch up the entire game of Saturday’s series finale with West Virginia at Allie P. Reynolds, and never could quite get over the hump.
The Cowboys would respond after each Mountaineer score but it wouldn’t be enough as they lost the finale 5-4 on Senior Day. -
Referees stop Lake Eufaula Classic with South on top
It was an outcome unlike any in the 29 years of the Lake Eufaula Classic, and a bruise different than any player has ever departed with.
Officials, following the second serious skirmish of the game, walked off the field and the game was called, the South leading the North 12-10 at Paul Bell Stadium. -
Grand Junction Bound: Connors State advances to JUCO World Series
All season long, Connors State coach Perry Keith has said his team was winning a lot of ball games ugly.
On Saturday, the game between the Cowboys and No. 1 Delgado (La.) was anything but as Connors beat the Dolphins 3-1 to capture the South Central district championship and a berth in next week’s NJCAA College World Series. -
Young Americans waste no time qualifying for Indy 500
Bump Day at Indianapolis followed the script.
No surprises, no drama and no drivers getting bumped.
On a day devoid of tension and rumors, all nine drivers who made attempts on the second and final day of Indianapolis 500 qualifications made it into the 33-car field, led by two young Americans - Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal - who easily had the two fastest cars on the track. -
NCAA WOMEN'S BB: Texas Tech hires OSU assistant Candi Whitaker
Texas Tech has hired Oklahoma State assistant Candi Whitaker to coach its women's basketball team.
The school announced Monday that the former Lady Raiders player would return to her alma mater as coach. The move comes about a week after Kristy Curry left for Alabama. -
Pacers, Heat start bracing to square off again
A year ago when Miami and Indiana faced off in the postseason, there were blood-drawing hits, flagrant fouls, technical fouls, choke signs being directed toward LeBron James and more than a few sharp-tongued comments.
Here they possibly go again, at least on the comment front.
The Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and Pacers won't begin until Wednesday night, but there's already signs that the animosity present throughout last season's Miami-Indiana second-round series will likely return this time around. - More Sports Headlines
-
Gasso trusts that Ricketts will find her timing again
