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Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Baylor | 8 p.m. CT | Waco, Texas TV: ESPN2 | Webcast: ESPN3.com | Live Stats | Radio: KREF 1400 AM | Live Audio | Gameday Central 9:49 p.m. -- Campbell ends the field goal drought at the 9:10 mark. Baylor adds to its highlight reel. The remaining Baylor starters, except for Hayden, drop out at 8:09 remaining. Kaylon Williams left alone in a transition for OU's second field goal of the half. Baylor 72, Oklahoma 38 - 7:20 - 2nd. 9:41 p.m. -- Cerina screens end in completely opposite results as Sims pops off the first and clangs into Hook for a foul. The second has a similiar results, but it's Cerina called for an illegal screen -- the 11th foul charged to a Sooner post player. OU still without a second-half field goal after five minutes. The Sooners get manhandled in the lane and go 0-for-8 on field goals. Baylor increases its lead to 24. Grffin gets called for a dead ball foul, tied up with Griner on the inbounds setup. OU acting like Griner isn't even there -- not a good thing -- as the Baylor center blocks Cerina's lefty hook and catches Ellenberg's dish off in her stomach. Both teams get sloppy as Mulkey keeps in her starters, and OU has to continue with its depleted roster. Coale calls timeout just to relieve the discombobulation on the court. Mulkey sends in Pope for Griner as her only substitution. The fresh Pope deflects a pass, then blocks Hook's jumper for consecutive empty OU possessions. The Sooners now at 10 minutes without a field goal, 0-for-15 this half. Baylor 66, Oklahoma 33 - 10:05 - 2nd. 9:24 p.m. -- Oklahoma pushing the pace against Baylor, avoiding the ball pressure, but unable to get clean looks against a height disadvantage. Mulkey gets a technical protesting Griner's third foul. Hand knocks down the second freebie for the T and Cerina bangs in two, dropping the deficit to 14. Baylor outrebounding Oklahoma 6-3 to start the second half and jump out 10-3. OU's only points coming from the foul and technical that followed. Baylor 51, Oklahoma 33 - 16:28 - 2nd. 9:11 p.m. -- When the clock was moving, Oklahoma held its own. It's a 25-21 game if there are no free throws. That's not much consolation, but halftime adjustments can help the team react to the officiating and defense on Griner, who had just three field goals in the first half. Baylor whipped OU in points off turnovers, 12-2, but didn't gather much of an advantage anywhere else. The Lady Bears awfully calm from 3-point range, as was not the case, in Norman. Baylor just 1-for-7 in the first half from beyond the arc, with Jordan Madden's wide-open make the only dagger. 8:59 p.m. -- Harden, Campbell, Hand, McFarland and Griffin for this final interval. McFarland now has the bottom strap of her mask taped. Griner skys for a rebound and putsback a jumper, and Sims catches OU sleeping, stealing the inbounds for another 2. Hand gets a tough second-chance layup under the rim and Campbell steals the ball at halfcourt. Hook returns for Harden. Campbell forces Washington to foul and goes to the line for two shots, makes one. Cerina enters for Griffin to preserve fouls from being tagged to OU's starting center. Campbell cleans up in Baylor's ball-pressure D for the final score of the half. Baylor 41, Oklahoma 30 -- Halftime. 8:51 p.m. -- Hand saves the possession after falling with a quick outlet to Cerina, back to Hand, who drives and dishes to Ellenberg for 3. Baylor turns it ove and OU breathes back signs of life. Fouls on defense just imploding the Sooners' effort. Baylor 13-of-15 at the free throw line. Nicole Griffin races ahead of Griner on two straight possessions, beating the All-American for an offensive board and putback, and then to dish out to Whitney Hand for 3. The crowd boos. Must be angry about the flavor of popcorn or something because I like what I see. Griffin has to foul Griner on defense, her second personal. Eight fouls among OU's four post players -- very dangerous territory with more than 3 minutes remaining in the first half. Baylor 32, Oklahoma 25 - 3:14 - 1st. 8:35 p.m. -- The backdoor pass to Griffin is ahead of her 7-foot wingspan. Coale changes to a four-guard lineup with McFarland as the perimeter post, hoping to draw Griner away from the lane. It doesn't work as Griner stays on top of Hook and blocks a layup. Hayden beats McFarland to Sims' missed 3 and gets a tip-in. Coale calls timeout with Baylor on an 11-0 run. The freshman Campbell rushing the offense and passes to a Baylor defender in the lane and misses a 3 wide on back-to-back possessions. Coale inserts Harden and Williams, but Kay Kay picks up her third personal right away and Cerina checks back to the court. Ellenberg's free throws end a 13-0 scoring run by Baylor, but the Bears get bailed out by the stripes again and will shoot free throws after the media timeout. Baylor 22, Oklahoma 13 - 7:49 - 1st. 8:25 p.m. -- Rare lineup for OU, at least recently, as Hook, Campbell, Hand, McFarland and Cerina take the floor. The Sooners miss two good looks in the halfcourt and second-chance, and foul Griner on the other end. Hand ends a five field goal drought with a quick jumper. Baylor getting its points the easy way at the free throw line as Sooners have to foul Sims in transitition. Team fouls are OU 7, Baylor 2, just eight minutes into the game. Griner's jumper give Baylor its largest lead of 4 and Condrey misses two free throws. Hand is fouled to send us to the under 12:00 media timeout. Baylor 15, Oklahoma 11 -- 11:44 - 1st. 8:16 p.m. -- 5-foot-7 Aaryn Ellenberg takes the tip-off today and 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner does her best to hold back a smile. Griner shoots over 6-6 Nicole Griffin for the first points of the game. The Sooners use the entire shot clock and get Morgan Hook open for 3. Sooners getting the defensive boards and using lots of offensive movement -- patience on both ends -- to get a quick advantage on Baylor. Campbell takes hard contact and makes the shot. Ellenberg and Williams get two fouls apiece and subs have to replace. McFarland will enter for the first time in six games. Whistles helping the home team, as if they need it. Oklahoma 9, Baylor 7 -- 14:48 - 1st. 7:58 p.m. -- Both teams come out of the locker rooms after final instructions from the head coaches and display their pink unis to the crowd for the first time. Oklahoma is wearing an all pink uniform with its usual trim while Baylor has white with pink trim. Both teams are wearing pink Nike Hyperenforcer shoes that are available for auction site as the bidding begins on items for OU's Pack the Place Pink in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund 7:39 p.m. -- Tonight's officials will be Melissa Barlow, Clarke Stevens and Jesse Dickerson. Stevens has officiated five of OU's games this season, Dickerson two, and Barlow just one -- OU's upset of Kansas State in Manhattan. 7:22 p.m. -- Joanna McFarland is back for the Sooners. The junior forward was outfitted with a mask to protect her jaw and now resembles Rip Hamilton. McFarland won't start, and how she's used tonight isn't falling within any set plan. She'll get some minutes and, hopefully, can pop some treys to draw Griner away from the rim to allow more space for OU's offense to maneuver. 7:08 p.m. -- Oklahoma and Baylor are on the floor of the Ferrell Center as a pink-clad crowd streams to the seats. It's Big Monday in Waco with ESPN2 televising the game to a national audience and the teams are wearing special pink-themed uniforms and other items in support of the Play4Kay initative of raising awareness for women's cancers and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The atmosphere is usually electric when these two teams meets and it may step up a few extra volts tonight.
9:14 p.m. -- Hand's first free throw is good. Coale calls timeout to alter the game plan with OU up by 4. Hand's second free throw is good. Goodrich's runner is short. Campbell secures the rebound and is fouled. That should be all. Campbell at the line for two free throws. Oklahoma 74, Kansas 68 - Final/OT. 9:09 p.m. -- Griffin enters for Cerina as overtime begins. Kansas controls the tip-off and Davis goes over the top of Griffin for 2. Cerina runs down the table to check in. She's been the one holding KU's top scorer in check. OU loses track of the shot clock and loses its first possession. Engelman fouls Hand, OU's top free throw shooter, but Hand misses her second of the night, and only gets the Sooners' deficit to 1. Sutherland's jumper is good. Campbell called for a travel. Cerina pushes Davis to an awkward shot, she misses. Hand finds Hook on the inbounds, who steps right-left-right and gets the shot and draws a foul. A desperate 3-point play is missed as the free throw bounces out and right. Kansas leads 68-67 with the clock at 2 minutes. Engelman's shot is wide. Campbell calls for the ball at the top of the key. It's good from 3! Goodrich turns it over. OU leads by 2 with 1 minute to play. Hook's layup misses, but Campbell blocks Goodrich. Keep away now with less than a shot-clock's worth of time. It's 15.9 remaining when Hand is fouled. Henrickson calls for time, possibly to ice Hand, who's struggled from the line. Oklahoma 70, Kansas 68 - 15.9 seconds - OT. 8:59 p.m. -- Harper fouls Campbell sprinting down the sideline. Two seconds come off the clock. Campbell, at the line for a 1-and-1, hits two clutch shots to make it a 3-point game. Engleman's 3 drops and the Sooners must run the last 5.4 seconds with no timeouts. Hand's wild chance misses and we're going to overtime. Oklahoma 64, Kansas 64 - Overtime. 8:58 p.m. -- Goodrich gets Campbell pinned alone near halfcourt and Coale takes a timeout -- OU's last -- with 33.4 seconds and 10 on the shot clock. Hook's drive bounces out and Goodrich runs the floor, pitching to Davis under the basket for 2. The Sooners lead by one with 16.4 seconds remaining. Oklahoma 62, Kansas 61 - 16.4 - 2nd. 8:54 p.m. -- For the final 2 1/2 minutes, Williams stays on court with four fouls, joining Cerina, Campbell, Hand and Hook. A deflected ball leads to a 5-second shot clock for OU. Coale calls timeout, knowing the Sooners need to get this game tied and fight with momentum on their side. Finally! A 3-pointer goes in, from the hands of Morgan Hook to the bottom of the net. The Sooners block a second-chance and then Campbell ties up a loose ball on the defensive end. Possession clock lighted OU's direction. The Sooners have a 60-59 lead with 1:52 to play. Henrickson calls timeout. Hand's turnover leads to posession control for Kansas on its homecourt. Williams draws a charging call. Campbell gets ahead of onthe baseline and Goodrich throws away an outlet to a wide-open shooter. Henrickson calls for a 30-second pause, again. Oklahoma 62, Kansas 59 - 53.7 seconds - 2nd. 8:46 p.m. -- Ellenberg is trying to force her way of out her shooting slump, and it's not going well. A turnover and missed 8-footer are the result, then fails to handle an outlet pass and OU has three straight empty possessions as Kansas stands with hands on hips, gasping for breath at every stoppage. Bumping and bagning lead to a continuous KU possession that ends with a fourth personal on Wiliams. Campbell keeps the foot on the throttle, drives and finds Williams for a layup. Hook takes flight with the example set by Campbell and drives with no hesitation, gets 2 more. Hook and Cerina run a pitch-and-return through the lane and Goodrich loses track of her defensive assignment. Easy layup for Morgan. Kansas 59, Oklahoma 57 - 3:04 - 2nd. 8:34 p.m. -- Campbell finds the hoop again. She's just been unguardable in the paint. She and had keeping OU alive as the 3-pointers continue to miss the mark. Hook is 0-for-4 and Ellenberg riding this interval out in the seats with the Sooners 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. Goodrich and Sutherland force the issue in transition, getting a runner and a tip-in to fall. Goodrich dove out-of-bounds and flipped the ball to Sutherland. Kansas gets to 7 ahead of OU. Coale calls timeout. Sutherland steals Harden's dribble and runs in for a layup, missed the free throw, but KU gets the rebound. Cerina and Ellenberg run to the scorer's table to get Hook and Williams rest. Campbell takes advantage of a lazy handoff and steals at halfcourt, the ball deflected from behind before she can take her shot. Campbell fires a pass to Cerina, who makes a successful move around Davis for 2. Kansas 53, Oklahoma 46 - 7:58 - 2nd. 8:24 p.m. -- I like this Sharane Campbell. She's going to be something. Campbell drives between two KU defenders, gets trapped, and reverse pivots into a foul. Smart, controlled move gets OU to the free throw line. The next transition has Hook finding Campbell ahead of the defense. The trail is all over Campbell, who waits, then is hacked on the made basket. The whistle must have been drowned out by all the Sooner fans cheering, because the players keep playing. Kansas 44, Oklahoma 42 - 11:56 - 2nd. 8:13 p.m. -- There's only one game on record that OU shot better than 42.3 percent from the field in the first half and scored 25 or fewer points --OU's 62-61 win at Missouri last year when the Sooners trailed 30-25 at halftime after hitting 42.9 percent. Kaylon Williams draws a third foul and Jacqueline Jeffcoat has to enter for OU's leading scorer and rebounder. The Sooners turnover their first possession after the substitution and Coale calls timeout, trailing 36-28. The Sooners flip the momentum and get the offense moving through the post. Jeffcoat gets in place to change a couple possessions to OU's favor and the Sooners close the gap to 2 with Campbell waiting on her and-1 after the break. Kansas 38, Oklahoma 36 - 15:36 - 2nd. 8:00 p.m. -- Oklahoma shot 42 percent from the field and still scored just 25 points in the first half due to long stretches on defense. If there were a time of possession stat, it would be 3-to-1 for Kansas. Oklahoma is 0-for-5 from the 3-point line as it continues to struggle with perimeter shooting, but unlike the past few games, the Sooners are much more comfortable going inside. The Sooners have nine of 11 field goals in the paint. After Carolyn Davis, the national leader in field goal percentage, score KU's first six points, the adjustments have forced shots from elsewhere. Davis had just one more score over 18 minutes and the Sooners kept the Jayhawks off the free throw line, nay the missed and-1 from Natalie Knight. The teams are back on the court after halftime talks in the locker rooms. 7:47 p.m. -- OU is outrebounding Kansas 11-6 since the Jayhawks made their run earlier in the half. Cerina's size give Davis fits under the basket on both sides as her forcefulness has no effect against the 6-5 Serbian. The Engleman 3-point puts Kansas back in front. OU's ball in the final seconds and Hand is fouled on the drive, but doesn't get the favorable bounce. At the free throw line, with 4.2 seconds, she puts OU ahead, but only briefly. Angel Goodrich just overhands a ball from OU's bench side throug the net. Kansas 27, Oklahoma 25 - Halftime. 7:38 p.m. -- Sharane Campbell evens the score, blowing by Robinson for 2. The pressure effecting Kansas offensively as well as Davis has to push off to get space against Cerina, and is called for an offensive foul. Kaylon Williams cleans up Ellenberg missed jumper for 2. Freshmen leading OU in this first half. Campbell and Williams have 6 each, and Harden's on the court spelling Hook. Oklahoma 19, Kansas 19 - 3:55 - 1st. 7:31 p.m. -- OU's freshmen contributing to the scoring, but the team defense has finally come to life as the Sooners leave KU scoreless after battling a 60-second possession and then force an immediate turnover on its next. Campbell comes up with a deflection and steal -- that leads to a fast-break layup -- in that interval. The moments of youth are quickly subsiding for moments of brillance with this freshman. The Sooners deflect a long rebound off a KU player and will have the possession after the timeout. Oklahoma has kept Kansas scoreless (0-for-6) for more than four minutes. Kansas 17, Oklahoma 15 - 7:39 - 1st. 7:22 p.m. -- The failure to block out has got to be under Coach Coale's skin by now. The Sooners only offensive board came when the Jayhawks completely vacated the paint on a shot that looked to be going in. OU is able to match points until Ellenberg's 3 is long, added to an 0-for-12 slump from beyond the arc, and Coale calls timeout as Tania Jackson forces Campbell out of the paint and Cece Harper drives for an uncontested layup to finish a 7-0 run. Kansas 17, Oklahoma 10 - 11:53 - 1st. 7:12 p.m. -- Neither team attacks the inside on its opening possession and after three chances by KU, the Sooners finally grab a defensive rebound which becomes a layup for Williams. KU finds Davis with position ahead of Griffin on three straight trips, and Griffin ends up with two fouls, while Davis has all six of KU's points. The last foul was particularly costly as Coale had Cerina ready to sub in at center. Harden gets in the game early and provides OU's first points and then forces a turnover defensively, a few signs of life when no one seems to be on the same page. Oklahoma 6, Kansas 6 - 15:50 - 1st. 6:59 p.m. -- The OU and KU coaching staffs are greeting each other and the officials at the scorer's table. Tonight's umpire crew will be Eric Brewton, Scotty Hermann and Maj Forsberg. 6:53 p.m. -- Tuesday's game may turn into a war of attrition as Kansas will dress 10 players and Oklahoma will have only nine available after Katherine Zander sustained a knee injury in a workout in Norman earlier this week. Of course, that leaves a lot of OU's forwards on the bench in street clothes with Lyndsey Cloman out for the season and Joanna McFarland out with a jaw fracture. McFarland did get some good news Monday when her wires were removed and she may return to the lineup as early as next week. 6:30 p.m. -- The Sooners and Jayhawks are on the floor for at historic Allen Fieldhouse, warming up for tonight's game that tips off at 7 p.m. The Sooners face another tough road test against an opponent with a strong frontcourt. Kansas is off to its best start since 2000. At 16-4 overall with a 5-3 in Big 12 play, the Jayhawks have the lead share in a four-way tie for second place in the Big 12 standings. Junior Carolyn Davis leads KU with 18.2 points per game and is second nationally in field goal percentage (.628). Davis has been the team's leading scorer in its last two games, counting a season-high 34 points in a 62-43 win at then-No. 21 Texas Tech and 12 in a 74-46 loss against No. 1 Baylor. Junior Angel Goodrich is the national-leader in assists per game, averaging 7.8, and adds 12.3 points per game. Goodrich is also among the top 15 nationally with a 3.3 steals average. Kansas ranks third in the NCAA for team field goal percentage (.479) and shoot well from beyond the arc, but average only 3.2 makes per game with Goodrich accounting for a team-leading 22 3-pointers. Freshman Natalie Knight is the lone underclassmen in KU's starting lineup. She has the fewest turnovers among KU starters with 24.
Oklahoma vs. Missouri | 4:30 p.m. CT | Columbia, Mo. TV: None| Live Stats | Radio: KREF 1400 AM | Live Audio | Gameday Central 6:32 p.m. -- Missouri calls its final timeout to extend the break another 30 seconds. Crafton's 3 misses and the Sooners go home victorious. Oklahoma 62, Missouri 59 - Final. 6:30 p.m. -- Five on five in the backcourt, but Hand gets the ball into Hook quickly. Hook is fouled with just nine-tenths running off the clock. She hits both free throws. Coale calls her last timeout to substitute. Oklahoma 62, Missouri 59 - 8.1 seconds - 2nd. 6:28 p.m. -- Hand in-bounds the ball to Hook. Hand's 3 from the bench side baseline misses, but Griffin gets the rebound and is fouled. Griffin's free throw is right, landing in Williams' arms. Flores fouls out while grabbing the OU freshman. Only 20.4 second remain and Williams is at the line. In a one possession game, the first shot misses; the second is good. Campbell in for Williams as the OU coaches want to guard the perimeter. Eye's desperate chance from nearly 22 feet hits nothing but net. It was a well-contested possesion, but luck falls on Missouri's side. Pingeton calls timeout. There are 9.0 ticks on the clock with OU about to inbound. Oklahoma 60, Missouri 59 - 9.0 seconds - 2nd. 6:24 p.m. -- With 13 rebounds -- matching the most by a Sooner this season -- from Kaylon Williams, Oklahoma has turned the rebounding margin to positive numbers. Williams' first free throw rolls front to back, then out, and the second hits back iron and pops into the hand of Crafton. Brock shoots a long 3 that misses, but the long rebound gets to Flores, who has position on Griffin and lays it in. Ellenberg's jumper misses, but Griffin is rim high for the rebound and just taps it in for 2. Flores' long jumper is long and then returned on the block, but Griffin stuffs her and the ball goes off Flores out of bounds. Griffin looses the handle while going up at the front rim, but Hook is cutting baseline and picks up the loose ball for a reverse layup. Williams gets her 14th rebound as Brock throws up a desperate attempt as the shot clock buzzes. OU's ball with just over a minute. Hook's runner misses; Flores rebounds. Brock misses a jumper and Williams grabs her 15th board. Oklahoma 59, Missouri 56 - 43.8 seconds - 2nd. 6:18 p.m. -- Now in the bonus, Griffin will shoot free throws. Two-for-two on connections and OU regains the lead. Simmons' pass is intercepted by Campbell. Two shots miss before Flores is fouled by Williams. Flores makes two on a 1-and-1 gift. Hook drives, switching the ball from left to right in mid-air, to hit a layup, but Simmons is left alone on a basket cut and gets and easy 2 for MU. Flores flops on Griffin's pivot and gets the favor of the officials. The do-everything forward drops a jumper for her 22nd point of the day and Coale calls timeout. Williams misses a tip-in but is not contested on the rebound and has an easy chance at a second attempt. It falls and then Griffin blocks the shot on the other end. Ellenberg 's dribble is stolen, but Griffin has a second block and then gets the points as Flores' flop is recognized. Eye misses a 3 and Hook drives coast-to-coast, this time dishing at the last second to Williams, who is hacked by the trailing Flores -- her third foul. Oklahoma 55, Missouri 54 - 3:49 - 2nd. 6:10 p.m. -- Flores hits the freebie. Simmons intercepts Hook's bailout pass as she gets trapped driving the baseline. Priede misses a 3 that eventually gets deflected out of bounds by the offense. Griffin returns to the game and is immediately involved, getting a one-touch layup, that amazingly silences the defensive-minded crowd. Griffin takes the rebound of Liz Smith's misses layup and then is fouled on her drive to the basket. Griffin hits both free throws. Brock overthrows the pass to Flores -- Missouri's 16th turnover. The bounce pass to Griffin is dislodged as she moves up to the rim and stolen. But Crafton misses her 3 and Hook takes the long rebound cross court, drives at Simmons in a 2-on-1 and gets the bucket and the foul. The free throw is missed. Griffin gets tagged with a foul on the other end. Campbell nearly picks Crafton's dribble, but then slaps it away as she switches hand. A contested fast-break layup is missed and Flores hits her jumper, reversing what would have been a tough blow to the defense. Williams misses a jumper and then Crafton gets a layup. Flores knocks Griffin to the floor while establishing her position and is whistled for the contact. Missouri 48, Oklahoma 47 - 7:30 - 2nd. 6:00 p.m. -- Brock hits the first, misses the second free throw. Hand's shot is long and four bodies collide before Eye collects the board. Brock posts up on Williams and teardrops a turnaround jumper. Campbell fires a 3, its misses, but she steals an entry pass and throws ahead to Hand, who takes it all the way for a layup. Hook forces a Simmons turnover and Williams' season-high 10th rebound becomes her season-high eighth point. Pingeton calls timeout as OU makes its lead 39-36. Hand fouls Brock on a second-chance layup. Brock hits the free throw to tie the score and Pingeton waves her arms up and down in the crowd's direction. OU turns it over. Flores gets the layup and the call, but on the free throw. Williams' jumper is long and left, but Hand cleans it up. Eye and Ellenberg get tangled up and the ball is dished to Flores who drives at Hand. Hand falls left, Flores goes right, the whistle blows, the shot falls. Hand has her fourth foul. Flores will be at the line. Missouri 43, Oklahoma 41 - 11:24 - 2nd. 5:49 p.m. -- Priede misses her shot and Williams scores a second consecutive field goal for the Sooners. Ellenberg steals the inbounds; then Coale calls timeout as Hook begins to get tied up in pressure. Crafton fouls Ellenberg off of a screen and the Sooners retain possession with a new shot clock. Cerina is fouled by Flores as she lets a step-away layup fly, and hits the front end of a 1-and-1. Flores immediately called for another hack as she slaps Williams on the rebound -- it's the first foul for the Tiger's leading scorer. Hook fouls away from the ball and Coale send in Campbell for Cerina. Hand catches Gee in a careless position with her back turned for a late handoff and steals her dribble. Ellenberg misses a 3 and Missouri turns it into a transition break to Flores, who's well ahead of full-check Whitney Hand. Hook misses. Then, Williams is called for a blocking foul. Brock will go to the line after the timeout. Oklahoma 35, Missouri 33 - 14:55 - 2nd.
5:42 p.m. -- Cerina in the starting rotation instead of Griffin as Oklahoma begins the second half. Flores' 3 is short and bounces right to Brock. Flores' second-chance at the free-throw line misses right, and into the hands of Cerina. The Sooners misses some contested attempts before getting a shot to fall and then, after Brock misses a jumper, Williams fires a jumper from just inside the arc to give OU its first lead since the score was 3-2. Pingeton calls timeout, if for nothing else, to interrupt the momentum shift. Oklahoma 32, Missouri 31 - 18:10 - 2nd. 5:23 p.m. -- OU's ball with Hook, Ellenberg, Hand, Campbell and Cerina on court. Bailey Gee intercepts a swing pass, but pushes down Campbell in the process to draw a foul. Crafton comes up with a steal as the Sooners try to find room in the paint to get the ball to Cerina. Crafton's 3 misses and Cerina corral the ball. Hook misses a layup, and Crafton drives to get an And 1 opportunity. Cerina lays the ball in over Flores, then blocks Crafton's layup attempt. Hand fires from 3. It's good. OU cuts the deficit to 4. Eye hits two FT, but the Sooners patiently spread the floor and get a good look from 3 by Hook. Fowler commits an offensive foul and gives the ball right back to OU. Ellenberg misses her third 3, but the defense forces a shot-clock violation by Missouri. OU takes possession with just 20 seconds left in the half, down 3. Cerina drives from the left and barrels over a planted Flores for the charge. The buzzer sounds with no clean looks for the Tigers. Missouri 31, Oklahoma 28 - Halftime. 5:14 p.m. -- Flores' 3 continues to inspire confidence out of her Tiger teammates as Crafton nearly steals two OU passes. Williams' reverse layup if off the mark, but Flores travels in hesitation just above the arc. Ellenberg's 3 is off, but that could of been partly because Missouri still has the old line painted on the floor. Ellenberg looked down to check her toes before releasing the ball. Fortunately, Campbell was fouled on the rebound and makes free throws number five and six. Hand uncharacteristically turnover prone today, bounces a pass behind Williams in a 2-on-1 break for another Sooner turnover. Campbell steals Crafton's dribble and is fouled. She's OU's leading scorer but her eight points have all come at the free throw line with the Sooners shooting 16 percent and on a 7-minute field goal drought. The Sooners fire three 3, but nothing falls through the net until the fourth straight, a shot by Campbell, mercifully misses iron. Coale calls timeout. Flores mishandles a reception to end the interval. Campbell, with 11 points, almost single-handedly keeping the Sooners on task. Missouri 26, Oklahoma 20 - 3:33 - 1st. 5:02 p.m. -- A five-second inbounds violation is Oklahoma's fifth turnover. Missouri using its strong frontcourt to bury Griffin in the post, getting four points in the paint, while the Sooners air ball 3s. Harden, Hook, Ellenberg, Campbell and Williams now on the floor. Harden picks Simmons' pocket and Campbell draws a third foul and stays perfect at the line. Flores misses her layup, contested by Williams, and then the Midwest City native gets to the free throw line on the next trip down, giving the Sooners another pair of freebies. Eye launches two 3s before the Sooners corral a rebound, but Harden's 3 is blocked and Hook has to foul Eye in the fast break. Eye drops in two, then Campbell throws away an entry pass, but Flores misses a 16-footer. Harden's runner bounces off the front of the rim and Eye buries another 3 in response. Campbell is called for a charge under the basket and Missouri has its largest lead, and the ball, at the under 8 media timeout. Missouri 21, Oklahoma 13 - 7:31 - 1st. 4:54 p.m. -- Oklahoma turns it over with Griffin misfiring an outlet to Ellenberg and MU's Morgan Eye nails a 3 a few seconds later. Coale, looking for some inspired play, goes to the bench to insert DaShawn Harden and Jelena Cerina for Hook and Griffin. Harden throws the backdoor pass to Ellenberg for a layup and then steals an outlet pass in Mizzou's halfcourt that leads to a foul on Campbell. Hand comes in for Williams, after a brief stint with three freshmen on the floor for OU. Campbell forces the issue against Brock on a baseline jumper and gets the foul. Her free throws drops and tie the score 7-7. Missouri breaks through OU's pressure in the passing lanes and finds Flores mismatched on Hand for a layup. Campbell tries her trick again but is blocked by Brock. After another layup by the Tigers, tt's Harden to Griffin through, like an NBA all-star play, through a pocket on the baseline to give OU a quick 2. Priede finds room for a 3. Missouri 12, Oklahoma 9 - 10:48 - 1st. 4:43 p.m. -- It's 4-3 Missouri at the first media timeout with both defenses frustrating the offenses. The Sooners are 1-of-6 from the field and the Tigers are 1-of-7, despite a number of looks inside the paint for both teams. Flores has kept the Sooners off the board with two key blocks. Sharane Campbell is in for Whitney Hand, who had two dribbles stolen from her. Missouri 4, Oklahoma 3 - 15:39 - 1st. 4:25 p.m. -- With just two scheduled matchups (including today's) remaining between Oklahoma and Missouri, which will depart for the Southeastern Conference next season, the Sooners have a chance to even the series record with a sweep of the Tigers. As it stands entering Saturday's game, the all-time series is 29-27 in Missouri's favor. 4:18 p.m. -- The starting lineups are in the scorer's book and they follow what was projected below. This is the game one year ago that OU center Nicole Griffin made her first career start and with Joanna McFarland still out with a broken jaw, will have a key role against Missouri potent frontcourt. Today's officials are Scott Yarbrough, Laura Morris and Gator Parrish. 4:13 p.m. -- In warm-ups the players are wearing special shirts as the Big 12 Conference and Special Olympics are teaming up this week to encourage fans to end the use of the word "retarded." Help us Spread the Word to End the Word by visiting R-word.org and digitally pledging to eliminate using the R-word. 3:56 p.m. -- Missouri senior forward Christine Flores is the only active player in the lineup that participated in the last game played between the Sooners and Tigers inside Mizzou Arena on Jan. 20, 2010. OU's Whitney Hand was out with an ACL injury that season and the current Sooners that played in the game -- Lyndsey Cloman, Jasmine Hartman and Joanna McFarland -- were all out Saturday due to injuries. Flores totaled 11 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. 3:45 p.m. -- Mired in a seven-game losing streak, Missouri is still seeking its first Big 12 win of the season. The Tigers have struggled mightily away from home in conference play, but have been close in its Big 12 games inside Mizzou Arena against Texas Tech (69-63), Kansas (72-63) and Oklahoma State (62-58). Senior forward Christine Flores leads Missouri in scoring, averaging 18.4 points and 7.3 rebounds. Second-leading scorer BreAnna Brock (15.2 points), also a senior forward, is the team's top rebounder, grabbing 8.5 rebounds per game. More than 36 percent of Missouri's shots are from beyond teh arc. The Tigers rank in the top 30 of both 3-point shooting percentage (.349) and makes per game (6.8). 3:32 p.m. -- The Sooners and Tigers are on the court at Mizzou Arena for pre-game warmups. The No. 2 Missouri men's hoops team just finished a game, beating Texas Tech 63-50.
Oklahoma vs. No. 23 Kansas State | 7 p.m. CT | Manhattan, Kan. TV: FSN Plus | Live Stats | Radio: KREF 1400 AM | Live Audio | Gameday Central 9:01 p.m. -- Chambers' hits two free throws to make it a 4-point game. OU inexplicably throws its entry pass across the stadium and out of bounds. Dickey runs the backdoor cut for 2. Dickey leads KSU with 18, just two shy of her career high. Griffin pump fakes under the bucket and gets a third personal foul on Childs. One FT later, OU's lead is 3 with 2 minutes to play. Two missed shots later, Williams pulls down a board and, with three timeouts in the bag, Coale calls one as Hook enters OU's half-court. Williams mishandles a reception and dives for the loose ball. As the KSU defender approaches, the bench calls timeout. Eight seconds have run off the clock and 1:22 remains with one timeout left. Ellenberg's shot is partially blocked and the ball rolls out of bounds for a while before the horn blows. The officials check the monitor and put one second back on the shot clock. The entry to Griffin works, but the shot rolls around and down. Hand grabs it, kicks out to Hook who drives and is fouled. OU hasn't had a field goal in 3 minutes, but is living on the boards and at the free throw line. Hook scores both. Childs drives and hits the deck. A couple breaths later, a whistle blows from the far side of the court. Childs makes the back end of a 1-and-1, cutting the OU lead to 4 with 49.6 seconds to play. KSU in a full-court press. Hook waits patiently for the shot clock to go below 10, she drives at 7 and misses the layup, but Williams is there to clean the glass. The shot clock is not reset -- lots of timekeeping problems in the last few minutes -- and so its OU's ball out of bounds with 19.1 seconds. Hook is fouled. She hits her shots and then forces a turnover. That's the game. Oklahoma 65, Kansas State 57 - Final. 8:45 p.m. -- Griffin and Williams stack under the basket and the tallest player on the floor is left wide open for a layup. KSU turns it over in its half-court. After a loose ball rebound ends up in KSU's hands, Ellenberg comes up with another steal and runs a fast-break. for a season-high 29th point. Brown misses two free throws to keep OU's 10-0 scoring run alive, but the Wildcats end up with the ball after a tie-up on the floor. Ellenberg gets steal No. 8, the most since Danielle Robinson had 8 at Milwaukee in the season opener two years ago. After a brief spell by Harden, Ellenberg returns, but ends up turning it over and fouling Chambers on the race back to the basket. Another Sooner scoring run, led mostly by Griffin and Williams, makes the lead 9 with just morre than 4 minutes to play. Oklahoma 58, Kansas State 52 - 3:18 - 2nd. 8:25 p.m. -- "Get every offensive rebound. Play for Joanna," says Coach Coale at the timeout. Griffin and Williams play the post. Ellenberg hits two free throws, then picks Mariah White in a defensive trap and turns it into 2 more. K-State passes around the perimeter, but refuses to take the shot. No confidence as the Sooners float in the zone. White's 3 airballs to send the game to a media timeout. Oklahoma 47, Kansas State 42 - 11:00 - 2nd. 8:22 p.m. -- Tasha Dickey's free throws even the score. Cerina gets fouled on the putback and adds 1 at the line to get the lead back for OU. OU defends in matchup zone, but Childs forces Hand to make a decision on help and hits a jumper over her head. Ellenberg rebounds her own miss for a layup and then strips the inbounds and gets fouled. The jumper inbounds to Ellenberg falls, too, and the sophomore has 23 points. Branshea Brown gets back-to-back scores for KSU, keeping it a 1-point game. Childs adds 2 and Hand responds with a pull-up jumper. Ellenberg forces another turnover on the inbounds play. When Vegas locks down on defense, she's stellar. Oklahoma 43, Kansas State 42 - 11:51 - 2nd. 8:13 p.m. -- The Sooners get two consecutive stops using the 2-3 zone and run motion on its opening possesion, getting a 5-footer by Nicole Griffin for the first points of the half. Campbell attacks and gets Childs to foul. After just five whistles in the first half, each team has been to the free throw line in the first minutes-and-a-half of the second period. Three OU turnovers and a missed jumper end up as 8 KSU points as the Wildcats take advantage of a tiring Sooners' lineup. Oklahoma 36, Kansas State 34 - 15:45 - 2nd. 7:50 p.m. -- Injured junior Lyndsey Cloman stands over the Sooner bench during the timeout, telling the team to communicate on the court. Coale enters with a similar line, talking about focus, before she goes into gameplan messages. Sooners continue to lose track of Tasha Dickey in transition, leaving the paint wide open for assisted layups. Ellenberg's fifth 3 (5-for-5) ends a 6-point streak by KSU. After hitting her first seven, Ellenberg proves to be human and sends a baseline 15-footer long. Hook is wide left with a 3 and KSU gets OU to turn it over 12th time. Hook holds the ball in the backcourt until the clock is at 14. Up court, she passes to Hand who drives baseline and lifts a contested shot from six feet...its in. Oklahoma 33, Kansas State 25 - Halftime. 7:40 p.m. -- The Sooners return with their original lineup. Hook drives through the lane for 2, she's perfect from the field with 7 points. OU has hit 9 of its last 11 field goals. Campbell blocks Ostermann's 3 attempt into the Sooner bench and Hand sends White's layup into the cheerleaders as the shot-clock buzzer sounds. The officials put one second back, but the pass flies high into the backcourt. Chambers finally hits a 3 to give the home crowd a sigh of relief. The Wildcats just 1-of-12 from beyond the arc. Ellenberg feeling it. A jab step and she sends a 20-footer flying nothing but net. Campbell learning quickly, stepping in front of Childs as she penetrates and pitches to get an offensive foul call. If not for 10 offensive rebounds by Kansas State, Oklahoma would be cruising. But without McFarland, a player needs to step up to get those numbers. Coale calls timeout after six unanswered points by KSU. The Sooners are running in transition, but the missed shots are resulting in fast-break points for the Wildcats. It's time to remind the troops of their half-check and full-check responsibilities. Oklahoma 28, Kansas State 23 - 3:51 - 1st. 7:30 p.m. -- Oklahoma goes 4-of-5 from the field while Kansas State hits just 1-of-7 that interval. OU continues with Harden, Hook, Hand, Williams and Cerina. Hook, who had previously scored a conference-game high of just 5 points this season, gets a 13-foot jumper to fall for her second field goal. After a minute, Ellenberg's rest is over and she replaces Harden and Griffin returns for Cerina. Hand spies Dickey lazy with the ball and forces a steal, turning it into 2 more points. Ellenberg does the same trick to Chambers on the next trip and OU leads by 8. An Ellenberg 3 makes it 11 before KSU can respond. The Sooners already at KSU's opponent first-half scoring average with 40 percent of the period left to play. Oklahoma 23, Kansas State 14 -7:56 - 1st. 7:22 p.m. -- Jelena Cerina comes in for Griffin. OU hit 1-of-6 shots in the first interval, but get a 3 from Hook immediately out of the timeout. The Sooners drop into a 2-3 zone defense and Ellenberg works Brittany Chambers into a telegraphed pass that is stolen for a fast-break layup to tie the game. OU works out 3 misses on defense before getting a rebound, but immediately get the ball to Ellenberg for a 3. Ellenberg picks Mariah White on the start of the halfcourt set, her sixth time in the last seven games to grab two steals. Harden comes in for Ellenberg and adds more pressure to the KSU point guard. Another miss is followed by a Hand 3 and the smiles are big on the Oklahoma bench. Deb Patterson calls for a timeout. OU has scored 11 unanswered points. K-State shooting wildly from beyond the arc, but has a good interior that can come up with offensive rebounds. Childs does just that to end the Sooners' run. Oklahoma 14, Kansas State 10 - 11:58 - 1st. 7:15 p.m. -- Sharane Campbell looks as cool as ice as the Sooners line up at the center circle for tip-off. A few encouraging words come from Whitney Hand as the game begins. Two turnovers become 4 points for Kansas State before Aaryn Ellenberg hits a 3 off a Whitney Hand offensive board. Ellenberg has a team-leading 31 second-chance points. Despite the Wildcats blowing by the Sooners on offense, some misses have kept it down to an 8-3 KSU lead. Coale calls timeout and inserts Kaylon Williams for Campbell, moving Hand to the 3 and getting a bigger post player to defend the 6-2 Jalana Childs. Three unforced errors by the Sooners in the first four minutes. Kansas State 8, Oklahoma 3 - 15:57 - 1st. 6:50 p.m. -- The Sooners will be without Joanna McFarland, who suffered a fractured jaw in Saturday's game at Oklahoma State. Its a blow for OU as McFarland had just recorded a sixth career double-double and was on fire from beyond the arc, hitting six of nine 3-point attempts over the past two games with a season average of 55 percent. Freshman Sharane Campbell will make her first career start in place of McFarland, likely moving Whitney Hand to the 4 position.
6:40 p.m. -- Oklahoma has had control of this series for the past several years, winning eight straight meetings. The Sooners are 29-22 all-time against the Wildcats and hold a slim 12-10 advantage in Manhattan. Tuesday's game should be a battle of OU's offense versus K-State's defense that ranks 12th nationally in scoring, allowing just 51.4 points per game. The most anyone has scored on the Wildcats in regulation this season was 64 points by Hofstra in a loss in Cancun, Mexico, over the Thanksgiving weekend. 6:15 p.m. -- The Sooners and Wildcats are on the court at Bramlage Coliseum warming up for tonight's game. Oklahoma is looking to break a string of six straight conference road losses dating back to last season against one of the toughest home courts in the Big 12. Though, 13-3 overall, Kansas State is undefeated both at home and in conference play. The Wildcats entered the polls Monday after defeating then-No. 10 Texas Tech by one point, 62-61, in Lubbock on Saturday.
Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State | 11 a.m. CT | Stillwater, Okla. TV: FSN | Live Stats | Radio: KREF 1400 AM | Live Audio | Gameday Central 1:00 p.m. -- After seeing the OU defense, Littell calls a second timeout before the inbounds. Bryan inbounds to Bias, then gets wide open for a 3. OU gets into its halfcourt and Coale calls timeout to get Ellenberg in the game -- 18.7 seconds. Ellenberg loses the handle and OU has to foul Donohoe with 11.2 seconds, down 2. The Cowgirl freshman hits one shot. McFarland rebounds and sends it up court. Hand can't get open and Hook takes the shot, its blocked. Game over. Oklahoma State 66, Oklahoma 63 -- Final. 12:56 p.m. -- Bias strips Harden and is fouled on her layup attempt by McFarland; she hits two with the clock iced. Ellenberg shoots long from just behind the backboard but McFarland recovers it. Williams' layup is blocked and Bias hits a layup on the other end to make it a 1-point contest. With 59.0 showing on the clock, Coale calls timeout. Sooner starters on the floor for the final minutes. The pass to Griffin is deflected out of bounds with 5 seconds on the shot clock. Ellenberg's shot is short and OSU gets the ball with 40.7 remaining. Campbell enters for Ellenberg for defense. Bias runs the ball to the OSU bench and Littell calls timeout. Oklahoma 63, Oklahoma State 62 - 35.9 seconds - 2nd. 12:49 p.m. -- Harden, Ellenberg, Hand, McFarland and Williams on the floor for Oklahoma. McFarland makes her free throws and OU leads by 5. Bias loses control but Ellenberg can't handle the loose ball and the OSU point guard gets it back, drives and gets McFarland to foul; she makes one of two and Williams corrals the rebound. Coale has Harden slow the pace, leading by 4. Bryan blitzes Hand's screen and sends OU to the line. Hand misses her first FT today after hitting a string of 13 consecutive over the last two games. McFarland fouls Keller on the rebound and the Cowgirl hits the first and gets her rebound on the miss of the second. Freshmen playing with cool heads as Harden pulls up on a drive and runs some time off the clock. Williams gets a putback, then McFarland blocks a shot the Harden rebounds and is then fouled by Bias. Harden's two free throws are her first points of the game and OU leads by 7. Ellenberg swats Bryan on a rebound and sends OSU to the line for the 17th time. Bryan hits both freebies and Jim Littell calls for a timeout. Oklahoma leads by 5. Oklahoma 63, Oklahoma State 58 - 2:14 - 2nd. 12:42 p.m. -- Four starters on the floor for each team with Bryan and Campbell the only bench players. Donohoe called for an illegal screen. Hand steps on the sideline as both teams turn it over without a shot attempt. Griffin forces the issue against Young once again and gets to the free throw line, makes both for 9 points, the most she's scored since Dec. 4. Ellenberg returns at the 6-minute mark. Tiffany Bias' baseline drive makes it a 3-point game. The home crowd is in a frenzy. Williams' layup misses and Bias flies through the lane out of control and Williams gets the rebound. Ellenberg's 3 is long, but Bryan ties up McFarland for a foul. OU ball. Defensive positioning really hurting the Sooners. OU has allowed 15 points off just 11 turnovers and given up 16 second-chance points to OSU. Oklahoma 57, Oklahoma State 54 - 3:47 - 2nd. 12:33 p.m. -- After getting her pocket picked and OSU scoring on another second chance, Ellenberg hits her first 3 of the day. A whistle on Hand sends McFarland back to the court. OU has four starters on the floor with Campbell in place of Ellenberg. OSU playing with four reserves and Keller. Time for the Sooners to make a big run, but they can't buy a basketball and then leave Cowgirl shooter alone on defense. Coale calls timeout after Jenni Bryan's 3 makes it a 5-point game. Inspired play puts the Sooners up 7 at the media timeout as Campbell gets a putback and Griffin blocks Suttles on the defensive end. Oklahoma 55, Oklahoma State 48 -- 7:22 - 2nd. 12:19 p.m. -- The knockdown of McFarland was apparently nothing unruly in basketball. Williams takes her place and is immediately successful as Hook bounce passes down the lane for an easy 2. The Sooners getting back on the board, outrebounding 10 to 6 so far this half and collecting 7 second-chance points. McFarland is not receiving any treatment, as she sits by Coale on the bench, but won't come in immediately on this next interval. Oklahoma 48, Oklahoma State 37 -- 11:45 -- 2nd. 12:10 p.m. -- OSU starts the second half with the ball. Young is blocked from behind by Griffin, but collects the rebound and launches it behind her head to Bias. Young is found again, and this time gets the shot to fall. McFarland dives through the lane for a rebound on OU's miss and Hook kicks it out to Ellenberg, who's 2-pointer mercifully bounces around the rim and down. Griffin gets Young to foul on the next trip down and hits both free throws. A 5-on-4 opportunity for the Cowgirls ends in a Liz Donohoe 3. Griffin toys with Young and hits a wide open 4-footer. Donohoe launches another 3 and it's off, Ellenberg goes D-Wade in the lane for 2. The Sooners holding their own in the paint, but getting tagged with fouls on second-chance grabs. OSU not hitting from the field, but getting plenty of trips to the free throw line. Oklahoma 38, Oklahoma State 29 - 15:50 - 2nd. 11:46 a.m. -- OU's bench emploring its passers to cut on offense but no one's hearing on the other side of the court. The motion offense in a standstill doesn't work well. After Ellenberg gets burnt on defense once, she doesn't let it happen again the next trip down, getting a steal as Bias passes to Keller in the lane. Coale calls for a timeout. Harden enters and with Hook also on the court, the halfcourt movement gets better. McFarland takes a charging call. She's had a wonderful game thus far after a scoreless performance in OU's last road contest. OU misses its last shot of the half and Bias waits in the backcourt with 17 seconds left. A floater is blocked by a gaggle of Sooner hands and the game goes to halftime. Oklahoma 28, Oklahoma State 23 - Halftime. 11:40 a.m. -- McFarland hits a career-high fourth 3. Unreal shooting out of her as she has a dozen points in 14 minutes of play. Coale goes small, getting in Campbell at the 4 and Cerina at center with Hook, Ellenberg and Hand. The defensive quickness stifles OSU; shot-clock violation. The Sooners get a little turnover happy with three that interval and OSU increases its points off number to 9. Oklahoma 28, Oklahoma State 21 - 2:57 - 1st. 11:32 a.m. -- Pushing in transition is what Coale is emphasing during this timeout. OSU scores on its inbounds. The Sooners immediately throw the ball into Griffin, who gets fouled and makes the freebies to put OU back on top. McFarland's third 3 puts OU back out by 5. The play Coale wanted to go to Ellenberg is waved off after an illegal screen is called on Griffin; Aaryn was wide open for a 3 and the Sooners will definitely go back to that offensive set many times today. Hook and Williams return. Down-the-gut gets to Williams, who shows off some nice moves but doesn't finish against 6-6 Vicky McIntyre. Rough play inside finally goes OU's way. Oklahoma leads 22-19 - 6:57 - 1st. 11:21 a.m. -- Coale in the huddle keep her team aware of how OSU trails on offense and to set effective screens when the Sooners have the ball. Oklahoma State platoons its bigs, and Coale follows suit getting Griffin an early spell by sending in Kaylon Williams. Griffin's return draws the first OSU foul as she power dribbles into Suttles, and out of shot-clock trouble. Harden's foul sends the game to a media timeout. The Sooners not shooting particularly well, missing a number of second-chance opportunities. But, OSU is ice cold, too, hitting only 33 percent and is 1-of-9 from 3-point range. Oklahoma 17, Oklahoma State 15 - 10:56 - 1st. 11:12 a.m. -- Whitney Hand scores the first five points of the game, hitting a 3 at the end of the shot clock, then forcing a steal and getting a handoff from Morgan Hook under the hoop for a layup. The Cowgirls force the issue on offense and get Sooners to commit fouls at the hoop. Oklahoma State gets its first four points at the free throw line. Joanna McFarland buries to striaght 3-pointers, the power forward is 56 percent from beyond the arc, to make OU's lead 5. An interesting matchup to watch will be Nicole Griffin versus Toni Young. Young, a former state high school high jump champion, has ups, but it was Griffin who won the tip-off. Oklahoma leads 13-8, 15:47, 1st. 10:52 a.m. -- After taking a spill and missing the final three minutes of Wednesday's upset of No. 10 Texas Tech, Aaryn Ellenberg is OK and will start Saturday's game. As a freshman, Ellenberg scored 23 points in each of her games against Oklahoma State and will be key once again as she scores at a pace unmatched by any Sooner not named Courtney Paris. Ellenberg matched Stacey Dales for career 3-pointers and trails Sunny Hardeman, who's sister Taylor graduated from Oklahoma State, by just three 3's for No. 6 all-time at OU. 10:28 a.m. -- It's almost gametime in Gallagher-Iba Arena as the Sooners and Cowgirls are on the floor for pre-game warmups. As all Big 12 road games are, it will be another tough test for the Sooners as they face one of the national leaders in defense. Oklahoma State ranked fourth in the NCAA, allowing an opponent field goal percentage of just .303. The Cowgirls also feature the nation's second ranked player in assists per game, sophomore point guard Tiffany Bias, who averages 8.1.
Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Texas A&M | 2 p.m. CT | College Station, Texas TV: FSN | Live Stats | Live Audio | Gameday Central 4:00 p.m. -- Texas A&M well ahead with this one. Make it a 75-58 victory for the Aggies. 3:46 p.m. -- The 50-50 plays going A&M's way and Bone takes in 4 consecutive points to give the Aggies its largest lead, 12, with 6 minutes to play. OU goes big with McFarland and Williams returning to compliment Hook, Hand and Ellenberg. White gets her own in the paint against OU. But Carter leaves Ellenberg alone behind the arc and Hand sees her for 3. Texas A&M leads by 10 with just one four-minute interval to play. It will be a tough task for the Sooners, who need to find ways to get Hand and Ellenberg open on the perimeter. Texas A&M 62, Oklahoma 52 - 3:58 - 2nd. Williams sends Standish to the lumberyard to ignite the Sooner bench and then picks up the rebound. It's obviously been a very fine performance from the freshman from Midwest City, Okla. OU turns over two consecutive Hand-to-Ellenberg inbounds plays. A&M forcing several errors from the Sooners, who have nine second-half turnovers to zero by the Aggies. OU gets a response just before the break as Harden finds Campbell in transition, freshman to freshman, for a layup and 1 coming. Texas A&M 54, Oklahoma 48 - 7:59 - 2nd. 3:27 p.m. -- Kaylon Williams make her first appearance with Coale hoping to find a post who can help out in the offensive sets. Coale runs a play for Campbell and Harden finds her in space to cut the lead to 3 but, just as quickly, OU turns it over to Carter for a fast-break layup. Williams definitely doing what the Sooners need, grabbing rebounds and making passing lanes in the paint narrow for A&M. Texas A&M 46, Oklahoma 41 - 11:06 - 2nd. 3:19 p.m. -- To start the second half, Pratcher is in the lineup instead of Standish, who has three personal fouls. A&M starts off the half much like the first, a six-point run built in transition baskets and second-chance opportunities. Coale calls timeout to get Harden on the floor at point. OU again sloppy with its passes to begin the half and lets go of four turnovers in four minutes once again. McFarland picks up two fouls for four total and will now sit a lot of this second half. Texas A&M 38, Oklahoma 33 - 15:43 - 2nd. 2:52 p.m. -- Aggies not as well-versed in the backcourt press as in the past. Standish fouls Hand, who gets 2 the easy way at the free throw line. A Tyra White turnover later, and OU is inbouding from the sideline. Coale calls timeout as Hook nears the 5-second rule trying to find a receiver. Whitney Hand leads the huddle pointing to each of her teammates what the matchups are on defense. The A&M veteran Sydney Carter keeping the Aggies close, hitting everything after a 1-for-7 start, as OU threatens on every offensive possession. Harden gets fouled as the game clock reaches 3.4 seconds. She hits one to give OU a 3-point lead at halftime. Oklahoma 31, Texas A&M - Halftime. 2:41 p.m. -- And that was as much a boxing match as it was basketball. OU comes out ahead this round. Campbell keeps the Sooners ahead with some gritty play and perfect free-throw shooting. On the defensive side, A&M still collecting the garbage it throws up with three offensive boards, but had just two points and three turnovers to show from it. Oklahoma 23, Texas A&M - 3:37 - 1st. 2:35 p.m. -- Waiting on the officials to get the shot clock corrected. The scoring crew at the table reset it to :30 despite Sydney Carter's wild shot going nowhere close to iron. Apparently, the continuation would have resulted in a shot-clock violation so Oklahoma will get the possession. Cerina's pass back to Hand off an inbounds results in OU's first lead. Oklahoma 19, Texas A&M 15 - 6:27 - 1st. 2:28 p.m. -- Sharane Campbell in to give Ellenberg a rest, but McFarland is quickly tagged with a screening foul and Aaryn returns. Campbell moves to the 4 to fill McFarland's spot. Texas A&M continues to make their money off the offensive glass, getting second-chance points. Points in transition get OU within 2 as first Harden finds Hand wide open and then Hook dishes cross court to Hand for a 3. Campbell's free throws tie it at 15-15 - 7:52 - 2nd. 2:19 p.m. -- Ellenberg playing her heart out and needs some help to cover this deficit. Neither team particularly sharp, both settling for off-balance shots. A&M 1-for-5 that interval, OU was 1-for-6. Texas A&M 13, Oklahoma 6 - 11:21 - 1st. 2:13 p.m. -- Harden comes in early for Hook as the Sooners have a tough time just getting a shot up against the Texas A&M defense. Lots of contact that is the norm for Big 12 play and everyone will have to acclimate themselves to the style of play. Sooners with four turnovers in three minutes, mostly in situations of picking up the dribble before having a pass receiver open. Ellenberg sidesteps Standish to finally get the Sooners on the board after four minutes go by. Hand throws over Bone to Griffin for a reverse layup and back-to-back scores. Texas A&M 11, Oklahoma 4 - 14:40 - 1st. 1:52 p.m. -- A change to Texas A&M's starting lineup from what was projected as freshman Alexia Standish (Colleyville, Texas) will make her first collegiate start in place of junior Adrienne Pratcher. Standish has averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 assists while playing 13.5 minutes per game. 1:46 p.m. -- Sherri Coale and OU assistant coach shot a video with FSN before the game, recording their memories of Oklahoma State's Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna, who passed away in a plane crash in November. Parts of those videos will show during today's game with a larger tribute planned to air Saturday when Oklahoma travels to Stillwater to face the Cowgirls. 1:22 p.m. -- Oklahoma and Texas A&M are similiar among Big 12 teams in most statistical categories except for one large difference in 3-point shooting. OU leads the league in both 3-point field goal percentage (.383) and 3-pointers made (7.8) while Texas A&M is last in both categories (.267 and 2.3) and in 3-point field goal defense (.355). The Sooners have made 35 percent of their 3's away from the Lloyd Noble Center and have accumulated 29 percent of their total points from beyond the arc. 12:59 p.m. -- Sooners are on the court at Reed Arena taking shots as they warmup for Sunday's lone Big 12 game versus the defending national champion Texas A&M Aggies. The Fast Break Club surprised the team departure from the hotel with a pep rally. There will be a loud section of Crimson-clad fans in attendance today. 10:43 a.m. -- Pre-game shootaround is complete and the pre-game meal awaits as the Sooners face the No. 9 Aggies at Reed Arena at 2 p.m. Central.
Oklahoma vs. Xavier | 4:30 p.m. CT | Las Vegas, Nev. Live Stats | Live Audio | Gameday Central 6:10 p.m. -- The Sooners finish what might be the quickest game I've ever witnessed live. Whitney Hand leads the game with 19 points. Next up is TCU in Norman on Dec. 28. Oklahoma 73, Xavier 51 - Final. 6:03 p.m. -- Coale has the Sooners working through the fundamentals as she mixes different lineups with such an advantage. The only oddity of the game is a lack of 3-point shooting from Aaryn Ellenberg. The Sooners haven't needed to kick out to shooters much and Ellenberg has only one field goal from anything other than a fast-break layup. Oklahoma 69, Xavier - 3:44, 2nd. 5:55 p.m. -- Hook and Hand are the only Sooner starts, joining Campbell, Harden and Williams on the court for the final 12 minutes. OU spreading the ball all around the court as nine Sooners have scored, including eight with more than 2 points. Harden finds Williams for a layup and returns to Hook for a 3. Hook with 46 points in this tournament and 9 minutes to add to that total. Xavier playing with some more energy and getting its fair share of rebounds and, then, shots to fall. Oklahoma 64, Xavier 39 - 7:39, 2nd. 5:47 p.m. -- Xavier has been outscored 2-to-1 this season from points off turnovers, a trend that continued today and allowed Oklahoma to get its lopsided start. Sooners with 14 points off turnovers, including 10 straight early in the game, to just eight for Xavier which came late in the period against the backups. Oklahoma starts the second half with the ball. After a Xavier 3, it becomes more of the same this half -- Oklahoma domination. Whitney Hand hits a third 3-pointer, shaking off a 5-for-33 slump that has affected her the previous eight games. Hand leading with 19 points three-quarters of the way through the game. Kaylon Williams recovers from help to block a second-chance shot into the elevator. Oklahoma 57, Xavier 33 - 11:56, 2nd. 5:12 p.m. -- Hook and Ellenberg rotate at the 2-guard while reserves get some very valuable minutes early against Xavier. Oklahoma 45, Xavier 24 - Halftime. 5:06 p.m. -- Hook 3 and Hand layup follow empty possessions by Xavier. Waugh calls another timeout as the Sooners just simply outrun the Musketeers in every transition. But that has been the story in each of OU's wins in Las Vegas. The Sooners are simply in better condition that the teams they have played. Harden now running the show. Calls for a Campbell on a baseline cut, easy 2. Hook, at the 2-guard, is the only starter on the floor for OU. The young group doesn't communicate or move as well as the veterans and after a couple turnovers, Xavier cuts into OU's lead and Coale calls for time. Oklahoma 38, Xavier 16 - 2:53, 1st. 4:58 p.m. -- About to travel, Cerina throws up a desperate layup and gets both the foul and the ball to drop. Everything going OU's way today. I'm going to leave at halftime and put down a couple table bets. Whitney Hand playing strong and has certainly proven to be the best player at this tournament regardless of the stats. After wrestling away a couple rebounds, Hand has 9 points and has gotten off her 3-point slump, hitting both attempts today. Sherri Coale telling her squad to "talk" as the reserves begin to take a larger role in the substitution pattern. Oklahoma 28, Xavier 9 - 7:53, 1st. 4:48 p.m. -- Ellenberg's third straight attempt at a steal is deflecting into the press row opposite the bench sideline. Ellenberg's anticipation, especially on defense, while in her hometown at this tournament has been off the charts. Shatyra Hawkes airballs a 3 that Hook dishes into a wide-open Whitney Hand 3. It's 18-2 and Xavier head coach Amy Waugh calls timeout. Ellenberg forces Gray to throw the ball away on a second-pass skip for XU's eighth turnover in six minutes. After a Lynette Holmes free throw, Ellenberg steal and layup once again. Sabrina Johnson follows that with an offensive foul and Hand hits another 3. Very good offensive pace, communication and movement for OU. Everything going the opposite way for the weary Musketeers as the Sooners are running them out of the gym. Oklahoma 23, Xavier 3 - 11:45, 1st. 4:41 p.m. -- Sooners on the board first for the third time in as many days as Hand finds McFarland for an 8-foot baseline jumper to start the offense. Xavier not as sharp with five turnovers and Oklahoma leads 9-0 before Amber Gray gets 2 for the Musketeers. Ellenberg follows another McFarland jumper with two pickpockets of Xavier's Ashley Wanninger. Oklahoma 13, Xavier 2 - 15:18, 1st. 4:26 p.m. -- Oklahoma and Xavier are about to tip-off in the final game of the Duel in the Desert. With a win, Oklahoma will sweep the tournament and be its only undefeated team. Xavier has lost its two games in Las Vegas, falling to Syracuse 70-67 and to Ohio in double overtime 80-75. Oklahoma defeated Ohio 89-57 and Syracuse 82-63.
Oklahoma vs. Syracuse | 4:30 p.m. CT | Las Vegas, Nev. Live Stats | Live Audio | Gameday Central 6:47 p.m. -- McFarland makes it 19 and is subbed out to raucous applause for Jacqueline Jeffcoat. Syracuse inexplicably travels on a no-pressure inbounds as the physical exhaustion becomes mental lapses. Campbell drops just her second career 3-pointer as Syracuse sleeps in its 2-3 zone. Ellenberg checks out for Katherine Zander. Campbell draws an offensive foul just left of the free throw line. For the final 2 minutes, OU has Harden, Campbell, Zander, Jeffcoat and Williams against the Syracuse starters. The rookies hold their own against the veterans. Oklahoma 82, Syracuse 63 - Final. 6:38 p.m. -- Ellenberg and McFarland are the only starters on court for the Sooners as the clock ticks under 6 minutes. Oklahoma looking to use as much of the shot clock each possession unless the open shot presents itself. OU freshmen Harden and Campbell getting valuable minutes and coming up with a good ratio of spectacular plays to errors. At the under 4:00 timeout, Sooners are well in control as Joanna McFarland looks to increase on her career-high 18 points at the free throw line. Oklahoma 76, Syracuse 51 - 3:59, 2nd. 6:27 p.m. -- Oklahoma leads by 21, its largest of the game, with 10:51 to play, but has put Syracuse in the bonus with 7 team fouls to 3 for the Orange. Hall begins the interval at the free throw line, and cuts the OU lead to 19 before time comes off the clock. The Sooners run wheel, and Harden air balls the 3, but McFarland is in position for the catch after setting the screen. McFarland gets fouled and connects on one, but more importantly, puts OU closer to evening the team fouls. Syracuse beginning to get heavy legs. Shots are falling short and the Orange are not getting back in transition as quickly as the well-rested Sooners can run. Even with substitutes versus starters, OU continues to increase its lead. Oklahoma 70, Syracuse 47 - 7:34, 2nd. 6:20 p.m. -- Cerina is tagged with a fourth foul and Williams replaces her. The onslaught of post offense over Leary continues as Kaylon drops 2 over the 6-3 sophomore and then Leary draws a foul on Campbell and connects on one free throw. Campbell drives baseline and draws a blocking foul on Hemingway, her third. A loose ball stripped by Whitney Hand trades eight pairs of hands and drops six players to the ground before Ellenberg saves it from the opposite baseline and finds Hook wide open for a 3. Leary turns it over with a 3-second violation on the following possession. Oklahoma quickly buidling contact trouble again and is 6 to 3 in team fouls with 12:20 remaining. Hillsman has Taft completely isolated on Hook, trapping against the sideline in transition even without the ball in hopes the Sooners' point guard can't get the offense started. It works as a quick shot is rebounded, but Syracuse misses its own and Harden drives middle for 2. Griffin follows on the next trip with a second-chance layup. Oklahoma 64, Syracuse 43 - 10:51, 2nd. 6:07 p.m. -- Oklahoma starts with the possession in the second half. The Sooners' early offense going through Griffin, who's been very aggressive in the paint during the past week. Though, the shots aren't falling at the moment, it is certainly drawing more and more defensive attention away from OU's guards. Ellenberg and Hook trade points and OU plays to a 9-2 advantage to start the half. After 3 1/2 minutes of Griffin and Alexander battling to a standstill, Cerina and Leary check in as the centers. Cerina fakes out her Orange counterpart with five-footer and Hillsman calls his second timeout of the half. Oklahoma 55, Syracuse 36 - 15:45, 2nd. 5:53 p.m. -- Through 8 1/2 games, Morgan Hook continues to play with incredible efficiency and constant improvement. Hook has scored 29 points with half of this three-game tournament remaining and has 10 assists to two turnovers. Whitney Hand certainly helping with the learning curve as she's very much improved the on-court communication while the Sooners run through motion offense. 5:40 p.m. -- Syracuse's chance to swing the game came will come with points off turnvoers, which they have 11 in the last four minutes. Cerina picks up her third foul. It will be Griffin and McFarland patrolling the paint for the final 3 minutes of the half. Syracuse free throws cut OU's lead to 9 with 2 1/2 to play. Sharane Campbell brilliantly takes advantage of Syracuse's tendency to follow and crash, getting ahead of Alexander and drawing a foul called on the defensive board to put OU in the bonus. Campbell makes both FTs. Hook's shot-clock beating 3, assisted by Hand, falls to make it 12 again with one possession of time left to play. Syracuse's secondary shift is deflected out of bounds and the inbounds play does not draw a decent look with just under 3 seconds to put up a shot. Hook leads OU with 15 points, Ellenberg has 14. Shanee Williams has 6 for Syracuse, which is shooting just 42 from the free throw line as a team. Oklahoma 46, Syracuse 34 - Halftime. 5:31 p.m. -- Oklahoma puts Syracuse into the bonus with 6 minutes left in the first half. Ellenberg, Cerina and Williams each with two fouls. Ellenberg with the rare 4-point play to put Oklahoma up 13. The 3-point shot bounced four times on the same spot of the front iron before mercilessly falling. Ellenberg had time to hit the ground, shake it off and grab a Gatorade. Ellenberg leads Oklahoma with 14 points, twice as many as she scored Sunday. A ball gets loose into the DJ's booth after Cerina's bucket and creates our next deadball media timeout. Oklahoma 39, Syracuse 25 - 3:37, 1st. 5:19 p.m. -- With 9 seconds on the shot clock out of the deadball, Hook drains a 3 and OU leads by 11. Williams and McFarland pick up fouls in the same Syracuse possession as Alexander and Hemingway use their size to post-up and drive through the lane. Ellenberg playing with excellent anticipation and gets ahead in transition on a rebound and then fakes out not one, but two trailing Syracuse defenders for a layup. Hook takes the next rebound down court on a 1-on-1 and is fouled on the floor. Hook hits a 3 off the inbounds and then steals the ball as SU enters its halfcourt set and is then fouled again on the layup. The crowd goes nuts as Hook hits both free throws and is subbed by DaShawn Harden. Syracuse more eage to get back in transition on field goal attempts, rather than crash, and OU is picking up easy defensive rebounds. Ellenberg throws down a quick 3 to continue OU's run. Oklahoma 27, Syracuse 14 - 7:49, 1st. 5:11 p.m. -- Alexander (1-5 FG) still unable to get a clean look, but gets Cerina to foul. She misses both free throws, however. Griffin re-enters with Campbell for McFarland. Team fouls are 2-0 Oklahoma and something that need to be measured by the Sooners as any statistic today. Syracuse gets back to its habit, crashing the boards and begins to come away with a rebounding advantage and begins to close the gap this interval. Coale goes back to her bigs entering McFarland and Kaylon Williams in hopes of swinging the trend. Syracuse's length and athleticism allowing for several deflections and accounting for three of OU's five early turnovers. OU catches a break entering the media timeout as a deflected pass to Ellenberg is touched out of bounds by Hall for a deadball. Oklahoma 15, Syracuse 7 - 11:50, 1st. 5:00 p.m. -- For Oklahoma, its usual lineup of Hook, Ellenberg, Hand, McFarland and Griffin. Syracuse starts Elashier Hall, Rachel Coffey, Carmen Tyson-Thomas, Kayla Alexander and Iasia Hemingway. Coffey replacing La'Shay Taft as the projected 2-guard. Coffey's 3.6 points well under the 6.0 averaged by Taft, but has a better assist average. Coach Hillsman probably looking for passers to get the ball inside on OU. Nicole Griffin doing well early to change the angle of Alexander's shots without drawing a foul, Alexander 1-of-4 in the first three minutes as the target of Syracuse's offense. Hand gets OU on the board first with a layup and 1 for her 750th career point. Cerina enters for Griffin at 17:00, so it will be interesting to see how Alexander dynamic changes for this interval. The Orange clogging the driving lanes, leaving shooters wide open. Ellenberg hits a 3, her 29th consecutive game doing so, and OU leads 11-3 as SU coach Quintin Hillsman calls for time at 16:12. Four Sooners have scored in, for the second day, a very balanced offense. Oklahoma 11, Syracuse 2 - 15:56, 1st. 4:30 p.m. -- Ohio has defeated Xavier, OU's Tuesday opponent, 80-75 in double overtime. Oklahoma-Syracuse will tip-off in 20 minutes. 4:19 p.m. -- Ohio has outscored Xavier 10-0 in this second overtime period. It will likely be the Bobcats game once the last 2 minutes runs off the clock. 4:12 p.m. -- Double OT for Ohio-Xavier, tied 65-65, delaying Oklahoma-Syracuse start to at least 4:45 p.m. 3:55 p.m. -- Ohio and Xavier will play overtime, delaying the scheduled 4:30 p.m. CT tip-off for Oklahoma-Syracuse. 3:45 p.m. -- As Oklahoma and Syracuse await the second game of the second day of the Duel in the Desert, Ohio leads Xaiver 55-54 with just over 2 minutes to play. The Musketeers will be OU's opponent on Tuesday. Whereas Ohio played towards driving and getting fouled on offense and passing denials on defense, Syracuse will test the Sooners by attempting shots quickly and getting to the ball for rebounds. The Orange only shoot 37 percent from the field (35 percent from 3) but have an averaging rebound margin of +16. Kayla Alexander, a 6-4 junior center, leads Syracuse, averaging 17 points and nine rebounds. Alexander had 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 70-67 win against Xavier Sunday, and was 4-of-18 on field goal attempts.
No. 24 Oklahoma vs. Fresno State | 9 p.m. CT | Fresno, Calif. Live Stats | Webcast | Live Audio (KREF 1400 AM) | Gameday Central 10:52 p.m. -- Three seconds come off before Hand can foul Parrish. Coale sends in McFarland with a "Touchdown" play call. Free throws are missed. Hand makes the layup. Harden fouls Thompson with 5.9 seconds on the clock. Thompson misses the first. Coale calls "touchdown" again. Thompson good on the second. Three point game. Wiht fouls to spare, Moore tags Hand on the inbounds. Thompson tags Harden. Moore tags Harden. There's 1.6 seconds for a 3-point attempt off an inbounds play. Hook's attempt falls short. Fresno State 69, Oklahoma 66 - Final. 10:48 p.m. -- Harden hesitates on a pass to hand and its mishandled on the reception. OU turnover number 19. Fresno State winds down its allotment of time and misses a 3. Hook called for a charge as she drives coast-to-coast. Fresno State calls timeout with 48.1 with OU trapping in the backcourt. OU has to foul, Harden tags Thompson, an 80 percent shooter, but she misses. Moore deflects and steals Harden's entry pass in the halfcourt. Hand has to foul Moore, who is 1-4 at the line tonight. Moore misses the first, makes the second with 30.5 to play. Ellenberg takes the ball and weaves through the lane for a layup. Coale calls timeout to sub in Campbell and get her defense set. On the clock, 20.8 seconds remain as OU trails by two field goals. Fresno State 68, Oklahoma 64 - :20.8 - 2nd. 10:41 p.m. -- Campbell throws an errant pass and then Hook loses control at midcourt in consecutive trips. Hook has to foul Moore on the latter, and the Bulldog misses the first, makes the second. Tie ball game. Moore throws up a junk 3 and it falls as the Bulldogs lead again with 6 1/2 to play. Ellenberg's 3 is blocked and Moult makes a layup in transition. Coale has to call timeout as Fresno State takes a 5-point lead. It's been the starters 1, 2, 3, and 5 with Campbell in for McFarland, who has four fouls. McFarland checks in with 5:10 to play. Hand looking to put this game on her shoulders once again. Fouled on a drive through the left, she makes two free throws and OU trails by 5. A second-chance miss by Fresno leads to a Hand baseline jumper from 17 feet. Farley answers with a turn-around jumper from 8 feet deep in the lane. Parrish gets a layup to fall and OU has quickly lost steam as its lineup is exhausted. Coale calls timeout with 2:50 on the clock. Ellenberg returns from the bench. Harden continues to play with Hand, Hook and McFarland. Ellenberg 3 bounces twice and drops into McFarland's hands for the putback. Fresno State's Sheedy travels to give it back to OU. Fresno State 67, Oklahoma 62 - 2:11 - 2nd.
10:28 p.m. -- In a critical stop on defense, Campbell works the shot clock down 11 seconds by forcing two deflections from a half-court inbounds and then Griffin blocks a layup. Hand continues to miss on long-range shots, 0-for-4 tonight from beyond the arc. A Campbell foul on Moore's drive through the lane sends us to the under 8:00 media timeout. Oklahoma 56, Fresno State 53 - 7:58 - 2nd. 10:20 p.m. -- Missed shot after missed shot for 3 1/2 minutes and the score remains 49-46 OU. Not sloppy attempts, necessarily, just better defense creating contested shots this half as the teams have had time to figure out each others tendencies and are playing more physically. Out of a Coale-called timeout, Ellenberg hits a tightly-contested 3 out of a motion set. Her eighth. She's on fire tonight. McFarland picks up her fourth foul to send us to a media timeout. Oklahoma 52, Fresno State 46 - 2nd - 11:13. 10:11 p.m. -- Bulldogs doing well to tie up passes in the paint, which has probably account for four Sooner turnovers. Fresno is covering Griffin with help underneath, making it difficult for her to receive anything near the basket. Fresno getting turnover prone in transition leading to some easy OU scores. The Sooners take a 42-41 lead at three minutes into the second half. Ellenberg takes a missed Sheedy layup back down the court for her seventh 3, matching her single-game high. Morgan Hook in attack mode as she splits a 1-on-2 break for a layup and then drives rim to rim off a Fresno 3 for her eighth point. Oklahoma 49, Fresno State 46 - 15:11 - 2nd. 10:00 p.m. -- Oklahoma and Fresno State basically playing the same offensive strategy against one another with similiar results as both teams shooting right at 45 percent. The difference in the game, once again, is turnovers. Bulldogs have 13 points off six OU turnovers while the Sooners have just 3 off four Fresno turnovers. 9:46 p.m. -- Both teams shooting 48 percent as we enter the final 3 1/2 of the first half. OU enters the ball to the post on the transition and then an inbounds, getting two fouls called on Fresno State in the process. Hand drains a jumper and its a 4-point game. Fresno State defended well on the next trip and then Griffin makes it to the free throw line with OU now in the bonus. Fresno State travels in the lane while posting on Griffin. OU passes in and out, Hand finds Ellenberg for a sixth 3. Game tied. Fresno's Alex Sheedy gets inside for a layup. Ellenberg misses wide with a wild shot trying to beat the shot clock. Fresno doesn't hit its setup 3 with 5.2 seconds left. Fresno State 40, Oklahoma 38 at halftime. 9:37 p.m. -- Blakely Goldberg finding gaps in the Sooner defense and gets a quick 3 to put the Bulldogs up 25-20. OU's is contesting the perimeter well with its guards, but running a two-post set against four Fresno guards, and the opponent is exploiting the mismatch. Ellenberg takes the hammer to KiKi Moore, getting a foul on the 5-8 Washington State transfer, and closes Fresno's lead to 6. Getting Moore on the bench will allieviate one of OU's defensive mismatches. Hand still struggling from 3-point land, where she's 2-of-12 over the last four games, but good everywhere else with a layup and jumper off Fresno misses puts OU within a field goal near the 4-minute mark. Out of a Fresno timeout, Goldberg hits another 3. Fresno State 36, Oklahoma 31 - 3:30 - 1st. 9:20 p.m. -- Cache, Okla., native hits her free throws and closes the gap to 1 for Fresno State. Ellenberg with three 3's in the first 5 1/2 minutes keeping OU in the lead. The turnover bug creeps in and Fresno State finds the bucket to take its first lead at the 12-minute mark. Ellenberg goes for 3 a fourth time to get it back on the next trip down. Oklahoma 20, Fresno State 19 - 11:00 - 1st. 9:14 p.m. -- The Sooners hit their first four shots and are up 9-2 before Fresno State's KiKi Moore has enough of running halfcourt sets and runs coast-to-coast for a layup. Coale calls timeout to have a conversation about defense. OU misses its shot out of the stoppage and Moore blasts by the Sooner defense a second consecutive time to make it 9-6. Fresno State's strategy is no different than the OU coaches scouted. Shoot the open 3, and when that's not available, drive to the rim off an on-ball screen. Oklahoma 9, Fresno State 6 - 15:46 - 1st. 9:02 p.m. -- Something different. The Bulldog mascot has pulled out a pillow and blanket and is taking a brief nap at midcourt while the Sooners' starting lineup is announced. 8:54 p.m. -- Though Fresno State returned six players that played against Oklahoma in the Sooners' 84-66 win in Norman last year, the Bulldogs look to have been hit by the injury bug just as hard as OU. At least four Fresno State players are keeping the warmups on or walking with crutches during the pre-game stretch. 8:42 p.m. -- Whereever the Sooners go, the Sooner Nation follows. At least half of the fans who are in their seats early are wearing OU gear. Among the crowd are Jacqueline Jeffcoat's famous NFL father Jim Jeffcoat, who is currently an assistant coach at San Jose State and OU grad Monte Moore, who was the lead broadcaster for the Kansas City/Oakland A's in the 1960s through 1980. 8:11 p.m. -- Oklahoma and Fresno State are on the court at Save Mart Center warming up for tonight's game. Tip-off is just under one hour away as both teams look to rebound from losses to ranked teams. The Sooners fell just short at home Sunday to Ohio State, 69-63, while the Bulldogs were routed by No. 4 Stanford, 93-59. OU is looking to avoid three consecutive losses while Fresno State hopes to prevent back-to-back losses at home, neither of which streak has happened since the 2007-08 season.
No. 12 Oklahoma vs. Vanderbilt | 4 p.m. CT | Nashville, Tenn. 6:02 p.m. -- Game over. OU suffers its first loss to Vanderbilt, which is 26-0 in its own Thanksgiving tournament. Vanderbilt 78, Oklahoma 66. 5:59 p.m. -- Holzer fouled and makes both from a 1-and-1 opportunity. Sooners stuck under the bucket trying to put back offensive boards, but not getting through Holzer's long arms. Oklahoma rebounding with a 36-23 advantage and leading second-chance points 17-4, but not getting the crucial shots to fall. Lister's free throws make it a 9-point lead for Vandy again with 4 minutes. Two straight turnovers as OU guards lose the handle in the lane. Nine extra turnovers by OU the difference in this game. Sooners forcing the issue and not getting any luck from the bounce of the rim. No shots fall and no rebounds to be collected as the game gets away from OU. Hook hits a jumper and Coale calls timeout with just over a minute to play. Vanderbilt 76, Oklahoma 64 - 1:21 - 2nd. 5:49 p.m. -- Harden misses the 1-and-1 but Williams corrals the rebound and feeds Ellenberg at the top of the key for 3. Holzer adds 2 on the putback. Ellenberg spots up for 3. Lister's 3 rolls around and mercilessly out of the rim. OU in their halfcourt and Coale calls timeout. Two timeouts left for OU, four for Vandy. Vanderbilt 65, Oklahoma 60 - 4:37 - 2nd. 5:45 p.m. -- Maggie Morrison shouts from 3 again to give Vanderbilt its 9-point lead with 11 minutes to play. Fouls in the post taking their toll. Vandy's Clarke with 3, Holzer with 4. Cerina with 4. Even with that issue, McFarland takes a charge. Holzer about to check in as OU's cuts the lead to 7 on an Ellenberg jumper. Lister hits the 3, Ellenberg counters with her own. Seven minutes left. Clarke tagged with her fourth as she flops in front of Harden's drive. Vanderbilt 63, Oklahoma 54 - 5:52 - 2nd. 5:36 p.m. -- Vanderbilt's field-goal shooting slowly dips. They'll need to stay proficient from 3 if this game continues to trade buckets. Foggie, then Morrison do so and Vanderbilt takes a 7-point lead. Lister's reverse layup makes the advantage 9 and Vandy tastes blood as the crowd rises to its feet. Whitney Hand quickly quiets them with a 3 and Coale calls timeout. Cerina forcing tough shots in the Vandy paint. They'll have to stick with the 3s. Good game for her in her first start, answering Coale's message. OU's 18th turnover send the game to a media timeout. Vanderbilt 55, Oklahoma 49 - 11:19 - 2nd. 5:25 p.m. -- The offenses play on their bench sides in the second half, so hopefully that will help OU find a comfort zone. Vandy center Holzer picks up two fouls for four personal in just four minutes played. Like early in the first half, Vanderbilt is making contact with McFarland as she moves through the lane to setup, disrupting the flow of OU's early offense. Hook and Ellenberg get in the flow more quickly this half and each have 9 to lead OU. Cerina at the free throw line the game goes to the first media timeout of the second half. Vanderbilt 46, Oklahoma 43 - 15:46 - 2nd. 5:08 p.m. -- Oklahoma and Vanderbilt shooting well, both 50 percent or better from the field and 40 percent from 3. Vandy's long-range shooting cooled off as the half progressed and Oklahoma settled on defense. The Commodores are pressuring the passers on the perimeter, leaving the post loosely guarded with an off-side help in zone or single man. It's shown as McFarland and Cerina have been perfect shooting and combined for 16 -- all in the paint except for one of Joanna's 3s. 5:00 p.m. -- Hook on the board with a 3 and then settles in with a cut to basket that Harden finds for a layup on the next trip down. OU getting second-chance points with a 15-9 rebounding advantage. A rough game chasing for the loose balls as the officials keep quiet on most of the tangles. Ellenberg with a steal and fast-break layup ties the game at 37. Lister answers with a drive through the lane. Harden sinks a shot at the buzzer, but it didn't look like she got off in time. The officials will confer at the replay monitor. After review, it's waved off. Vanderbilt 39, Oklahoma 37 - Halftime. 4:53 p.m. -- Vanderbilt beating OU screens and sticking to the ball handler. Kaylon Williams with good basketball instinct in just her second collegiate game, uses a head fake to get her defender in the air and draws a foul. Williams adds 2 at the charity stripe and then feeds McFarland with a high-low look for a layup after a Vandy turnover. Williams called for an offensive foul, her third personal, on the next possession and she'll have to sit with 5 minutes left in the first half. OU freshmen playing big roles this year, but Vanderbilt also needing the same from its young players as seven of its 10 on the active roster are freshmen or sophomores. Vanderbilt 31, Oklahoma 27 - 3:56 - 1st. 4:40 p.m. -- No Liberty player scored in double figures on the Sooners yesterday, but Foggie alreay has 16 as she's camped beyond the arc waiting for her defender to leave on help. Foggie gets a fourth 3 off a handoff and the lead is 11. McFarland buries a 3 and gets a steal. Harden feeds Cerina for her second layup in last three possessions. OU's bigs with 13 of OU's 20 points. Vanderbilt 27, Oklahoma 20 - 7:52 - 1st. 4:33 p.m. -- OU winning the rebounding battle early and McFarland and Cerina working well to find each other in the frontcourt. Under 14, Harden comes in for Hook with Vandy leading by 1. Four straight turnovers for OU by Ellenberg indecision, steal of Harden, Campbell charge and bad Ellenberg pass. Like Friday's game, the Sooners look out of sorts in the halfcourt, yet are steady in transition. In nine minutes, there are 11 combined turnovers, but its been the Commodores taking advantage of the turnover battle with 7 points coming from OU errors. Vanderbilt 14, Oklahoma 13 - 11:25 - 1st. 4:25 p.m. -- Hand instructing Cerina on the tip-off. It's the senior's first time in the center circle. Vandy wins and busts a quick 3. But Cerina draws the foul on the other end. Misses both, but McFarland wrestles away a rebound and resets the offense. Hand finds McFarland for a six-footer, and OU is on the board. With team benches on the baseline, Morgan Hook has to run across the court to get word from Coale while OU shoots free throws. Vanderbilt's first setup in the 1-2-2 almost ends badly for OU as its deflected away from the sideline. Defensively, OU crowds the paint, and Vanderbilt will take it. Lister and Foggie with 3s. Hand called for a second foul to lead us to a media timeout. Vanderbilt 12, Oklahoma 9 - 15:04 - 1st. 4:13 p.m. -- Starting lineups being announced. Cerina will indeed start with Hook, Ellenberg, Hand and McFarland. Vandy's Schrann, Foggie, Lister, Holzer and Brown will make their sixth consecutive starts together. 4:01 p.m. -- We're about 12 minutes from tip-off. The Sooners look sharp as they go through warmups with very few shots hitting iron. How OU responds to the two-games-in-two-days test against potential NCAA tournament team is exactly what Sherri Coale wants to see out of her young team. Oklahoma didn't have much time to learn about Vanderbilt, but did spend some time this morning working on breaking the Commodores' 1-2-2 full court press.
3:47 p.m. -- Liberty has defeated Lipscomb, 70-27, to take third-place honors in this four-team tournament. The Sooners and Commodores are now on the court for warmups. Vanderbilt is the home team and wearing white, Oklahoma is in crimson. We should see the same starting lineup as Friday, but don't be surprised if Jelena Cerina gets the nod at center for OU. Cerina was sharp on offense in the post in OU's win over Liberty and ran through plays with the first team in this morning's shootaround.
2:55 p.m. -- The Sooners are back at Memorial Gym in anticipation of their game versus Vanderbilt at 4. Currently, Liberty is leading Lipscomb, 38-12, at halftime in the conosolation game. I'll remind you that Vanderbilt defeated Lipscomb, 81-39, Friday while OU won 76-45 over Liberty. In this morning's shootaround, Oklahoma focused a lot of its attention on breaking the 1-2-2 full-court press zone that Vanderbilt will run in earnest today. 10:00 a.m. -- Oklahoma is on the court for its morning shootaround. The Sooners face Vanderbilt in the championship game of the Commodores' Thanksgiving Tournament in Nashville at approximately 4 p.m. Stay tuned for more.
No. 12 Oklahoma vs. Liberty | 4 p.m. CT | Nashville, Tenn. Oklahoma will play host team Vanderbilt in the championship game tomorrow at 4 p.m. Oklahoma 76, Liberty 45 - Final. 5:58 p.m. -- The only thing left to be decided is who will win honors for most points scored, but Sherri Coale may have decided that as she sits Hook in favor of getting Harden and Campbell on the court together with Ellenberg. Brinkley notes, and most of the crowd hears, that this is Liberty's first time being outscored in the paint. OU doing so 26-10 with 12 of those on fast-break points. Griffin is the only Sooner starter to have not scored. She has just one attempt in this furiously-paced game, and is the only starter remaining on the court for the final minutes. OU will be fresh for the championship game versus Vanderbilt Saturday at 4 p.m. Williams forces Worley to foul out with just 6 points. OU has completely out-hustled Liberty in this contest and has dominated in every aspect except rebounds. The Sooners still attacking as if the game were close -- a beautiful sight to see from a group made largely of underclassmen. Oklahoma 71, Liberty 36 - 3:36 - 2nd. 5:48 p.m. -- The Sooners simply outplaying a tired Liberty team at this point. Hook up to 22 points, the third most in her career, and Ellenberg also at 22 as OU's starting guards have supplied more than 70 percent of the offense. The crowd very quiet as the game is well in hand with eight minutes to play. No one's using a radio, but they're all tuned in to Brian Brinkley's radio call, as he's the most audible person in the gym. Oklahoma 61, Liberty 31 - 7:50 - 2nd. 5:38 p.m. -- Lunsford becomes the first Liberty player to score 5 points with a free throw out of the timeout. Four others with 4 as the Flames have had to scatter thier opportunities under a tough OU defense. Liberty's Washington and Miller chunk successive airballs as the players in blue looked gassed. Missed it earlier, but its Ellenberg's 23rd consecutive game with a 3-pointer, breaking the OU record she shared previously with Nyeshia Stevenson. Ellenberg has played only one game without making at least one trey, and began her career with an OU record nine straight games making at least two 3s. Oklahoma 51, Liberty 27 - 11:58 - 2nd. 5:26 p.m. -- Liberty putting two-man pressure on the ball handler and the Sooners start with a turnover while trying to get it to Griffin under the hoop. The Sooners getting deflections on almost every Liberty possession, it is just a matter of who grasps it next as to whether its a turnover or field goal attempt; no resetting for Liberty in the hectic play unlike the first half composure. Hook nails a 3, Cerina with a power step and left-handed layup; Hook 3, Ellenberg 3 in consecutive possessions for OU. Sooners double their lead. Oklahoma 48, Liberty 24 - 15:50 - 2nd. 5:10 p.m. -- Despite getting taken on the boards, 26-17, Oklahoma has overcome the possession deficit with points off turnovers. Of its 37, OU has 18 points off turnovers. Morgan Hook with four steals and Ellenberg and Williams each with 2. Williams complimenting the lineup well as a backup to McFarland at the 4. Her only field goal attempt was a bit rushed, but I imagine that was adrenaline pumping through the arms in her first time under the spotlight. Williams had only 3 minutes in two different stints, but has a sizeably positive plus-minus for that time. 5:04 p.m. -- Kearney hits two free throws and Ellenberg gets on board with a 3. Boom goes the dynamite on the next possession. And back-to-back, Ellenberg's 3 doubles OU's lead in just one minute. Liberty stays poised, keeps going with its bread and butter by playing through the paint and its star player, center Avery Warley. After being absent for most of the first half, Ellenberg has a game-leading 12 points. Starters except for Williams in at the 4 for the final minute. Williams gets a steal and dishes to Hand at halfcourt for a layup and foul. The extra shot falls and OU leads 35-22 leading to the final possession fo the half. Williams deflects and steals at halfcourt again. Ellenberg finds room for a jumper. Worley gets a layup at the buzzer as the OU defense packs on the opposite block. Oklahoma 37, Liberty 24 - Halftime. 4:56 p.m. -- Hook's ability to run in transition, despite Sherri Coale's preseason jesting that we wouldn't see that from this year's starting point guard, has kept OU in the lead. Hand's hustle forces another one-on-one in which Hook capitalizes in this turnover-happy contest. The disjointed rhythm of this game has prevented either team from getting momentum, let alone a halfcourt game going in consecutive possessions. Thirteen of OU's first 23 points are off Liberty turnovers. Sooners with eight fast-break points. After Kearney scores on a second-chance for Liberty, Hand finally gets a 3 to fall and the Sooners jump to a 6-point lead. With Liberty free throws to come, Oklahoma 26, Liberty 18 - 3:47 - 1st.
4:45 p.m. -- OU puts on the pressure after Hook's free throw and gets the ball back immediately. Missed shot for OU, which is now 7-for-15. Still, playing excellent defense as Hand forces a turnover. Cerina misses a chip-shot layup. Off-the-ball foul on Campbell. Moving screen on Liberty on the inbounds. Very stop-and-go game at this point. Kaylon Williams enters for the first time in her collegiate career after missing games 1 and 2 with a concussion. Harden, Hook, Campbell and Cerina also on the floor. Campbell gets a layup to fall for the first true points off possession in about six minutes for OU. Oklahoma rushing through Liberty's zone and forcing out-of-control shots. Getting bailed out by Liberty's poor ball-handling. Williams showing her ability to find space and attract a pass on offense, force mistakes on defense, but looks to be in a bit of a rush during her first few minutes of court time. Oklahoma 19, Liberty 15 - 7:41 - 1st. 4:37 p.m. -- Hook the recipient of another careless pass as Liberty attempts to center the ball in its halfcourt offense. The guard gets her eighth point with free throws to come after converting another steal. Oklahoma 16, Liberty 10 - 10:50 - 1st. 4:35 p.m. -- Liberty begins the interval at the line, Reagan Miller misses both. Liberty shooting only 59 percent from the line through four games this season. Harden's fast reflexes have caused near tie-ups on the last three Liberty possessions and finally she gets one to whistle. The play leads to two missed free throws by Cerina. OU has missed four field goals since its hot start, but has held Liberty to just 2 points. Coale returns Hook and Ellenberg to the lineup after getting spelled by Campbell and Jeffcoat for two minutes. Hand takes a charge for Liberty's fifth turnover in six minutes. Careless passing by Liberty creating chances of OU, but the Sooners struggling in half-court offense. The first points in five minutes are a Hook fast-break layup. Hook gets a second-chance layup of an Ellenberg missed jumper. Oklahoma 14, Liberty 10 - 11:08 - 1st. 4:19 p.m. -- A quick start as Hook takes the tip and races to the basket for a layup and foul. She misses the FT, but McFarland grabs the board. An OU turnover leads to a few misses by Liberty and the Sooners settle in with a jumper by Ellenberg. Another steal and OU leads 6-0. OU makes its first four field goals to start the game; Liberty misses its first four. OU taking advantage of Liberty's slow start, leading 10-3 before Coale subs in Harden and Cerina for Hook and Griffin. The young point guard runs the offense well, getting a good look from Ellenberg, but the shot is missed and Liberty scores in transition. I noted the odd layout of Memorial Gym. The sound echos strangely as well, almost evacuating through the roof. At the opposite end, I can hear the calls directly across from the Liberty bench, but the crowd noise is muffled. Oklahoma 10, Liberty 5 - 15:31 remaining in 1st.
4:18 p.m. -- The clock has hit zeros and we're just a few minutes from tip-off. Memorial Gym is one of the more unique venues in college basketball. With the gym elevated on a platform surrounded by fans on a three-tier sideline and two-tier baseline, it almost feels as if an opera will breakout at any moment. Due to the sightlines, the team benches occupy the baseline nearest the scorer's table. It will make for some difficult communication as each team shoot on its far basket in the first half. 4:11 p.m. -- The Sooner Nation looms large in Nashville. A cluster of fans in Crimson and Cream are taking up four rows of Section D on the lower (slightly subterrainian) level with many others spread out throughout the arena. I ran into former Sooner wrestler and now Nashville resident Quantres Bates at lunch today and Nashville's most popular Sooner fans, members of the band Kings of Leon, are in attendance at today's game. 3:56 p.m. -- Oklahoma and Liberty are on the court with about 20 minutes left in warmup time before the second game of the day in Nashville begins. Just a few moments ago, Vanderbilt defeated Lipscomb, 81-39. The winner of OU-Liberty will play Vandy in the championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. Oklahoma will be the home team and is wearing white. Liberty is in blue. Today's officials are Gina Cross, Troy Winders and Jules Gallien.
9:51 a.m. -- The Sooners will be headed to their morning shootaround shortly. Be sure to follow the game online at SoonerSports.com.
No. 13 Oklahoma at New Mexico | 3 p.m. Central Oklahoma 58, New Mexico 56 -- Final. 4:46 p.m. -- "We have to have a stop," says Coale. The Sooners play with an 11 second difference in shot and game clock. Hand's foot on the line, but the 2 misses. The ball slides through Griffin's hands but McFarland shoves it to Hand at the free throw line. Hand converts the jumper and OU leads 58-56 with 18.6 seconds. Coale calls timeout. 4:44 p.m. -- Ellenberg fills the passing lane and steals the ball just as it passes halfcourt. She's fouled on her layup attempt. The first free throw goes in and out. The second falls through the net. Game tied, 54 seconds to play. Jayme Jackson misses a jumper and Hand takes the ball off the floor. Coale calls timeout with the ball in her half of the court and 33.9 seconds to play. 4:41 p.m. -- Lobos shooting just 25 percent in the second half and have no 3's this period. Campbell's free throw increases OU's lead to 4. OU returns to the 2-2-1 press. Torrance finds room for a jumper and shaves OU's advantage to 2. The ball bangs around in the post after a missed Hand jumper and McFarland fouls, but UNM can't convert the free throw. Durbin drives and is fouled, makes the first free throw and misses the second. Griffin gets the rebound. Campbell's 3 rims in and out. Durbin converts a 2. Campbell drives and is denied by a bad bounce again. Sanchez calls timeout with 1:16 remaining. The game will play to the final possession. New Mexico 56, Oklahoma 55. 4:36 p.m. -- A 3-second call becomes the 21st New Mexico turnover and the Lobos drop into a 2-3 zone a Hook brings the ball up the court. Hand covers the middle and adds 2 for OU. Ellenberg clobbered by an illegal screen in the backcourt and is down. It's the fourth foul on Erskine, who has 8 and 11. It's a 1-point game as the clock ticks under 5 minutes. OU slows its pace on the offensive end. Campbell cuts and is fouled under the basket while attempting a layup. The New Mexico fans clearly do not understand the crease rule that has been instituted this year as they fan the officials loudly. Campbell's free throws give OU its first lead since 3 minutes into the game. An empty possession for UNM brings Hook up the court. Coale calls for time with 3:48 on the game clock and nine second on the shot clock. Campbell will inbound the ball. A dish and cut to and from Hook and Campbell is fouled on a runner in the lane. The OU bench explodes as the ball bangs around in the rim and finally falls. A free throw to come for Campbell, who has scored the last four points for Oklahoma. Oklahoma 54, New Mexico 51 -- 3:42 left. 4:25 p.m. -- Sooners again in a 2-2-1 press for the inbounds and again force the turnover. Hand shoots and misses from 3 again, but Griffin scoops the rebound and is fouled on the floor. Hand throws in a nice feed to Hook, who gets a quick layup. The inbounds offense working great for OU today. UNM throws it away on its next possession. They are clearly getting rattled. Cerina called for a 3-second violation just before Hook's pass reaches her hands. New Mexico drawing fouls on OU's bigs as they show. Cerina has to sit with her third and Griffin gets called for the same action on the next possession. New Mexico 51, Oklahoma 46 with 7:41 remaining. 4:17 p.m. -- Ellenberg had 6 points at the half and adds 7 in just 4 1/2 second-half minutes. Torrance misses the back end of a 1-and-1. OU and New Mexico trade fouls. Ellenberg too strong on her fade away and Hook subs in for her. Coale telling Ellenberg, while she gets a breather, to feed the post. New Mexico's athletic forwards beat OU's bigs for a layup. Campbell strong to the hoop and draws a foul, and makes a free throw to help close the gap with a stopped clock. Lobos play two straight possessions with poor attention to where the Sooners are and head coach Yvonne Sanchez calls time just a few seconds before the 12-minute mark after Hook steals for a fast-break layup to close the gap to 47-44. It's Hook, Campbell, Hand, McFarland and Griffin on the floor for the short period before the media timeout. Sooners pressing 2-2-1. Griffin forces a bad pass that Hand steals and drives to the basket, but is called for an offensive foul. At the media timeout, it remains 47-44 with 11:35 to play. 4:05 p.m. -- OU ties up UNM's first two offensive possessions out of the intermission, but Hand is still misfiring from 3. Whitney has an assist in the column this half, feeding Nicole Griffin for OU's first points. Ellenberg misses the 3, but the deadball rebound is out of bounds on UNM. Hand's inbounds finds Ellenberg alone under the basket. Ellenberg steals the transition at halfcourt and is hacked on her layup but no foul is called. UNM slow to run up the court again and Ellenberg grabs another steal and turns it into 2 for the Sooners. Nikki Nelson puts back and UNM miss for 2 and then Hand drives baseline and finds Ellenberg on the perimeter for the 3. It's 44-39 New Mexico after some furious play. Torrance draws a foul on McFarland to take us to the first media timeout of the half. New Mexico 44, Oklahoma 39 -- 15:26 - 2nd. 3:56 p.m. -- At New Mexico teams must walk up, and I can't stress UP enough, a 50-yard tunnel to the locker rooms. The hike is such that the home event operations allow 16 minutes for halftime instead of the standard 15. OU is down 8 at halftime, but have played a relatively even game in the box score. The most jarring statistic is Whitney Hand's 1-of-8 shooting, though the guard has done her usual dirty work on the boards and with disrupting passing lanes on defense. Joanna McFarland leads the Sooners with 8 points and four rebounds. Aaryn Ellenberg has 6, but is 0-for-2 from beyond the arc. For New Mexico, Caroline Durbin leads with 11 points, she's 3-for-3 from 3-point range, while Jourdan Erskine has 6 points and 7 rebounds. Two minutes remain before we start the second half. 3:44 p.m. -- OU forces a turnover on the inbounds. Hand drives baseline and misses, but retrives her rebound for a quick pull-up jumper. Harden takes away the ball a second time and feeds Hand, who is blocked from behind. Another OU big lost in the defense allows back-to-back UNM 3's, and the Lobos lead by 10. UNM's Jourdan Erskine has the home town fans on their feet with a layup over Griffin for three consecutive scores. Hook finally quiets the crowd with a 3. Oklahoma with the ball can use almost the entire game clock with just 31 seconds remaining. Campbell forces a foul and hits her first free throw. OU pressing New Mexico and gets an errant pass thrown and an offensive foul as players push for the loose ball. With 7.7 seconds, Hook inbounds to Harden in the backcourt, but the Sooners can't find room to get up a shot. New Mexico 38, Oklahoma 30 at halftime. 3:37 p.m. -- The score doesn't change over the next 45 seconds as Coale's asks her team to attack the basket. On OU's possession, Harden drove in but lost the handle for OU's fifth turnover of the half. On the defensive side, New Mexico's missed shot turned into a Griffin foul while trying to tie up the rebound. 3:34 p.m. -- OU bigs playing well in defense as Cerina recovers to help block a 3 and then McFarland saves the rebound from going out of bounds. Ellenberg steals a UNM rebound and converts a reverse layup. The offense not running as smoothly, but McFarland finds room for a 3 and nails it to close the score back to 4. The Lobos running a penetrate and pitch against OU's bigs on the perimeter. New Mexico is 4-of-8 from 3-point range and stick the dagger in the Sooners each time OU gets the score within a possession. New Mexico called for an offense foul to begin the media timeout. The difference in the game thus far is simply accuarcy. The Lobos are shooting 50 percent and OU is at 35. The Lobos have 8 turnovers to the Sooners' 4 and lead rebounding by just four boards. New Mexico 31, Oklahoma 24 -- 4:44 - 1st. 3:19 p.m. -- Harden running point guard now with Hook at the 2. Ellenberg's 15-footer closes the score to 9-8 and the Lobos miss on consecutive trips down the court. Durbin gets open for her second 3 of the game and the Sooners respond with a turnover under the basket. Tough defense by OU leads to a loose ball foul on Hand. UNM's Deeva Vaughn converts both free throws to push the Lobo lead to 4. Hand forces a turnover and is fed by Hook on the transition for a layup. She misses, but is fouled by Nnaji and will return from the break to shoot a pair of free throws. Jumping through screens is the talk of the team during the timeout. Sooners are 0-for-6 from 3-point range with every shot about a half-ball long. New Mexico 16, OU 10 -- 11:08 1st. 3:14 p.m. -- Oklahoma needs to full shot clock on its first two possessions just to attempt a shot. New Mexico running the floor quickly finds offense in transition and jumps to a 5-4 lead. Ellenberg hit the back iron on two 3 attempts. Campbell does the same for a number of consecutive empty possessions for the Sooners. Hook gives the Sooners some momentum with a steal to fast-break layup, but the Lobos find space for another jumper. Ellenberg air balls an 8-footer and New Mexico turns over its transition to lead us the the first media timeout. Coale at the bench reminding her team to communicate and keep an active stance on defense. New Mexico 9, Oklahoma 6 with 14:54 remaining in the stance. 3:05 p.m. -- A moment of silence for Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna, who was a New Mexico native and played for the Lobos form 1994 to 1995, preceded the National Anthem. Referee Lisa Jones will handle the tip-off with Michael Price and Brenda Pantoja serving as the additional officials. Starting lineups are currently being announced in the arena. It will be Nicole Griffin and Jourdan Erskine in the center circle to get us started in Albuquerque. 2:40 p.m. -- OU's starters will remain the same as the season opener: Morgan Hook, Aaryn Ellenberg, Whitney Hand, Joanna McFarland and Nicole Griffin. New Mexico's starters are Nikki Nelson, Jourdain Erskine, Porche Torrance, Caroline Durbin and Chinyere Nnaji. Oklahoma's coaches are wearing orange and black ribbons and the players have black bands on their uniforms in rememberance of OSU's Kurt Budke, Miranda Serna and Olin and Paula Branstetter, who died tragically in a plane crash Thursday.
2:25 p.m. -- The Sooners are in the locker room getting final instructions before they return to the court and warm up for the 3 p.m. tip-off. Simple goals for the Sooners: keep New Mexico out of the paint and rebound. For OU, freshman forward Kaylon Williams will not play (concussion) and New Mexico's top reserve, freshman post Whitney Johnson is out for the season after sustaining an ACL tear in Monday's loss to North Texas. 12:05 p.m. -- The Sooners have completed their morning shootaround and are headed back to the hotel for a brief lunch before returning for today's game. Unfortunately, the game is not televised. Be sure to follow with one of the options linked above. In the meantime, get your fix with this terribly shot minute and a half of video I took earlier. I promise to get better as the season progresses...
10:35 a.m. -- Oklahoma is on the court at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M., for its morning shootaround. OU faces New Mexico today at 3 p.m. Central. With strength and conditioning coach Joszef Szendrei in Norman with the men's basketball team, injured co-captains Jasmine Hartman and Lyndsey Cloman are leading the Sooners through their pre-workout stretch routine.
More from Media Day Associated Press: Sooners set sights on ultimate prize
Sooners Get Started Overseas Former Sooner teammates Nyeshia Stevenson and Amanda Thompson are back on the the same side in Isreal playing for B.C. Habikaa and are scheduled to begin their season Oct. 31. Also in Israel is Danielle Robinson, with Macabi Ramat Hen, who is scheduled to begin Nov. 7 and will meet Habikaa on Nov. 14. Last, but not least, Abi Olajuwon will soon join Liaoning Hengye (Liaoning, China), a team coached by former OU men's player and women's assistant Bo Overton.
Robinson to Join U.S. National Team Training Camp Robinson will also participate in the first three of five scheduled exhibition games Team USA will play before joining Israeli Premier League team Maccabi Ramat Hen. The two-time collegiate All-American just finished her first season in the WNBA with the San Antonio Silver Stars. She was one of just two players to be voted unanimously to the all-rookie team after averaging 8.2 points and 3.9 assists. The U.S. opens training camp in Naples, Italy, Sept. 27 to begin for the exhibition tour that runs through Oct. 9. The first exhibition game is scheduled for Sept. 30.
Sooners Host ABLE at Lloyd Noble Center It was a festive introduction for the team, which will partner with ABLE this year for its year-long community service initiatives. In recent years, OU women's basketball has worked with Meals on Wheels, Food and Shelter for Friends and East Main Place. ABLE stands for Able Bodies Learning to Excel and is the acronym under which the Council for Developmental Disabilities, Inc. operates. It is a United Way agency that provides resources for individuals with mental disabilities. ABLE's programs let these men and women lead more productive lives by acquiring self-sufficient living abilities and marketable work skills, allowing for more options of lifestyle, housing and employment.
Sooners to Appear Twice on Big Monday The network announced its Big Monday schedule for women's basketball Wednesday and the Sooners will appear on it in nationally-televised contests at Baylor on Feb. 6 and hosting Connecticut on Feb. 13. OU's Pack the Place Pink Game coincides with the visit by UConn. It will be featured as part of ESPN's Play for Kay games in support of raising women's cancer awareness. Both games will tip off at approximately 8 p.m. Central.
Olajuwon Signs with Tulsa Shock Abi Olajuwon confirmed this morning that she had signed with the Tulsa Shock. She will travel back to the Sooner State from California Friday to begin workouts with the team that plays its next game Tuesday, July 26 vs. another former Sooner in Courtney Paris and the Atlanta Dream. Olajuwon was a member of the senior class that led the Sooners to back-to-back Final Fours in 2009 and 2010. The Los Angeles native averaged 10.6 points and 7.3 rebounds as a senior. Olajuwon competed for a roster spot with the Indiana Fever during training camp, but appeared in only one preseason game. She played in six games in her rookie season with the Chicago Sky.
Sooner Jr. Announced OU head women's basketball coach Sherri Coale read a story to children about fitness and nutrition, one of several that will be part of an iPhone application that was created for the program. "I love the concept," Coale said to The Oklahoman, "and I love the fact that it meets kids where they are, which is with technology," Coale said. "It sends the message we want to send and teaches the lessons we want to teach in a way that is very familiar and very appealing to kids." Read more about the launch of Sooner Jr. here: http://www.soonersports.com/soonerjr/index.html.
World Cup Viewership Will Surpass 2002 Women's Final Four
Connecticut defeated Oklahoma, 82-70, for the 2002 National Championship after the Sooners made a magical run through the tournament with a team of stars including LaNeisha Caufield, Stacey Dales, Caton Hill and Rosalind Ross. Like the U.S.-Japan World Cup matchup, the 2002 Final Four was also played on a Sunday.
Catch D-Rob and Courtney on TV This Week Despite a setback Tuesday with a third consecutive loss, Robinson and her fellow rookies make up one of the league's best corps of reserves. The speedy guard from San Jose averages 7.5 points and 4.4 assists backing up one of the league's top point guard in Becky Hammon. Robinson's assist totals are the 10th highest in the league and her assist-to-turnover ratio is fourth best among all players who average three or more per game. She also has the top free throw percentage for rookies and is sixth in rookie scoring. Robinson isn't the only Sooner legend making a name for herself this year in the professional ranks. Courtney Paris and the Atlanta Dream play early Wednesday and are back on the tube with an NBA TV broadcast Saturday at 6:30 p.m., hosting Chicago. Since being signed as a free agent on June 18 following an injury to Sancho Lyttle, Paris has performed as one of the league's top centers, ranking in the top 10 of every statistical category among other playing her position despite playing just 15 minutes per game. "Courtney Paris played outstanding for us," Atlanta head coach Marynell Meadors said. "She had 30 minutes to learn our system ... and she did a great job." Paris' efficiency per minute ranks fourth best in the league, and the Atlanta crowd seems to know as they respond with loud cheers whenever the four-time collegiate All-American is subbed into a game. Her scoring output is seventh highest among WNBA centers and her rebounding average is fifth.
Coale Completes Center for Coaching Excellence "Our goal was to introduce the coaches of women's basketball to various aspects of leadership, and provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of the importance of ethics and integrity," Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education at Columbia University, said. "I am thrilled with the success of the program. We achieved our goal." Capitalizing on the resources of Columbia University, one of the world's leading research universities, and the WBCA, The Center for Coaching Excellence provided an unparalleled, exclusive learning experience for the WBCA Board of Directors and conference captains. Utilizing collaborative and interactive learning sessions along with lectures and panel discussions featuring experts in college athletics, the CCE provides college women's basketball coaches with valuable networking opportunities with their peers and top industry leaders. "One of the greatest takeaways from the program," Coale said, "was the ability for coaches to network and build intense peer-to-peer relationships, not only with other coaches but with athletic directors and conference commissioners. "Ultimately, we're all educators entrusted with a position to do what's best for kids. There's an impetus for training coaches in the areas of the rulebook that may not be so black and white. Having awareness of what those topics are and to categorize them appropriately is very important." Dr. Cathie T. Siders, a clinical psychologist, organizational consultant and executive coach, facilitated group-learning sessions. Other sessions featured panel discussions from a wide variety of leaders from both the college athletics industry and other sectors of industry. "The men and women who coach college women's basketball are outstanding individuals," said Dr. Siders. "They are inquisitive learners and passionate about being the best leaders for the young women who play for them. The coaches that participated in our program gained valuable tools to succeed in the everyday leadership of their women's basketball programs." More on The Center for Coaching Excellence can be found at WBCA.org.
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