Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma basketball: Lady Sooners going strong as one of Big 12 biggest surprises

By Chip Rouse

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 08: A Referee holds a Nike Basketball during the second half of a game between the Florida Gators and the Dayton Flyers at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on December 08, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 08: A Referee holds a Nike Basketball during the second half of a game between the Florida Gators and the Dayton Flyers at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on December 08, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /
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While the Sooner men continue to claw and scratch their way through the rugged Big 12 schedule, the women’s Oklahoma basketball squad is drawing attention in a co-leader at the top of the conference standings.

The Lady Sooners, ranked No. 12 this week in the Associated Press poll, head across the Red River this weekend, visiting No. 16 Texas in a women’s Red River hoops showdown. Just a couple of weeks ago, OU edged the then-No. 9 Lady Longhorns 65-63 in Norman on a game-winning shot by Liz Scott with 4.1 seconds remaining in the game.

The OU women (20-3, 9-2) are tied with Iowa State for the conference lead with seven regular-season games remaining before the Big 12 Tournament.

The Sooners have won five games against ranked teams this season, including a season sweep of the 10th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears. Oklahoma has won eight of its last nine game, although the last three wins have only been by a combined five points, including a two-point double-overtime win last weekend at home against West Virginia.

Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in scoring and ranks second nationally, averaging 86.2 points a game. Two of the Big 12’s top five scorers this season are Sooners. Both Madi Williams and Taylor Robertson are averaging 18 points a game, and Robertson is the league’s best three-point shooter, firing at a 47-percent success rate.

While the Lady Sooners have been moving up in the national rankings in both the AP and Coaches Polls in recent weeks, they are still in want of some more respect in the NCAA NET rankings, where they sit 27th in the latest rankings.

Picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll, Oklahoma is playing excellently in its first season under new head coach Jennie Baranczyk. The Sooners are perhaps the biggest surprise in the Big 12 this season, along with Kansas, which is alone in the fourth spot currently in the conference standings after being picked to finish last.

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