Four Sooners scored in double figures and the Oklahoma basketball women stormed back from a 12-point second-half deficit to post a 97-93 Beldam win over Oklahoma State at Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday night.
The win by the Lady Sooners gave the Oklahoma basketball program a split of a Saturday doubleheader at Lloyd Noble Center. The OU men played Baylor earlier on the same floor, but came up just short, falling 62-60 to the 21st-ranked Bears.
The OU women jumped out in front early against the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State, holding OSU to 29-percent shooting and taking a 19-15 lead into the second quarter. A 12-1 OSU run to close out the first half, however, sent the Sooners to the locker room trailing by eight, 48-40. The Cowgirls widened the advantage to 12 points at the beginning of the third quarter, but that’s when the Sooners kicked it into a higher gear.
Madi Williams scored 13 of her game high-tying 26 points in the third quarter. She triggered a 15-5 Oklahoma run that cut the deficit to two points, but Oklahoma State held off the Sooner charge to take a 72-68 lead into the final frame.
A 13-5 run by Oklahoma over a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter allowed the Sooners to overtake their in-state rivals and regain the lead. It was a back-and-forth battle from there, but clutch free throws by Taylor Robertson and Nevaeh Tot in the final minute allowed OU to hold on for a four-point win.
Ana Llanusa had 17 points and Robertson 15 for Oklahoma.
The 15th-ranked Oklahoma women improved their season record to 16-2 and 6-1 in the Big 12. Oklahoma State drops to 13-6 and 3-4 in the conference. These same two teams meet again in Stillwater in the regular-season finale on March 4.
The Lady Sooners have another rivalry matchup straight ahead on the schedule. Oklahoma plays at Texas on Wednesday in the first of two regular-season Red River Showdowns.
Three takeaways from the Bedlam win over Oklahoma State
- Taylor Robertson’s chase for the NCAA career record for made three-pointers is now minus-three and counting. She made two of her four three-point attempts against Oklahoma State and now sits at 495 made threes for her career. The NCAA record is 497 by Kelsey Mitchell of Ohio State.
- Oklahoma State turned 13 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points.
- The crowd of 9,580 at Lloyd Noble Center was the largest at an Oklahoma women’s basketball game since a Bedlam battle in 2013. There were 8,808 at the men’s game earlier in the day.