Oklahoma basketball: No. 2 Sooners survive close call to move to Big 12 semifinals
By Chip Rouse
One Oklahoma basketball team is still alive, but just barely, and will play in the semifinals of the Big 12 Women’s Tournament on Saturday.
Playing without their top scorer, the Sooners slipped by No. 10 seed TCU 77-76 on Friday night in Kansas City, Missouri, thanks to a last-second lay-in by junior Skylar Vann with 2.2 seconds to go. The Horned Frogs had taken an 76-75 lead with five seconds remaining on a basket by TCU’s Lucy Ibeh, who led all scorers in the game with 24 points.
The No. 2-seeded Sooners got off to a sluggish start with leading scorer Madi Williams out with an injury. TCU built a 10-point advantage in the early going, but OU battled back to within three, 26-23 after one quarter.
Oklahoma held the Horned Frogs to just eight points and 21-percent shooting in the second quarter, opening up a 39-34 lead at the break. OU widened the margin to 11 points in the third quarter, but TCU, winner of just one Big 12 game in 18 tries this season, refused to fold.
TCU, which lost twice to the Sooners during the regular season, both times by greater than 20 points, fought back from a nine-point deficit midway through the final quarter to keep the contest close down to the wire.
Vann finished with 21 points for the Sooners, matching her career high set just one week ago against Kansas State. Taylor Robertson contributed 17 points, including five of six from three-point range.
The Sooners (25-5) advance to Saturday’s semifinals where they will face Iowa State, the No. 3 seed. The two teams split the regular-season series with each team winning on its home court. Iowa State earned its spot in in semifinals of the Big 12 Women’s Tournament with a 74-63 win over Baylor.
Oklahoma is 42-30 all-time against Iowa State but is just 3-4 when playing the Lady Cyclones on a neutral floor.
The winner of Saturday’s game will move on to the championship game on Sunday against the winner of the other semifinal matchup between top-seeded Texas and No, 4 Oklahoma State. The Sooners are seeking a fifth Big 12 Tournament championship and the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA Women’s Tournament.
The tip-off for the OU-Iowa State game at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium is 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be available on ESPN+.