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Completely outsized, Sooners push Longhorns to the end
By Clay Horning
Senior Sports Columnist
First time down the court, fourth quarter, Wednesday night inside Lloyd Noble Center, the Sooners worked hard to get the ball to an open Taylor Robertson in the right corner.
Rimmed out.
Second time down the court, fourth quarter, Wednesday night inside Lloyd Noble Center, the Sooners worked hard to find Gabby Gregory for an almost identical chance in the left corner, the only difference being Gregory had an extra beat to gather and get the shot off comfortably.
Rimmed out.
Had both gone, OU would have led by two points the moment Madi Williams finally broke the fourth-quarter ice with a left-side mid-range jumper on Oklahoma’s third possession of the frame.
The Sooners would have had every chance to beat a good Texas team despite being severely shorthanded and severely undersized, playing most of the game with five players, none of them taller than 6 feet and all of them dwarfed by 6-5 Texas center Charli Collier.
Thus, a miracle in the making instead became a valiant defeat, 69-58, courtesy of OU’s Red River rival.
No smoke nor mirrors could be seen, yet how the Sooners were able to play the Longhorns so close for so long was a bit of a wonder.
In Collier, Texas had a weapon OU couldn’t hope to defend and and didn’t, the opposing center finishing with a game-high 32 points on 14 of 18 shooting and a game-high 15 rebounds.
“We don’t really have a way to limit somebody like Charli Collier,” Sooner coach Sherri Coale said.
An indictment of OU’s limitations, had Collier grabbed no rebounds, the Sooners still would have been beaten on the boards. With Collier, the Longhorns won the rebounding battle 42 to 19, grabbing one less offensive rebound (18) than OU grabbed rebounds, period.
Those numbers made the idea of a Sooner victory appear impossible and yet OU actually led 41-40 after beginning the third quarter with a Madi Williams layup and a Taylor Robertson 3-pointer.
Robertson hit 4 of 11 from long distance and finished with 14 points.
Her final 3-pointer brought OU within 63-57 with 58 seconds remaining, but after letting most of the fourth quarter get away — “We just ran out of gas,” Coale said — OU had no more answers.
It could have used a few more at different points in the game.
“There were a couple of pretty good looks around the rim, especially in the first half,” Coale said. “They’re not as obvious because you’re not clawing back or teetering late in the game … but I [noticed] several of those moments in the first half when we had just really great looks around the rim and didn’t finish.”
Williams led OU with 17 points, making 8 of 14 shots. Gabby Gregory shot well early, but not late and finished with 11 points on 3 of 12 shooting.
Tatum Veitenheimer, whose steal and assist to point guard Neveah Tot to close the first half, bringing OU within four points, finished with eight points and four steals, total.
But for that brief third-quarter moment the Sooners eked out an edge, they were playing from behind.
Texas scored the game’s first eight points and pushed its advantage to 11 twice in the second quarter before OU (6-8, 3-6 Big 12) rallied to get back into the game.
After OU took its one-point edge, Texas (13-4, 6-3) ran off seven straight points and briefly pushed its third-quarter lead to eight.
The Longhorns entered the fourth quarter leading 53-49. The Sooners could never make it a one-possession game.
A tough loss, but it could have been much worse.
“Regardless of the odds,” Coale said, saluting her players, “they’re showing up and they’re excited about the opportunity.”
OU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: POSTGAME NOTEPAD
Need to know
Mandy Simpson returned to the court for Oklahoma, bringing the Sooners to full strength. However, full strength still means that coach Sherri Coale only has seven players available.
Though the roster lists nine, OU’s pregame notes explained that forward Liz Scott will miss the remainder of the season due to an undisclosed injury and that forward Heavenly Greer will miss the remainder of the season due to academic ineligibility.
Through three quarters Wednesday, neither of OU’s bench players — Simpson, Skylar Vann — played more than two minutes and by the time it was over, though Simpson played the entire fourth quarter, Gabby Gregory (40), Taylor Robertson (39), Madi Williams (37) and Tatum Veitenheimer (36) had each played more minutes than every Longhorn but 6-5 center Charli Collier, who also went the full 40.
Notable
• Size kills: As it happens, the two players OU has lost for the season, Scott and Greer, are also its tallest players, Scott at 6-2 and Greer at 6-3. Simpson’s next at 6-1 and her return will help, but OU figures to have a terrible time limiting any other team’s inside presence and it did again on Wednesday.
Against Texas, it was Collier with 32 points and 15 rebounds. Three days earlier, though OU beat Kansas State in Manhattan, Wildcat center Ayoka Lee finished with 37 points and 18 rebounds.
It’s one thing to give up big nights to opposing centers, but allowing career nights is something else, entirely.
• Good attitudes: If Coale said it once after the game, she said it several times. She really likes her team, really likes its fight, grit and effort.
“You don’t have a right to play the hand you think you should have been dealt,” Coale said. “You have a responsibility to play the hand you have and
that’s what these guys are doing … We’re just trying to get better every day and relishing the opportunity to play the game we love and compete.”
Next
Now 6-8 overall and 3-6 against Big 12 competition following Wednesdays 69-58 loss to Texas, the Sooners are at Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Cowgirls, who dropped the Sooners 66-53 in Norman on Dec. 15, are 13-5 overall and 9-3 in the conference. — Clay Horning
By Clay Horning
Senior Sports Columnist
First time down the court, fourth quarter, Wednesday night inside Lloyd Noble Center, the Sooners worked hard to get the ball to an open Taylor Robertson in the right corner.
Rimmed out.
Second time down the court, fourth quarter, Wednesday night inside Lloyd Noble Center, the Sooners worked hard to find Gabby Gregory for an almost identical chance in the left corner, the only difference being Gregory had an extra beat to gather and get the shot off comfortably.
Rimmed out.
Had both gone, OU would have led by two points the moment Madi Williams finally broke the fourth-quarter ice with a left-side mid-range jumper on Oklahoma’s third possession of the frame.
The Sooners would have had every chance to beat a good Texas team despite being severely shorthanded and severely undersized, playing most of the game with five players, none of them taller than 6 feet and all of them dwarfed by 6-5 Texas center Charli Collier.
Thus, a miracle in the making instead became a valiant defeat, 69-58, courtesy of OU’s Red River rival.
No smoke nor mirrors could be seen, yet how the Sooners were able to play the Longhorns so close for so long was a bit of a wonder.
In Collier, Texas had a weapon OU couldn’t hope to defend and and didn’t, the opposing center finishing with a game-high 32 points on 14 of 18 shooting and a game-high 15 rebounds.
“We don’t really have a way to limit somebody like Charli Collier,” Sooner coach Sherri Coale said.
An indictment of OU’s limitations, had Collier grabbed no rebounds, the Sooners still would have been beaten on the boards. With Collier, the Longhorns won the rebounding battle 42 to 19, grabbing one less offensive rebound (18) than OU grabbed rebounds, period.
Those numbers made the idea of a Sooner victory appear impossible and yet OU actually led 41-40 after beginning the third quarter with a Madi Williams layup and a Taylor Robertson 3-pointer.
Robertson hit 4 of 11 from long distance and finished with 14 points.
Her final 3-pointer brought OU within 63-57 with 58 seconds remaining, but after letting most of the fourth quarter get away — “We just ran out of gas,” Coale said — OU had no more answers.
It could have used a few more at different points in the game.
“There were a couple of pretty good looks around the rim, especially in the first half,” Coale said. “They’re not as obvious because you’re not clawing back or teetering late in the game … but I [noticed] several of those moments in the first half when we had just really great looks around the rim and didn’t finish.”
Williams led OU with 17 points, making 8 of 14 shots. Gabby Gregory shot well early, but not late and finished with 11 points on 3 of 12 shooting.
Tatum Veitenheimer, whose steal and assist to point guard Neveah Tot to close the first half, bringing OU within four points, finished with eight points and four steals, total.
But for that brief third-quarter moment the Sooners eked out an edge, they were playing from behind.
Texas scored the game’s first eight points and pushed its advantage to 11 twice in the second quarter before OU (6-8, 3-6 Big 12) rallied to get back into the game.
After OU took its one-point edge, Texas (13-4, 6-3) ran off seven straight points and briefly pushed its third-quarter lead to eight.
The Longhorns entered the fourth quarter leading 53-49. The Sooners could never make it a one-possession game.
A tough loss, but it could have been much worse.
“Regardless of the odds,” Coale said, saluting her players, “they’re showing up and they’re excited about the opportunity.”
OU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: POSTGAME NOTEPAD
Need to know
Mandy Simpson returned to the court for Oklahoma, bringing the Sooners to full strength. However, full strength still means that coach Sherri Coale only has seven players available.
Though the roster lists nine, OU’s pregame notes explained that forward Liz Scott will miss the remainder of the season due to an undisclosed injury and that forward Heavenly Greer will miss the remainder of the season due to academic ineligibility.
Through three quarters Wednesday, neither of OU’s bench players — Simpson, Skylar Vann — played more than two minutes and by the time it was over, though Simpson played the entire fourth quarter, Gabby Gregory (40), Taylor Robertson (39), Madi Williams (37) and Tatum Veitenheimer (36) had each played more minutes than every Longhorn but 6-5 center Charli Collier, who also went the full 40.
Notable
• Size kills: As it happens, the two players OU has lost for the season, Scott and Greer, are also its tallest players, Scott at 6-2 and Greer at 6-3. Simpson’s next at 6-1 and her return will help, but OU figures to have a terrible time limiting any other team’s inside presence and it did again on Wednesday.
Against Texas, it was Collier with 32 points and 15 rebounds. Three days earlier, though OU beat Kansas State in Manhattan, Wildcat center Ayoka Lee finished with 37 points and 18 rebounds.
It’s one thing to give up big nights to opposing centers, but allowing career nights is something else, entirely.
• Good attitudes: If Coale said it once after the game, she said it several times. She really likes her team, really likes its fight, grit and effort.
“You don’t have a right to play the hand you think you should have been dealt,” Coale said. “You have a responsibility to play the hand you have and
that’s what these guys are doing … We’re just trying to get better every day and relishing the opportunity to play the game we love and compete.”
Next
Now 6-8 overall and 3-6 against Big 12 competition following Wednesdays 69-58 loss to Texas, the Sooners are at Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Cowgirls, who dropped the Sooners 66-53 in Norman on Dec. 15, are 13-5 overall and 9-3 in the conference. — Clay Horning
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