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TCU clamps down Oklahoma offense to halt winning streak
By Tyler Palmateer
Transcript Sports Editor
By the time Gabby Gregory’s long-range shot sailed well past the rim in the final seconds, Sunday’s game had gotten away from Oklahoma.
TCU surged 82-63 past the Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center, spoiling OU coach Sherri Coale’s chance at her 500th win and snapping the Sooners’ three-game win streak.
Cold offense was the key component. OU shot 27 percent in the second half.
Taylor Robertson, who was coming off a careerhigh 31 points at West Virginia, scored 16 total as TCU held the nation’s top shooter to 3 of 12 from the 3-point line.
Coale’s offense leans heavily on those shots, and no other Sooner made any from deep. In a last-ditch effort to come back, OU missed all seven 3-point
tries in the fourth quarter and shot 1 of 12 from the field.
“Second half, we couldn’t make a basket,” Coale said. “Layup, three, it didn’t matter. I don’t know when we’ve ever been 0 for 10 from three in a second half. So that’s it. You’ve got to able to score when you’re trying to come back, and they built that lead in the third quarter.”
Gregory scored 15 points, while Mandy Simpson and Madi Williams each added 12. For the first time in three games the Sooners (10-7, 3-2 Big 12) couldn’t overcome the absence of Ana Llanusa, who hasn’t played since Jan. 8 due to a back injury.
On Jan. 11 after beating Iowa State, Coale said Llanusa could have played but was held out for precautionary reasons. OU won three in a row without her 16.9 points per game.
The junior guard was sorely missed during a cold stretch against the Horned Frogs (13-3, 4-1). She spent the entire game lying on an inflatable medical ball for back purposes.
“It’s just something that takes time, with backs, and it’s just literally day-to-day,” Coale said. “You guys think we’re doing coach speak, but we’re not. It’s just day-today.”
OU let a small halftime deficit turn into a 12-point TCU lead, when the Horned Frogs reeled off a 12-0 run in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
The Sooners had connected on just three 3-pointers by that point, with Robertson going 3-of-8 from long range. Coale and Robertson agreed TCU’s length played a factor.
“It was very difficult,” Robertson said. “I probably could have done a better job of trying to move without the boy help myself out and get open. But still, TCU did a really good job. They were switching their screens and just always knew where I was.”
Later in the third, OU closed the gap after Simpson hit back-to-back buckets, cutting the margin to 51-45 at the 5:41 mark. But it didn’t last long.
TCU surged ahead by 12 points, then later 14 near the end of the third quarter with OU unable to keep up in the track meet.
Horned Frogs’ leading scorer Lauren Heard wasn’t the problem for OU’s defense. The Sooners let Kianna Ray (18), Jayde Woods (18) and Adeola Akomalafe (16) loose for a combined 52 points.
“I probably should have changed defenses earlier than I did, just because they got in such a great rhythm and then we went a couple of possessions of zone and seemed to break the rhythm,” Coale said. “We were just really worried about blocking out of [the zone], but that’s that’s something I probably should have done to help our guys a little bit more.”
By Tyler Palmateer
Transcript Sports Editor
By the time Gabby Gregory’s long-range shot sailed well past the rim in the final seconds, Sunday’s game had gotten away from Oklahoma.
TCU surged 82-63 past the Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center, spoiling OU coach Sherri Coale’s chance at her 500th win and snapping the Sooners’ three-game win streak.
Cold offense was the key component. OU shot 27 percent in the second half.
Taylor Robertson, who was coming off a careerhigh 31 points at West Virginia, scored 16 total as TCU held the nation’s top shooter to 3 of 12 from the 3-point line.
Coale’s offense leans heavily on those shots, and no other Sooner made any from deep. In a last-ditch effort to come back, OU missed all seven 3-point
tries in the fourth quarter and shot 1 of 12 from the field.
“Second half, we couldn’t make a basket,” Coale said. “Layup, three, it didn’t matter. I don’t know when we’ve ever been 0 for 10 from three in a second half. So that’s it. You’ve got to able to score when you’re trying to come back, and they built that lead in the third quarter.”
Gregory scored 15 points, while Mandy Simpson and Madi Williams each added 12. For the first time in three games the Sooners (10-7, 3-2 Big 12) couldn’t overcome the absence of Ana Llanusa, who hasn’t played since Jan. 8 due to a back injury.
On Jan. 11 after beating Iowa State, Coale said Llanusa could have played but was held out for precautionary reasons. OU won three in a row without her 16.9 points per game.
The junior guard was sorely missed during a cold stretch against the Horned Frogs (13-3, 4-1). She spent the entire game lying on an inflatable medical ball for back purposes.
“It’s just something that takes time, with backs, and it’s just literally day-to-day,” Coale said. “You guys think we’re doing coach speak, but we’re not. It’s just day-today.”
OU let a small halftime deficit turn into a 12-point TCU lead, when the Horned Frogs reeled off a 12-0 run in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
The Sooners had connected on just three 3-pointers by that point, with Robertson going 3-of-8 from long range. Coale and Robertson agreed TCU’s length played a factor.
“It was very difficult,” Robertson said. “I probably could have done a better job of trying to move without the boy help myself out and get open. But still, TCU did a really good job. They were switching their screens and just always knew where I was.”
Later in the third, OU closed the gap after Simpson hit back-to-back buckets, cutting the margin to 51-45 at the 5:41 mark. But it didn’t last long.
TCU surged ahead by 12 points, then later 14 near the end of the third quarter with OU unable to keep up in the track meet.
Horned Frogs’ leading scorer Lauren Heard wasn’t the problem for OU’s defense. The Sooners let Kianna Ray (18), Jayde Woods (18) and Adeola Akomalafe (16) loose for a combined 52 points.
“I probably should have changed defenses earlier than I did, just because they got in such a great rhythm and then we went a couple of possessions of zone and seemed to break the rhythm,” Coale said. “We were just really worried about blocking out of [the zone], but that’s that’s something I probably should have done to help our guys a little bit more.”
