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OU’s furious finish can’t begin to make up for poor first quarter
Clay Horning
CNHI Sports Oklahoma @ClayHorning
For most of three quarters, the Oklahoma women played with, competed with and were even a little better than eighth-ranked Texas.
Yet, because the Sooners couldn’t hit water from a boat in the opening minutes nor the second quarter, or defend from the tip until the first quarter was complete, their Red River rival Longhorns won without serious threat, 88-78, Thursday night at Lloyd Noble Center.
OU may have closed with its best and hardest basketball of the season, outscoring Texas 31-26 in the fourth quarter and 17-10 over the last 5 minutes.
Also, after cutting the Longhorn lead to 21-13 with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter on a 3-pointer from Ana Llanusa, the Sooners were not again within eight points until 38 seconds remained, when a Llanusa layup made it 84-76.
It was never close.
“Texas has a really good basketball team and they played really hard tonight,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “We were really affected by their speed and athleticism.”
OU shot progressively better throughout, and finished at respectable 47.5 percent (29 of 61). However, horrid 3-point shooting — 3 of 17 — and inaccuracy from the free-throw line — 17 of 28 — conspired to keep Texas from feeling much pressure.
The Longhorns shot 51.5 percent (34 of 66), also struggled from 3-point land, making 4 of 16, and hit 16 of 21 from the freethrow line. Mostly, it was about how it began.
“I think the difference was that we were fighting [late in the game],” Sooner graduate guard Maddie Manning said. “We weren’t taken back by anything they were trying to do. We were trying to bring things to them and that’s the way you have to start a game. Especially us, we have to take the fight from the beginning.”
Texas’ athletic size — the Longhorns started Audrey-Ann Caron-Godreau and Jatarie White inside, both 6-foot-4 — made OU center Vionise Pierre-Louis, who finished with six points and five rebounds before fouling out, a non-factor.
Additionally, the Sooners could not spring their best 3-point shooter, Gabbi Ortiz, for good looks.
She finished with eight points and attempted only one from beyond the arc, an air ball from the left side she hoisted to beat the shot clock in the first half.
The Sooners wound up being led by back-up guard Shaina Pellington, who finished with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting, all in the second half. Yet even that, given her 2 of 8 free-throw inaccuracy, was not what it might have been.
Llanusa and Maddie Manning both finished with 15 points and LaNesia Williams added eight, all in the third quarter.
Texas got a career-high 25 points from guard Lashann Higgs, 15 from guard Ariel Atkins, 12 from point guard Brooke Mc-Carty and 11 from White.
“I was very pleased with our execution of our game plan,” Texas coach Karen Aston said. “Our focus was really good and I just thought we were terrific in the beginning.”
That fast start allowed the Longhorns to win their first game in Norman since 2010.
Coale, whose team outscored Texas by seven points after the half, blamed herself for the opening.
“There were a lot of good things that happened,” she said, but I have to do a better job of getting our team ready. You can’t come out and start games the way we started this game.
The Sooners will try to get it right beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday, when they take the floor at Iowa State.
Clay Horning
CNHI Sports Oklahoma @ClayHorning
For most of three quarters, the Oklahoma women played with, competed with and were even a little better than eighth-ranked Texas.
Yet, because the Sooners couldn’t hit water from a boat in the opening minutes nor the second quarter, or defend from the tip until the first quarter was complete, their Red River rival Longhorns won without serious threat, 88-78, Thursday night at Lloyd Noble Center.
OU may have closed with its best and hardest basketball of the season, outscoring Texas 31-26 in the fourth quarter and 17-10 over the last 5 minutes.
Also, after cutting the Longhorn lead to 21-13 with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter on a 3-pointer from Ana Llanusa, the Sooners were not again within eight points until 38 seconds remained, when a Llanusa layup made it 84-76.
It was never close.
“Texas has a really good basketball team and they played really hard tonight,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “We were really affected by their speed and athleticism.”
OU shot progressively better throughout, and finished at respectable 47.5 percent (29 of 61). However, horrid 3-point shooting — 3 of 17 — and inaccuracy from the free-throw line — 17 of 28 — conspired to keep Texas from feeling much pressure.
The Longhorns shot 51.5 percent (34 of 66), also struggled from 3-point land, making 4 of 16, and hit 16 of 21 from the freethrow line. Mostly, it was about how it began.
“I think the difference was that we were fighting [late in the game],” Sooner graduate guard Maddie Manning said. “We weren’t taken back by anything they were trying to do. We were trying to bring things to them and that’s the way you have to start a game. Especially us, we have to take the fight from the beginning.”
Texas’ athletic size — the Longhorns started Audrey-Ann Caron-Godreau and Jatarie White inside, both 6-foot-4 — made OU center Vionise Pierre-Louis, who finished with six points and five rebounds before fouling out, a non-factor.
Additionally, the Sooners could not spring their best 3-point shooter, Gabbi Ortiz, for good looks.
She finished with eight points and attempted only one from beyond the arc, an air ball from the left side she hoisted to beat the shot clock in the first half.
The Sooners wound up being led by back-up guard Shaina Pellington, who finished with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting, all in the second half. Yet even that, given her 2 of 8 free-throw inaccuracy, was not what it might have been.
Llanusa and Maddie Manning both finished with 15 points and LaNesia Williams added eight, all in the third quarter.
Texas got a career-high 25 points from guard Lashann Higgs, 15 from guard Ariel Atkins, 12 from point guard Brooke Mc-Carty and 11 from White.
“I was very pleased with our execution of our game plan,” Texas coach Karen Aston said. “Our focus was really good and I just thought we were terrific in the beginning.”
That fast start allowed the Longhorns to win their first game in Norman since 2010.
Coale, whose team outscored Texas by seven points after the half, blamed herself for the opening.
“There were a lot of good things that happened,” she said, but I have to do a better job of getting our team ready. You can’t come out and start games the way we started this game.
The Sooners will try to get it right beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday, when they take the floor at Iowa State.
