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Cold shooting, size disadvantage a perfect storm in loss to Texas
By Tyler Palmateer
Transcript Sports Editor
Madi Williams’ brief flurry early in the second half gave Oklahoma a little life. A blooming deficit was getting smaller.
But on a night Williams had most of the offensive firepower the Sooners could muster, it wasn’t nearly enough to stop their losing skid.
Frigid shooting and a size disadvantage against Texas were too much, and the Longhorns ran away with a 70-53 victory Tuesday at Lloyd Noble Center.
OU trailed by as many as 28 points in the second half.
Williams’ two quick scores were part of OU’s most promising run after halftime, but it was just a 6-0 spurt, and none of the Sooners were in double figures until Williams scored with 5:37 remaining in the third.
She finished with a team-high 16 points. OU shot 36 percent from the field and was 3 of 16 from 3-point range.
Couple that with Texas’ depth inside, and OU coach Sherri Coale called it “a recipe for disaster.”
“They kind of went on a little run and we just panicked and were paralyzed for a bit,” Coale said.
With 11 conference games left to build an NCAA Tournament resume, the Sooners lost their fourth consecutive game and fell to 10-10 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12.
OU leading scorer Taylor Robertson was held to 11 points and took six 3-point shots. She leads the nation in 3s made.
Gabby Gregory was 1-of-10 shooting for the Sooners and four others who played were held without a field goal, going a combined 0 of 8.
Coale is searching for ways to combat the absence of Ana Llanusa, who missed her sixth straight game with back pain.
The Sooners went with a taller starting lineup against the post-heavy Longhorns, inserting forward Nydia Lampkin for Tatum Veitenheimer.
Sophomore center Aspen Williston, who had played sparingly until last week, was in the game as early as the 5:00 mark of the second quarter to help combat Texas’ inside presence.
Freshman forward Liz Scott played the most she has all season, scoring a career-high 12 points in 17 minutes.
None of it worked.
Texas outscored OU 46-34 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 45-32. The Longhorns (14-6, 5-3) came into the game outrebounding opponents by an average of 9 boards.
“It’s hard to get to the rim when they’ve got that kind of size, so you’ve got to make some perimeter shots. So it’s hard on you offensively, obviously,” Coale said. “Defensively, trying to handle the highlow action … Then it turns into rebounds. Can you block them out? Guards didn’t do a great job blocking out either. A few tips could have gone our way if our guards had been more disciplined as well.”
It was a difficult start shooting-wise for both teams. But whatever funk Texas fought through early dissipated early in the second quarter. After a few shots inside, the Longhorns got comfortable and reeled off a 16-0 run.
Texas took a 37-23 after Joyner Holmes scored easy layups on back-to-back possessions. OU was shooting 27 percent (9 for 33) from the field and 13 percent (1 for 8) from 3-point range by that point.
The Longhorns steamrolled from there.
“As far as competing, I think we can do a little bit better,” Williams said. “We just have to get a little bit tougher as a team so that we can be able to mentally be there in the possessions we’re in with teams that are a little bit bigger and stronger than us.”
By Tyler Palmateer
Transcript Sports Editor
Madi Williams’ brief flurry early in the second half gave Oklahoma a little life. A blooming deficit was getting smaller.
But on a night Williams had most of the offensive firepower the Sooners could muster, it wasn’t nearly enough to stop their losing skid.
Frigid shooting and a size disadvantage against Texas were too much, and the Longhorns ran away with a 70-53 victory Tuesday at Lloyd Noble Center.
OU trailed by as many as 28 points in the second half.
Williams’ two quick scores were part of OU’s most promising run after halftime, but it was just a 6-0 spurt, and none of the Sooners were in double figures until Williams scored with 5:37 remaining in the third.
She finished with a team-high 16 points. OU shot 36 percent from the field and was 3 of 16 from 3-point range.
Couple that with Texas’ depth inside, and OU coach Sherri Coale called it “a recipe for disaster.”
“They kind of went on a little run and we just panicked and were paralyzed for a bit,” Coale said.
With 11 conference games left to build an NCAA Tournament resume, the Sooners lost their fourth consecutive game and fell to 10-10 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12.
OU leading scorer Taylor Robertson was held to 11 points and took six 3-point shots. She leads the nation in 3s made.
Gabby Gregory was 1-of-10 shooting for the Sooners and four others who played were held without a field goal, going a combined 0 of 8.
Coale is searching for ways to combat the absence of Ana Llanusa, who missed her sixth straight game with back pain.
The Sooners went with a taller starting lineup against the post-heavy Longhorns, inserting forward Nydia Lampkin for Tatum Veitenheimer.
Sophomore center Aspen Williston, who had played sparingly until last week, was in the game as early as the 5:00 mark of the second quarter to help combat Texas’ inside presence.
Freshman forward Liz Scott played the most she has all season, scoring a career-high 12 points in 17 minutes.
None of it worked.
Texas outscored OU 46-34 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 45-32. The Longhorns (14-6, 5-3) came into the game outrebounding opponents by an average of 9 boards.
“It’s hard to get to the rim when they’ve got that kind of size, so you’ve got to make some perimeter shots. So it’s hard on you offensively, obviously,” Coale said. “Defensively, trying to handle the highlow action … Then it turns into rebounds. Can you block them out? Guards didn’t do a great job blocking out either. A few tips could have gone our way if our guards had been more disciplined as well.”
It was a difficult start shooting-wise for both teams. But whatever funk Texas fought through early dissipated early in the second quarter. After a few shots inside, the Longhorns got comfortable and reeled off a 16-0 run.
Texas took a 37-23 after Joyner Holmes scored easy layups on back-to-back possessions. OU was shooting 27 percent (9 for 33) from the field and 13 percent (1 for 8) from 3-point range by that point.
The Longhorns steamrolled from there.
“As far as competing, I think we can do a little bit better,” Williams said. “We just have to get a little bit tougher as a team so that we can be able to mentally be there in the possessions we’re in with teams that are a little bit bigger and stronger than us.”
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