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OU pieces together dominant performance in win over New Mexico
Gabbi Ortiz was well guarded, then glanced for open teammates with no luck. She twisted her face as though she would handle matters herself.
And she did.
Ortiz drilled a 3-pointer over a defender’s outstretched hand midway through the third quarter, right in front of head coach Sherri Coale, who shook her head and chuckled.
It was that kind of Saturday afternoon.
Freshman guard Ana Llanusa erupted for a career-high 27 points and Ortiz poured in 25 during Oklahoma’s dominant 105-63 victory over previously unbeaten New Mexico at Lloyd Noble Center.
The Sooners (5-5) pushed their losing record into the past for now and have won back-to-back games after suffering through four straight losses.
This one felt different from last week’s five-point upset over then-No. 16 South Florida. Everything went right, and the outcome was never in doubt.
It was arguably OU’s best team performance this season.
“I just think we’re getting better,” Coale said. “I thought we were better last week than the week before, and we’re better this week than we were last week. That’s kind of the charge: what’s next?”
Senior center Vionise Pierre-Louis scored 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting with 13 rebounds, and guard Maddie Manning added 14 points and seven boards.
OU shot 47 percent from the field and used a backbreaking early run to take out the Lobos (11-1), who were missing starting center Jaisa Nunn due to concussion protocol.
The Sooners made six treys in the first quarter and outscored the Lobos 34-3 over an 8-minute, 10-second stretch through the first and second quarter, seizing a 44-12 lead with seven minutes until halftime. OU scored 19 straight points at one point.
Llanusa looked comfortable as ever in the lineup and was heavily utilized in just her third collegiate start, leading the team in shots (22), minutes (35) and took 16 3-pointers — a Lloyd Noble Center record.
She made grabbed seven rebounds, went 5 of 6 from the foul line and has set a career high in back-toback games. “I think it was just the game plan,” Llanusa said. “That was to draw two (defenders) and kick to the open player. That’s what my teammates did and I was able to knock those shots down.”
She was also a handful in transition. OU had full control in the third quarter when Llanusa hummed in transition and drew a defender near the basket, before flipping a behindthe- back pass to Shaina Pellington for an easy layup.
Ortiz said Llanusa’s demeanor set her up perfectly for the past two games, which have signaled her breakout.
“She’s just an overall happy person. She comes in the room smiling,” Ortiz said. “I told her, last game I saw that from her. She just had fun. That’s what I wanted from her again this game and she did that.”
New Mexico (11-1) didn’t experience much fun. The Lobos shot 27 percent from the field, with leading scorer Cherise Benyon going 2 of 12 from the floor.
There were plenty of grins from the OU bench, and certainly more than there had been in recent weeks. Coale insists the answer to this turnaround isn’t too entertaining.
“The answer is we kept showing up,” she said, “and kept being about the work.”
Gabbi Ortiz was well guarded, then glanced for open teammates with no luck. She twisted her face as though she would handle matters herself.
And she did.
Ortiz drilled a 3-pointer over a defender’s outstretched hand midway through the third quarter, right in front of head coach Sherri Coale, who shook her head and chuckled.
It was that kind of Saturday afternoon.
Freshman guard Ana Llanusa erupted for a career-high 27 points and Ortiz poured in 25 during Oklahoma’s dominant 105-63 victory over previously unbeaten New Mexico at Lloyd Noble Center.
The Sooners (5-5) pushed their losing record into the past for now and have won back-to-back games after suffering through four straight losses.
This one felt different from last week’s five-point upset over then-No. 16 South Florida. Everything went right, and the outcome was never in doubt.
It was arguably OU’s best team performance this season.
“I just think we’re getting better,” Coale said. “I thought we were better last week than the week before, and we’re better this week than we were last week. That’s kind of the charge: what’s next?”
Senior center Vionise Pierre-Louis scored 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting with 13 rebounds, and guard Maddie Manning added 14 points and seven boards.
OU shot 47 percent from the field and used a backbreaking early run to take out the Lobos (11-1), who were missing starting center Jaisa Nunn due to concussion protocol.
The Sooners made six treys in the first quarter and outscored the Lobos 34-3 over an 8-minute, 10-second stretch through the first and second quarter, seizing a 44-12 lead with seven minutes until halftime. OU scored 19 straight points at one point.
Llanusa looked comfortable as ever in the lineup and was heavily utilized in just her third collegiate start, leading the team in shots (22), minutes (35) and took 16 3-pointers — a Lloyd Noble Center record.
She made grabbed seven rebounds, went 5 of 6 from the foul line and has set a career high in back-toback games. “I think it was just the game plan,” Llanusa said. “That was to draw two (defenders) and kick to the open player. That’s what my teammates did and I was able to knock those shots down.”
She was also a handful in transition. OU had full control in the third quarter when Llanusa hummed in transition and drew a defender near the basket, before flipping a behindthe- back pass to Shaina Pellington for an easy layup.
Ortiz said Llanusa’s demeanor set her up perfectly for the past two games, which have signaled her breakout.
“She’s just an overall happy person. She comes in the room smiling,” Ortiz said. “I told her, last game I saw that from her. She just had fun. That’s what I wanted from her again this game and she did that.”
New Mexico (11-1) didn’t experience much fun. The Lobos shot 27 percent from the field, with leading scorer Cherise Benyon going 2 of 12 from the floor.
There were plenty of grins from the OU bench, and certainly more than there had been in recent weeks. Coale insists the answer to this turnaround isn’t too entertaining.
“The answer is we kept showing up,” she said, “and kept being about the work.”