Photo by Michelle Gray

Sooner forward Ashley Paris struggles for the ball with multiple Creighton defenders during OU's 69-49 win Wednesday, Dec. 3. Michelle Gray/The Daily

All-America center Courtney Paris needed a late surge to record her 99th straight double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds, and No. 6 Oklahoma overcame a lethargic effort to beat Creighton 69-49 Wednesday night.

Sooners coach Sherri Coale benched her starters after a sluggish start, and then made another wholesale change when the second group didn't provide enough energy either.

Finally, a lineup of three starters and two third-stringers reeled off 12 straight points to take a 19-12 lead.

That still wasn't enough to help the Sooners recover from a 28-point loss at top-ranked Connecticut in their last game.

Chevelle Herring scored 16 points and Megan Neuvirth added 15 points to lead Creighton, which stuck around until the Sooners put the game away with a late 12-0 surge.

The Sooners (5-2) forced it in to Paris during that run, giving her one chance after another to extend a double-double streak that will be 3 years old when Oklahoma visits Arkansas State on Sunday.

The crowd got into her pursuit as she missed four free throws that would have helped give her the 10 points she needed, and let out a loud cheer when she sped downcourt at top speed and scored inside with 1:51 left for her final points.

That's exactly the kind of effort that was missing early on for the Sooners.

Only Carolyn Winchester, who's still recovering from a broken toe, didn't get into the game while Coale was seeking the right combination in the first 7 minutes.

Lauren Willis, a sophomore who'd never scored in a college game, played a career-high 10 minutes in the first half after she and point guard Rose Hammond were a part of the unit that finally provided a bit of a spark.

The Bluejays got back within one before Oklahoma finished the first half with an 11-0 run to go up 38-26, and were still within nine after Herring's 3-pointer made cut the deficit to 53-44.

Ashley Paris, Courtney's twin sister, added 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double of her own. Carlee Roethlisberger scored 10 points off the bench and point guard Danielle Robinson had 10 assists.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.