OU kicked off the regular season Friday night at Lloyd Noble Center in a lopsided 108-66 win over the Mercer Bears.

Senior forward Amanda Thompson kicked things off for the Sooners at the free throw line, but Mercer did not allow the Sooners to run away with the first half.

The first field goal for the Sooners, besides the early free throws, was Nyeshia Stevenson driving to the basket for two over Norman graduate and Mercer center Lacey Ramon.

Most of OU’s early offense came from shots in the paint because OU struggled from behind the three-point line. O-U started out 0-6 from behind the arc.

The defense also faltered, something head coach Sherri Coale said was one of the major problems in the first half.

Sophomore guard Whitney Hand did not find the bottom of the net until midway through the first half on a jump shot.

Mercer even took the lead for a short period to go up 16-15, and began trading baskets and free throws with the Sooners.

OU struggled early on with turnovers, eight in the first half, and second chances under the basket.

“My two point guards combined for nine (turnovers)…that’s unacceptable,” Coale said.

The team could not put together a rhythm to pull themselves out of the slump until the waning moments of the half.

“We were just overlooking the simple pass and the simple plays,” junior guard Daniell Robinson said.

With five minutes left OU found the separation they were looking for. OU began tightening around the basket to pull down rebounds, creating space for jump shots and Whitney Hand finally knocked down a three with 4:51 left in the half.

“It was like swimming out of a swamp,” Coale said.

Senior center Abi Olajuwon stepped up in the first half to put up 12 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners.

The Sooners finished the first half shooting 46 percent from the field and outscored Mercer in the paint 28-8.

OU extended its double-digit lead going into half time with a score of 52-39.

Robinson drained the first bucket of the second half for OU and the Sooners picked up where they left off in the first half. OU went on a 14-4 run to kick things off.

The only sore on the Sooner stat sheet during this OU run was Olajuwon who picked up her third and fourth foul sending her to the bench for an extended period of time.

OU kept the fast pace throughout the first half and quickly unraveled the Mercer defense finding open shots and open lanes to the basket.

OU extended the lead to 20, 30 and almost forty just before the midway point even hit. The Sooners surpassed 100 points with just over five minutes left in the contest.

With Olajuwon on the bench, Sooner freshman Joanna McFarland and Lyndsey Cloman saw extended playing time in the second half. The two rookies combined for…

OU’s shooters hit their stride in the second half. Junior guard Danielle Robinson finished with 17 points and four assists. Hand added 16 points of her own and pulled down six rebounds along with five assists.

Coale said OU found discipline and rhythm in the second half.

Thompson also shined, just short of the double-double, with 17 points and nine rebounds.

“I thought she was really instrumental in our pace change, in the second half in particular,” Coale said.

The OU bench added 32 to the Sooners lopsided win, led by junior forward Carlee Roethlisberger with nine.

With the 108-66 win, OU heads to Georgia Sunday to battle with the No. 21 Bulldogs in what will be the Sooners’ first real test this season.

“How you finish off one game always seeps into how you begin the next one,” Coale said.

Tip-off for Sunday’s game is at 1:30 p.m.