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Sooner women's basketball handles Fresno State at home
by   |  November 22, 2010  |  

The No. 11 Sooners (3-0) took care of business Monday night in a 84-66 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs (3-2).

Senior guard Danielle Robinson, preseason AP All-America first team selection, led the Sooners in scoring for the third straight game with 17 points and dished out eight assists.

“When (Robinson) starts a game as aggressively as she did tonight, that sort of shocks a defense,” OU coach Sherri Coale said.

Fresno State, winners of three consecutive WAC championships, was voted the preseason favorite to win its conference, but by the first timeout, it was evident the Bulldogs had no answer for OU.

Robinson’s early 11 points sparked the Sooners to go up 18-4 after six minutes, forcing an early timeout by the Bulldogs.

“I knew she was a good player,” Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said about the San Jose, Calif., native. “Trust me — I called her a bunch of times, and she never answered.”

The Sooner offense was rolling, but fouls were the Sooners' weak statistic in the first half with 10 team fouls.

The Sooners finished the half 47-26, with nearly half of their offense coming from beyond the arc.

OU was more than comfortable behind the 3-point line, knocking down 7-of-9 threes, shooting 77.8 percent for the half.

The Sooners were efficient from the rest of the field as well, shooting 67.9 percent and ballooning the lead to 24.

Defensively OU really adhered to the game plan, and produced a really solid first half, Coale said.

Coming out of the locker room, Fresno State still had no solution for the Sooner threat from the outside.

OU pushed the lead to 30, 62-32, in the opening minutes, and the Sooners maintained this sizable edge for most of the half.

In the second half, Coale pulled Robinson midway through and made active use of the bench, with senior guard Lauren Willis leading the Sooner reserves with 11 points in the contest.

“The thing about Lauren is she’s incredibly confident, and she never gets her head down, and she plays within her ability,” Coale said. “That makes her worth her weight and then some.”

OU’s production in the final minutes slipped a bit, allowing to Fresno State pull within 20.

“I thought the first 10 minutes of the second half were really good, then recess ensued,” Coale said.

But despite the Sooners' sloppy play, the lead was too much of a hill for the Bulldogs.

While the OU offense was not as productive in the second half — scoring only 37 points — the Sooners finished the game shooting 55 percent.

Freshman guard Aaryn Ellenberg finished the game with 15 points and two steals.

Sophomore center Joanna McFarland had 13 of the Sooners' 39 rebounds.

“When everybody’s hitting, it is just fun to play on all cylinders,” McFarland said.

Next up on the Sooner schedule is the Basketball Travelers Invitational in Norman over Thanksgiving Break.

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