Following Saturday’s five-point victory over Oklahoma State, the OU women’s basketball claimed its 24th victory in 25 Bedlam games against OSU at Gallegher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.

In fact, the last time the Cowgirls beat the Sooners was in 2008, when Andrea Riley scored a career-high 45 points to upset then-No. 6 OU.

That win broke the Cowgirls' 17-game losing streak against the Sooners.

But the Sooners continued their winning ways, collecting their seventh straight Bedlam win, courtesy of great resilience from the starting five, clean defensive plays down the stretch and senior guard Danielle Robinson’s second-half offensive performance.

Credit the starters for doing what they do best: finding ways to win. The Sooners trailed at the half, 42-38, a position OU has found itself in multiple times this season.

But that didn’t stop the Sooners’ fire power from beyond the perimeter or their sticky, in-your-face defense.

And why not add four fouls to the mix.

Foul trouble became a problem for the Sooners in the second half, when at the 13:17 mark, sophomore center Joanna McFarland was the first Sooner to collect her fourth foul and found herself sitting on the bench.

And it didn’t stop until every starter but freshman guard Aaryn Ellenberg had four fouls with time left in the second half. Ellenberg stayed out of the group with just three fouls.

But the Sooners continued to double-team every Cowgirl possession in the paint, an approach that forced multiple, much-needed turnovers.

And Robinson was golden this time from the foul line. After missing an important 1-an-1 opportunity that could have changed the outcome in the loss to Texas A&M last week, Robinson finished the Bedlam game, going a perfect 10-for10 in free throws in the second half.

Robinson’s four free throws with less than a minute left in the game were, without a doubt, the difference in this Sooner victory. If she had missed one, and if the Cowgirls might have been able to convert on their own courtesy line late in the game, and OU may not be returning to Norman with smiles on their faces.

But Robinson, being the All-American starter that OU looks for time and time again, got the job done when it counted. And that’s the kind of resiliency this team is going to continue to need as the postseason approaches.

NOTES

3-pointers key factor in Bedlam game

The Cowgirls were last in the Big 12 Conference in 3-pointers going into Saturday’s game. And with a lack of post presence, OU depends on the 3-pointer to spread out the suffocating defenses.

But in a matchup like Bedlam, those stats don’t matter to either team, and they weren’t indicative of what happened Saturday afternoon in Stillwater.

OU shot 50 percent from 3-point land, draining 12-of-24 in a game where the Sooners were trying to play catch-up. Four different Sooners made two or more 3s during the game.

Just after the 12 minute mark in the second half, senior forward Carlee Roethlisberger drained consecutive 3-pointers between taking a charge by OSU’s Tiffany Bias on the defensive end of the court. Roethlisberger finished the game going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

The 3s gave OU the win, but it was the Cowgirls' performance from behind the arc that kept OSU step-for-step with the Sooners.

The Cowgirls were 7-for-13 before finishing the game with four missed opportunities from long-distance.

OSU forward Lindsey Keller was a perfect 2-for-2, and guard Jenni Bryan was 2-for-3 for the Cowgirls. The team finished shooting 41 percent from the 3-point line, but OSU couldn’t keep the perimeter shots firing, ending the game 0-for-4 in 3-point shots.

Robinson re-writing record book

Senior guard Danielle Robinson collected her 281 career steals against the Cowgirls, moving her into second place on OU’s all-time career steals list. LaNeisha Caufield (1999-2002), a member of the Sooners’ first Final Four team, leads the category with 402.

Robinson also moved into third place on OU’s all-time career double-figure scoring list after recording her 105th game with the 20 points scored. Robinson is just three games shy of tying second-place holder, also Caufield, who has 108 career games in double figures. Former Sooner Courtney Paris holds both the OU and NCAA record with 134.