No. 15 Oklahoma (21-4, 11-3 Big 12) defeated Texas Tech (16-10, 4-9) 84-57 in Norman on Wednesday.
The victory moved the Sooners to first place in the Big 12 along with No. 17 Texas (20-7, 11-3 Big 12), whom the Sooners play host to on Feb. 25.
Junior Aubrey Joens led the Sooners with 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting with 11 rebounds. Senior Liz Scott added 13 points and grabbed four boards of her own.
Madi Williams tallied 12 points, five rebounds and two steals.
OU dominated from 3-point range, shooting 44% compared to Texas Tech’s 16%. The Sooners’ 22 fouls sent the Lady Raiders to the free throw line 23 times, while OU saw just eight attempts.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ victory:
Sooners ride fast start
OU started hot Wednesday.
It began with Scott driving to the basket and converting an up-and-under layup on the opening possession, continued with consecutive 3-pointers from Llanusa and was capped with back-to-back layups from Scott. Just like that, before much of the crowd at Lloyd Noble Center could settle in, the Sooners held a 12-0 lead at the 7:27 mark of the first quarter.
OU faltered in the coming minutes, conceding a 10-2 run in which it shot just 1 for 8 after opening the game 5 of 6. Joens put the Sooners back on track with three consecutive 3-pointers to extend the lead to 26-13 entering the second quarter.
THREE IN A ROW. CHEF IS COOKIN 🍴#Sooners x @AubreyJoens pic.twitter.com/pquqamA10p
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) February 16, 2023
Ball movement proves advantageous for Sooners
OU flaunted its NCAA-best 21.3 assists per game in Wednesday’s contest, but did so from an unlikely source.
Freshman center Beatrice Culliton led the Sooners in assists with 10, despite her season average of 1.0 ranking ninth on the team. Senior guard Kennady Tucker followed Culliton with five and was one of seven Sooners to tally multiple assists.
The Sooners dished 27 assists to Texas Tech’s seven.
OU honors cancer survivors during Play4Kay game
Wednesday’s matchup marked the annual Pink Game for the Sooners.
While this year’s contest failed to match the thrill of last season’s 101-99 overtime victory over West Virginia, the Sooners nonetheless picked up a victory for the second consecutive year in the Play4Kay game.
OU gifted flowers to five cancer survivors as well as announcing them in team introductions. Additionally, OU conducted a Survivor & Fighter walk, where a multitude of survivors walked around the court at halftime and were met by a standing ovation from the crowd at Lloyd Noble Center.
#Sooners honoring cancer survivors with a walk around the court, met with a standing ovation from the crowd, at halftime. pic.twitter.com/cKPYMSuKAN
— Louis Raser (@LouisRaser) February 16, 2023
Next, OU will face Kansas at 2 p.m. on Feb. 19 in Lawrence.
This story was edited by Austin Curtright and Colton Sulley.
