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No. 1 OU women’s gymnastics (6-0-1) defeated No. 4 Alabama (3-2-0) 198.200-197.450 on Friday.

The reigning national champions extended their winning streak to six meets and won their fourth straight Southeastern Conference meet. OU scored at 49.525 or higher on each rotation.

Here are three takeaways from Friday’s meet:

Bar improvements 

OU had five scores higher than 9.900 on bars, a contrast from last meet where the highest score was a 9.900. 

Sophomore Lily Pederson was the first to stick the landing after her routine and scored a 9.925, just .025 under her career high. Freshman Ella Murphy followed with a clean routine that ended in a 9.925. Freshman Mackenzie Estep also had a clean routine and ended the bars rotation with a 9.925, making the overall score a 49.575. 

Beam execution helps maintain lead

OU faced minor inconsistencies on beam but made up for them to keep the lead going into the last rotation of the night. 

Estep was crooked on her acro sequence but stayed on the beam, making her final score fall to a 9.775. Despite this, OU still finished with 49.525 on the rotation, with the highest score coming from senior Faith Torrez at 9.975.  

Lily Pederson leads the way

Pederson had a stellar night with two season-high scores on bars and beam. 

Pederson, a two-time winning NCAA All-American, is known for her consistent performances and high all-around record of 39.575 as a freshman. She has since continued with her practice and has consistently scored well, with each routine Friday scoring 0.025 points away from her career high. 

Next, OU will face Arizona, Arkansas and Texas Woman’s University at 2:15 p.m. on Sunday at the Fort Worth Convention Center on MSO Live TV.

This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.

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