In the first quarter, in Friday night's 90-83 win over Western Kentucky, the Sooners were playing sloppy, turning the ball over and missing open shots.
It was a low scoring game early in the first quarter, both teams were struggling to hit the bottom of the net. Sophomore guard and two year starter, Shaina Pellington was getting double teamed and could not get anything going.
That changed when freshman guard Taylor Robertson entered the game, as she would hit two three-point shots, which in turn helped free up Pellington, and she would go on and hit a three of her own followed by an and-1 drive into the lane.
The threat of having a three-point marksman freed up a lot of players and kept opposing defense on their heels making the offense dangerous.
"It multiplies Shaina Pellington," coach Sherri Coale said. "Because suddenly if you're going to help on her drive, that is what you're giving up. Shaina is from Canada and Taylor is from somewhere in the middle of Kansas. They would have never run into each other had they not come to the University of Oklahoma. They might be the best thing to happen to each other."
Pellington finished with 33 points hitting 10-of-24 field goals including 3-of-9 from three.
Pellington along with sophomore guard Ana Llanusa came into the season as the most experienced players on a team featuring plenty of freshmen, and she knows how to set the example being a freshman just last year.
"One of the things we worked on this preseason was learning how to lead," Pellington said. "We just want to be better than last year, we want to make sure the freshmen coming in are comfortable and are not scared so we really took it upon ourselves to help them. I called myself an upperclassman last year too, I had the same responsibilities and anybody can lead no matter if you're a freshman or a senior."
Everytime Robertson was in the game, Oklahoma played better, not just on offense but on defense too, forcing turnovers. She broke the school record for most three-pointers in a game connecting on 8-of-14 from behind the arc.
"She's so ready because she knows who she is as a basketball player," Coale said. "That skill comes from many hours of repetition. When she has room she is going to shoot it. She knows that we all believe in her."
The freshmen are going to be a key part moving forward in the season for the Sooners. Along with Robertson, freshman forward Madi Williams had a huge presence in the game as she recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds shooting 7-of-10 from the field.
"I think that I had to do my job," Williams said. "It's my first game today, and we had our exhibition game earlier this week and I didn't play too well and so I was just thinking to myself I have to have a better game for my teammates."
