The Sooners headed to their locker rooms down 23 points at halftime.
The first half was a mess on both sides of the ball. The third quarter came and Oklahoma looked like a completely different team.
The Sooners had a 19-2 run in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 10 nearing the end of the quarter. The 2,682 in attendance at the arena erupted when freshman forward Madi Williams scored inside the paint as the clock expired.
As the fourth quarter started, the eight point DePaul lead never looked so small. Oklahoma was able to score on its first possession in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead down to six.
From there, the Sooners could not capitalize as the Blue Demons responded every possession, putting Oklahoma away.
"We came back in the fourth quarter and had a terrific comeback," coach Sherri Coale said. "The third quarter you can see where our capabilities are. We just have to be able to finish."
The 19-2 run was sparked by freshman guard Taylor Robertson who scored inside the paint and on the next possession hit a three-point shot to get the crowd going. DePaul did a good job of containing Robertson throughout the first half but struggled in the third quarter.
With Robertson getting open shots, it also freed up sophomore guard Shaina Pellington as she was able to feed off of Robertson's energy.
"She was guarded the exact same way against Central Arkansas," Coale said of Robertson. "We expect that to be the norm. We have to be better screeners and she's got to do a better job of moving without the basketball. She had a pretty amazing point total based on the way she was guarded tonight. If she could do that then that's fine, we love that."
Robertson ended the game with going 3-of-4 from behind the arc and 5-of-7 from the field overall with 19 points.
Oklahoma struggled rebounding the ball, giving up 16 offensive rebounds which in turn led DePaul to more field goal attempts. The Blue Demons attempted 77 field goals compared to Sooners' 58 attempts.
"We gave up a bunch of offensive rebounds," Coale said. "Seemed like there were a couple possessions there where we had the momentum and we got them to miss and we just couldn't come up with the rebound."
Freshman guard Madi Williams had to do all the dirty work inside, but came up with only seven total rebounds. The Blue Demons did a good job of blocking her and sophomore forward Mandy Simpson out.
"They boxed out really well," Williams said. "I'm working on moving, trying to get out of the box out. We just have to work on that more."
Oklahoma will host No. 1 Connecticut Wednesday, Dec. 19th at 7:30 p.m.
