Sooners Crush Creighton Behind Suffocating Defense

Oklahoma scored the first 10 points in three minutes and the No. 18 Sooners never let up in an 80-52 defeat of Creighton on Sunday afternoon.

The Sooners (5-2), coming off a loss to unranked UCLA, built leads of as many as 35 points behind the shooting of Sharane Campbell, who was 10-for-14 from the field for a career-high 25 points.

"I think we passed the defensive test today and that was really the objective," OU coach Sherri Coale said. "Obviously, rebounding was a huge point of emphasis as well. We did some good things and got some people coming back in the groove, maybe, in terms of being on the floor longer and keeping some lineups together for a bit without all the crazy foul stuff called."

Aaryn Ellenberg added 13 points and 10 rebounds, Nicole Griffin 17 points and nine boards.

Marissa Janning, with 18 points, was the only player to reach double figures for the Bluejays (4-3). Janning scored all her points on 3-point baskets -- she was 6 of 13 from behind the arc, matching a career high.

"I think you always find out a lot about your team when you play a Jim Flanery coached squad," Coale said. "He just does a really, really good job with his kids and does things that are hard to guard. Playing him is why we love to play them in our pre-conference schedule. They really test you."

Creighton lobbed 41 3-pointers, hitting just 11 and was an icy 21 percent field-goal shooting. The Bluejays were whistled for 25 fouls and Oklahoma scored 20 points at the line in 30 attempts.

"We knew we weren't going to score a lot in the paint, so our philosophy when we play teams that have size like Griffin and (Kaylon) Williams is to get their bigs away from the basket," Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. "Marissa got hot early, but then she cooled down and nobody else made shots until the last five minutes of the first half, so she was our only offense for the first 17 minutes."

Oklahoma faces Western Illinois Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. before hosting No. 2 Duke Sunday, Dec. 8.