OU Advances to Elite Eight after Winning Overtime Thriller

Originally Published: Mar 28, 2010 8:16 PM CDT

Oklahoma Sports Staff and Wire Reports

KANSAS CITY -- The Oklahoma Sooners advanced to the Elite Eight after edging out the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in overtime Sunday, 77-72.

The rematch was vaguely reminiscent of the 2008 game between the two teams, in which Notre Dame beat out Oklahoma in the second round of the tournament.

The Sooners could have ended the game in regulation, had Danielle Robinson not slipped 30 feet from the basket, losing possession. Instead, the two teams headed to overtime to battle it out.

Nyeshia Stevenson hit a clutch shot from three-point range, leaving just 4.4 seconds on the clock in overtime.

“I was thinking it was going in,” Thompson said. “I had my feet set, my mind was right. I had my hands ready, and I just knew Jaz would put the ball in the right place for me.”

The Irish threw up a desperation shot, but it was too little, too late. The rebound was quickly grabbed by Stevenson, who was fouled. She hit both free throws to seal the Notre Dame's fate.

Stevenson finished Sunday’s game with 21 points, while senior Abi Olajuwon earned a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

The Fighting Irish was led by Melissa Lechlitner, who recorded 22 points, and Lindsay Schrader, who finished with 19. The team’s loss marked the fourth-straight regional semifinal, dating back to 2001.

For much of the second half, the Sooners seemed poised to pull away and even led by six with 2:46 left, but the Fighting Irish rallied, forcing overtime with a pair of tough shots.

Lechlitner converted a tough three-point play through traffic to pull Notre Dame to within 64-63. Freshman Skylar Diggins -- who struggled with her shot all night -- then threw up a shot from three-point range that bounced around the rim before falling in, tying it at 66-all with 32 seconds left in regulation.

Notre Dame forced a tie-up after Robinson's slip, which came with just 0.1 seconds left in the game.

Jasmine Hartman drilled a late 3 from the wing -- Oklahoma's fourth in six tries to that point -- to help put the Sooners ahead 36-32 at the break. Notre Dame tied it up at 38-all early in the second half, but Stevenson and Hartman drilled back-to-back 3s, and Olajuwon's short jumper gave Oklahoma a 46-38 lead with 14:14 left.

The Irish responded, reeling off a 12-3 run to jump back ahead 50-49. Robinson, who finished with 15 points, answered with a pair of tough layups, converting a 3-point play on one of them, to put the Sooners back on top 56-50 with just under eight minutes left.

Stevenson was 5-of-8 from 3-point range and Oklahoma shot 50 percent from beyond the arc. The Sooners entered play shooting just over 30 percent on 3s.

Diggins, who had 31 points against the Vermont Catamounts, shot just 4-of-14 from the floor, though she had six steals.

The Sooners’ appearance in the Elite Eight is the program’s second-consecutive trip to round four of the NCAA Tournament.