No. 3 OU Beats No. 14 South Dakota St. to Advance

Originally Published: Mar 21, 2010 10:46 PM CDT

Toby Rowland
Oklahoma Sports Anchor/Reporter

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- Sherri Coale’s 3rd-seeded Sooners opened Women’s NCAA Tournament play with a 68-57 win over 14th-seeded South Dakota State Sunday night in Norman.

Birthday girl Nyeshia Stevenson scored 15 of her 17 points in the first half as the Sooners built a 44-31 halftime lead on 53-percent shooting from the field.

The Jackrabbits zone defense then brought the OU attack to a grinding halt in the 2nd half. SDSU twice pulled within seven points in the final four minutes, but could never threaten the lead.

The Jackrabbits connected on eight three-pointers on the night, but only two in the 2nd half when trying to mount a rally.

Amanda Thompson tallied 11 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. And fellow senior Abi Olajuwon added 15 points in victory.

The Jackrabbits were led by Kristin Rotert’s 13 points.

The Sooners advance to play 11th-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in Round Two Tuesday night at 8:30pm inside the Lloyd Noble Center.