Huge Run Dooms Sooners' Upset Bid

Originally Published: Feb 24, 2010 9:42 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma – The OU women threatened to give Nebraska its first loss of the season, but the Cornhuskers dominated the final minutes on the way to an 80-64 victory Wednesday.

The Sooners (19-8, 9-4) held a 61-60 lead with four minutes left, but No. 3 Nebraska (26-0, 12-0) finished the game on a 20-3 run to make the final score seem much more lopsided than the game was.

The teams stayed close all night, and Oklahoma led for the majority of the first seven minutes of the game. The ‘Huskers eventually built a lead of as much as 10 in the second half, but the Sooners immediately responded with a 14-2 run to retake the advantage.

Kelsey Griffin proved to be nearly unstoppable for Nebraska. She scored 16 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 30. She also pulled down 13 rebounds. Cory Montgomery added 24 points and Lindsay Moore scored 10.

Abi Olajuwon led Oklahoma with 16 points despite playing only 25 minutes, while Danielle Robinson and Amanda Thompson added 15 points apiece.

The Sooners’ undoing was terrible outside shooting. They made only two of 13 shots from 3-point range, many of which came near the end of the game and allowed the ‘Huskers to pull away. The Sooners shot 39 percent from the floor, and Nebraska shot 43 percent.

The Sooners have played two of the top three teams in the nation in their last three games in No. 1 Connecticut and No. 3 Nebraska. In both games, OU held a lead in the second half but let the opponent pull away late.

Oklahoma will now travel for a two-game road trip beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday against Texas. The Sooners will return home for the final game of the season against rival Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. on March 7.