OU Women Take Down Baylor in Overtime

Originally Published: Feb 10, 2010 9:42 PM CDT

Recap | Box Score

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- In a game that went from a dud to a thriller, the Oklahoma women came away with a 62-60 victory in overtime over Baylor Wednesday.

After taking a 12-point lead into halftime, the Sooners (17-6, 7-3) missed 13 consecutive shots and allowed Baylor (17-6, 4-5) to retake the lead midway through the second half. The teams continued to go back and forth for the rest of the half until Baylor’s Kelli Griffin missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer to send the teams into overtime.

The Sooners and Bears remained close in the extra period, and both teams’ intensity skyrocketed. Amanda Thompson was particularly dominant on the defensive end. With the teams tied at 60, she forced turnovers on three consecutive possessions with one blocked shot and two steals.

Thompson’s blocked shot set up an OU possession that ended with Nyeshia Stevenson slicing through the lane and hitting a go-ahead shot. Kelli Griffin then missed her second buzzer-beater of the game to seal the Sooners’ victory.

The exhilarating finish came after the game started with anemic offense. Neither team seemed able to get any consistency going as the game began, and both went through long scoring droughts. More than 12 minutes into the game, the two teams combined to score just 19 points. Later in the half, they had combined to shoot 11-of-52.

Baylor took its first lead at 13-12, but the Sooners responded by finally catching fire. Thompson hit a 3-pointer – her first of three on the night – to give the lead back to OU and spark a 15-2 run to finish the half. The Sooners went into the locker room with a 27-15 lead thanks to 19 percent shooting by the Bears.

After no Baylor starter scored more than two points in the first half, the Bears’ Brittney Griner took over after halftime. The 6-foot-8 Griner dominated on both ends of the floor, scoring 15 points after halftime and finishing with 12 rebounds and 11 blocks. Her performance was the catalyst for Baylor’s second-half run that eliminated OU’s big lead.

Abi Olajuwon helped contain Griner on defense before fouling out late in overtime, but Amanda Thompson was the emotional leader for the Sooners for the majority of the game. Thompson finished with 19 points, 19 rebounds and five steals. Olajuwon and Thompson combined to pull down 15 offensive rebounds, allowing the Sooners to score 15 second-chance points.

Thompson’s 19 points tied Danielle Robinson for the team lead, and Nyeshia Stevenson added 12. Olajuwon finished with eight points and 14 rebounds, and the Sooners as a team outrebounded the Bears 58-41.

The Sooners have now won three of their last four games and split the season series with Baylor, which came into Wednesday’s game ranked No. 11 in the nation. OU will try to keep its success going at 2 p.m. Saturday against Colorado.