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OU women's basketball routs Oklahoma State in final regular-season Bedlam in Big 12
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- OU women's basketball routs Oklahoma State in final regular-season Bedlam in Big 12
NORMAN — If you go basket by basket through OU's third-quarter run that turned the game firmly in the Sooners ' favor, you won't see Sahara Williams ' name next to any of those points.
But it'd be pure foolishness to assume the freshman forward wasn't as critical as anyone when 23rd-ranked OU began to pull away for its 91-56 win over Oklahoma State in the season's final edition of Bedlam women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Lloyd Noble Center.
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Williams had a career-high 20 points, scoring 10 straight Sooner points right before the game-turning 10-0 run that helped OU take full command.
"Sahara has a presence," OU coach Jennie Baranczyk said. "When she's in that space, she elevates everybody. Not a lot of people have that strong of a presence, but she definitely has one."
OU's Sahara Williams (32) celebrates a 3-point basket next to OSU's Hannah Gusters (21) in the second half Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.
Williams did a bit of everything for the Sooners (20-7, 14-2 Big 12), hitting eight of 16 field goals, including both 3-pointers she attempted, to go with seven rebounds. And though she's just 5-foot-11, she held her own when asked to defend OSU's powerful 6-foot-5 center, Hannah Gusters .
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"She just takes everybody with her," OU senior Skylar Vann said of Williams. "I think she does a really good job of leading the team in a different way that is very positive.
"Her driving, her shooting tonight — she's super-talented."
The victory moved OU one win away from clinching at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title for the second straight year, heading into Wednesday's home finale against Texas , set for a 6 p.m. tip.
The Cowgirls (13-14, 6-10) got 14 points from Gusters and 12 from Anna Gret Asi, but managed just 21 second-half points, hitting eight of 27 field goals and none of the three 3-pointers they attempted in the final 20 minutes.
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Here are three takeaways from the OU victory:
More: Bedlam women's basketball: Who are top Cowgirls, Sooners from series in Big 12 era?
Oklahoma head women's basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk celebrates during the women's Bedlam basketball game between the Oklahoma State Cowgirls and the Oklahoma Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024.
Third-quarter run propels Sooners
The Sooners built a seven-point lead by the end of the first quarter, and it was eight at the half. Even after Williams' wild run scoring 10 straight OU points to start the third quarter, the lead still sat at just nine.
But that's when the Sooners finally landed the big blow.
A layup and two free throws by Vann started a 10-0 run that spanned just over two minutes and put OU on top 63-44.
"I think it was really important to stay steady," said Vann, who had 17 points. "OSU is a really good team, so they're gonna have their runs and we're gonna have ours. Really, it was just being connected and being confident in our plays and what we were doing.
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"We knew we were gonna figure it out, one way or another."
After a layup by Gusters with 7:09 left in the third quarter, OSU trailed 53-44, but was outscored 19-4 over the remainder of the period.
More: Big 12 Women's Basketball Power Rankings: Oklahoma, Texas chase title in closing weeks
Oklahoma's Payton Verhulst (12) dives for a ball in front of Oklahoma State 's Anna Gret Asi (4) during the women's Bedlam basketball game between the Oklahoma State Cowgirls and the Oklahoma Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024.
Cowgirls come up short on board
When she spoke to the media after the game, OSU coach Jacie Hoyt pointed first to the nearly 2-to-1 rebounding discrepancy as a primary reason that the game got out of hand.
And it showed most when OSU was missing shots. OSU had just four offensive rebounds and OU had a 21-1 edge in second-chance points.
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Continuing to battle healthy issues and only playing seven players, the Cowgirls seemed to get worn down by OU's fast-paced offense.
"Everything about today's game came down to the fact that we got outrebounded 55-30," Hoyt said. "You're not gonna win any basketball game like that. I thought we were definitely not the tougher team.
"We don't have the firepower or the depth to play at their pace for 40 minutes if we're not gonna rebound and give ourselves opportunities."
Lior Garzon and Praise Egharevba led the Cowgirls with five rebounds apiece. The Sooners 13 from Payton Verhulst — who also had 14 points and five assists — and 11 from Vann.
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More: Best of Bedlam men's basketball in Big 12 era: Top OU, OSU players, games
The last Bedlam?
If the Bedlam women's basketball rivalry dies after this year, Baranczyk will never know what it's like to lose to Oklahoma State .
The OU women defended their home floor for a third straight regular-season sweep of the series, improving Baranczyk's record to 6-0 against the Cowgirls in her first three Sooner seasons.
And the game had a unique Bedlam twist as well, with Sooner guard Lexy Keys being honored shortly after the final buzzer with a game ball to signify her 1,000th career point.
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After scoring two Saturday, Keys has 1,015 career points in her four years of college, with 789 coming in her three years at OSU.
"I guess it's a little bit strange," Keys said when asked how it feels to play against her former team. "But I have a really awesome team here. Really great friends, really great teammates, coaches that have my back. So going into it, they gave me confidence, so that's all that mattered."
While the men's basketball coaches at both schools have been more vocal about their desire to continue Bedlam as a non-conference game after OU leaves for the Southeastern Conference this summer, the women's coaches have deferred to leadership to decide the future of their rivalry.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's basketball routs OSU in final Big 12 regular-season Bedlam
