OU ROMPS FLORIDA GULF COAST
A stellar performance by Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers led the No. 3 seed Sooners to an 81-58 win over No. 14 seed Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Sooners improved to 26-7 overall, FGC finished the season at 30-4.
This was the second consecutive year OU has beaten Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the tournament. They did so last year by the score of 73-70.
Beers had 25 points and 18 rebounds, to lead all scorers. At 6’4” Beers was the tallest player on the court, as FGC doesn’t have anyone listed over 5’9.” The Sooners outrebounded the Eagles, 72-35. The 72 total rebounds set an NCAA Women’s Tournament record.
Others scoring double-digits for OU were Skylar Vann with 24 points and Payton Verhulst who added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Eagles were led by Dolly Cairns who scored 15 points. Emani Jefferson, who was in foul trouble most of the game, added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Oklahoma led 55-48 after three quarters of play, then the Sooners outscored the Eagles 26-10 in the final quarter.
No. 3 seed Oklahoma advanced to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament, by defeating No. 6 seed Iowa 96-62 on Monday.
OSU LOSES TO SDSU IN FIRST ROUND
South Dakota State, a 10th seed, continued its streak of dominance on the basketball court beating No. 7 seed Oklahoma State, 74-68, on Saturday, in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
SDSU is now 30-3 overall and dominated the Summit League with an undefeated record of 16-0, beating ORU in the conference championship game, 84-68. OSU finishes the year 25-7 overall.
Brooklyn Meyer led the Jackrabbits with 19 points and eight rebounds. Paige Meyer scored 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Madison Mathiowetz scored all 15 of her points in the second half, to lead SDSU’s comeback. Haleigh Timmer added 11 points.
Stailee Heard had 20 points and Anna Gret Asi had 16 points for Oklahoma State.
OSU took its first double-digit lead with 7:38 left in the third quarter. Then the Jackrabbits went on a 17-7 run, and SDSU led 44-43 with 2:57 left in the quarter.
South Dakota State advanced to face UConn in the second round.
TULSA LOSES TO LINDENWOOD IN WNIT
Lindenwood used a 16-0 run, early in the first half, to power past Tulsa, 76-60 in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, Thursday evening in St. Charles, Mo.
With the win, Lindenwood improved to 22-10 and will face XX in the second round. Tulsa’s season ends with an overall record of 17-15. The Golden Hurricane is now 5-8 in postseason play and 2-5 in the WNIT. This was Lindenwood’s first win over Tulsa, but TU holds the series lead at 2-1.
Tulsa jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but the Lions quickly responded with a 16-0 scoring run. Lindenwood maintained the lead for the rest of the game, and the Lions led by as many as 26 points late in the second half.
Lindenwood outshot Tulsa from the field, 43.5 percent to 35.2 percent. Tulsa made only 5-of-27 shots from beyond the arc (18.5 percent) while Lindenwood shot 42.9 percent (9-21) from three-point range. TU also gave up 18 turnovers on the night, five more than the Lions.
Four Tulsa players scored in double-digits with Kristol Ayson and Paige Bradley leading the way with 13 points apiece. Mady Cartwright had 12 and Jade Clack added 11. Hadley Periman logged team-highs of nine rebounds and two blocks.
Five Lindenwood players were in double-digits scoring with Brooke Coffey leading the way with 13 points.
“I’m just really grateful for this team and the opportunity to compete here in the postseason,” said Tulsa head coach Angie Nelp. “It meant so much to our players to continue our journey together. You have these opportunities to learn and grow, and I feel that there was a lot of growth with a day like today.”
ORU LOSES IN FIRST ROUND OF WBIT
The Golden Eagles’ season ended with a 107-76 loss at Missouri State in the first round of the WBIT.
Jalei Oglesby led the ORU offense, scoring 18 points on 7-13 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds. Oglesby, a redshirt junior, reached the 1,000-point mark in an ORU uniform, becoming the third Golden Eagle this season to reach the milestone.
Others scoring in double-digits for the Golden Eagles were Makyra Tramble, who added 14 points, while Taleyah Jones had 12 and Emily Robinson finished with 10.
ORU got off to a slow start as the Bears began the game with a 9-0 run. Missouri State had a 25-point lead at halftime, 28-53.
The Bears went on another scoring run (10-0) to open the second half, extending their lead to 35 points.
Missouri State was led by Lacy Stokes with 20 points on 8-13 shooting. She was close to a triple-double, recording 10 assists and seven rebounds. Five other players finished in double-digits for the Bears.