Ana Llanusa – Syndication Server

Sooners season comes to an end in 82-73 loss to UCLA in Women’s NCAA tournament

The Sooners needed a big third quarter to get back in the game, but UCLA pulled away late in Oklahoma’s 82-73 loss in the Women’s NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma got out of the blocks slowly for the late-night tip and the UCLA Bruins took advantage. UCLA led by seven after the first quarter and by 13 at halftime.

Oklahoma used a strong third quarter, where they outscored the Bruins 26-12 to take a one-point lead into the fourth.

Though it was a tight ball game, the Sooners never regained the lead after the Bruins went up 55-54. Oklahoma answered every UCLA basket with one of their own to keep it a one-score ball game. But as the game wore on, UCLA began to pull away.

With 2:53 left in the game, the Sooners trailed by five and that’s as close as they’d get the rest of the contest. UCLA pulled away in the final minutes as the Sooners couldn’t keep up.

For the second straight season, the Sooners bow out of the Women’s NCAA tournament in the second round. In this one, the Bruins found a way to take Taylor Robertson out of the game.

In her final game as a Sooner, Robertson was held to 1 of 4 shooting and 0-for-3 from three. Madi Williams led the way for Oklahoma, scoring 24 points on 7 of 14 shooting. Williams was also 9 of 14 from the free throw line. Ana Llanusa added 15 and Skylar Vann chipped in 14 off the bench.

Oklahoma shot it well, hitting 41.4% from the field and shooting 41.2% from three. Even though UCLA didn’t shoot well from downtown, they were 44.8% from the field and made 25 of 28 free throw attempts.

Oklahoma enters the offseason looking to build on its second-straight tournament appearance and make it to the Sweet 16 and beyond.

Oklahoma Sooners advance in Women’s NCAA Tournament with 85-63 win over Portland

5 Sooners score in double figures as Oklahoma beats Portland to advance in Women’s NCAA Tournament.

It was a hard-fought contest for the first 20 minutes of game time as the Oklahoma Sooners took on Portland in the opening round of the Women’s NCAA tournament.

Portland, the WCC tournament champs, jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the game, but the Sooners were able to tie it up on a [autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag] three-pointer.

That launched the Sooners on an 18-6 run to take a 20-11 lead with just under four minutes to play in the first quarter. Portland fought back over the final few minutes, going on a run of their own to close the quarter trailing by only six.

The Oklahoma Sooners were locked in a physical contest against a game Pilots team. Neither side could gain much of an advantage in the second quarter, but Portland did outscore the Sooners 13-12 in the quarter to trail by five heading into halftime.

The second half was all Sooners.

Though Portland cut the lead to three early in the second half, the Sooners went on a 13-4 run to lead 52-40 midway through the third quarter. Oklahoma kept the pressure up on both sides of the court to continue building on their lead. Heading into the fourth, Oklahoma led by 16, and that was all she wrote.

Five Oklahoma Sooners scored in double-figures, led by 14 a piece from [autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag] and [autotag]Aubrey Joens[/autotag]. [autotag]Madi Williams[/autotag] had 13, and [autotag]Ana Llanusa[/autotag] and [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] each chipped in 11 points.

Robertson was 4-of-5 shooting on the evening and 3-of-3 from three-point range. Coming off the bench, Joens shot 4-of-9 and 2-of-5 from three to go along with two rebounds, three assists, and four steals.

Vann posted 11 rebounds for a double-double off the bench. [autotag]Liz Scott[/autotag] had nine points and 12 rebounds, including seven offensive boards, to lead the Sooners on the glass.

The Sooners did a nice job defensively, limiting Portland to 37.7% shooting and just 15.8% from three. Oklahoma forced 18 turnovers, collected 11 steals, and 20 offensive rebounds.

Oklahoma now awaits the winner of the opening-round contest between UCLA and Sacramento State for a shot at the Sweet 16.

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Juniors Skylar Vann and Aubrey Joens give Sooners a boost off the bench

Juniors Skylar Vann and Aubrey Joens give the Sooners a boost off the bench in Oklahoma’s win over TCU in the Big 12 tournament.

The Oklahoma Sooners will be losing three important pieces after the season is complete. [autotag]Madi Wiliams[/autotag], [autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag], and [autotag]Ana Llanusa[/autotag] have one more opportunity to take Oklahoma on a deep postseason run.

Those three have been key to the Sooners’ 2022-2023 season. But last night’s win over TCU put on display what life will look like without their three seniors.

[autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] came up clutch again, pouring in 21 points off the bench, including the game-winner in the final seconds. Also playing in a reserve role, [autotag]Aubrey Joens[/autotag], the Iowa State transfer, chipped in 15 points for the Sooners.

After the Sooners fell behind in the first quarter, Joens contributed 10 points in the second on 4 of 4 shooting, including 2 of 2 from three. That gave the Sooners the boost they needed to turn a three-point first quarter deficit into a five-point halftime lead.

The fourth quarter has become Skylar Vann time in recent weeks, and she came through again in the win over TCU. Vann was 5 of 6 from the field (her only miss a deep three), and was dominant in the paint. 10 of her 21 points came in the fourth, with all 10 points coming in the final 6:31 of the game. Vann scored each of Oklahoma’s final six points to get the win.

“You’ve got to be willing to take that shot,” head coach Jennie Baranczyk said after the win. “You’ve got to be willing to make it. You’ve got to be willing to miss it. You’ve got to be willing to pay the consequences. Sky is. You can see that in her eyes that she wants that.”

Clutchness defined.

Vann and Joens combined for 36 points in the win. Oklahoma’s starting five scored just 32 points. They’re only juniors. Key pieces to the Sooners rotation this season, they’ll take on even bigger roles next year with talent leaving Norman.

The Sooners have a deep roster. Several players that can fill up the box score. They needed every bit of what Skylar Vann and Aubrey Joens provided off the bench on Friday night. For the Sooners to win the Big 12 tournament and go deep in the NCAA tournament, Vann and Joens will have to continue to provide a spark off the bench.

And everytime they check into the game, the Sooners display they’ll be in great hands even as they lose their talented group of seniors.

Oklahoma Sooners can’t hang with Big 12’s best defense

Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns faced off in a battle to be the Big 12’s best. The two teams were tied atop the Big 12 standings and looking to take a significant step toward securing a Big 12 regular season title.

Oklahoma came into the game with the best offense in the Big 12 and the second-best scoring offense in the country. Texas boasted the Big 12’s best defense. And ultimately, it was Texas that had the better day.

“Texas played really, really well,” OU head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “They’re a very good basketball team, and we definitely weren’t (today). We will look in the mirror, me first, and be better.”

Texas’ defense created a frustrating environment for the Sooners and midway through the third quarter the Longhorns took control. Texas held Oklahoma to 27.3% shooting and just 22 points in the second half.

The Sooners will have to get back to the drawing board and figure out what went wrong. There’s a good chance they’ll see Texas again and will need to have better answers for their defense.

“I feel like we just were not ready, especially offensively,” Baranczyk said. “We’re going to go one of two directions right now. … I think we’re going to go in the right direction. But we’ve got choices to make, and we’ve got to be able to choose to respond how we want to respond.”

Best photos from Oklahoma’s loss to Texas

Oklahoma Sooners keep winning streak going, beat Texas Tech 84-57

The Oklahoma Sooners jumped out to a 12-point lead and never looked back as they defeated Texas Tech 84-57 to extend their win streak to 5 games.

The Oklahoma Sooners jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back in their matchup with the Texas Tech Lady Raiders on Wednesday night. The Sooners won their fifth game to move into a tie for first place in the Big 12 with the Texas Longhorns.

[autotag]Aubrey Joens[/autotag] led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. She was just one point shy of tying a career-high, which she set on Dec. 5, 2021 against Longwood when she was still with Iowa State.

Oklahoma never trailed in this one and, at one point in time, had a lead as large as 28 points.

In the early going, it was [autotag]Ana Llanusa[/autotag] and [autotag]Liz Scott[/autotag] who came out of the gate on fire to give the Sooners their quick 12-0 advantage in the first. Scott opened the scoring with a layup before Llanusa followed it up with back-to-back three-pointers. After Llanusa’s second three, she took the ball from Texas Tech’s Bre’Amber Scott and found Liz Scott for the layup.

On Tech’s next possession, Llanusa stole the ball again. After her missed three, [autotag]Neveah Tot[/autotag] grabbed the offensive rebound and got the ball to Llanusa again, who found Scott for a second consecutive layup to make it 12-0.

Scott had 13 points, [autotag]Madi Williams[/autotag] chipped in 12, and Tot added 11 to give the Sooners four players in double-figures.

On the evening, the Sooners shot 48.6% from the field and 42.3% from three. They held the Lady Raiders to just 33.3% from the floor and 15.8% from beyond the arc.

It was another dominating performance in a five-game winning streak where they’ve beaten their opponents by an average of 19.8 points per game.

The Sooners are now 21-4 overall and 11-3 in Big 12 play ahead of their Sunday matchup in Lawrence with the Kansas Jayhawks. The last time they played Kansas, the Sooners came away with a six-point win, led by Madi Williams’ 20 points and nine rebounds.

Then the Sooners will host the No. 17 Texas Longhorns on February 25 for what could decide the Big 12 regular season title.

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Oklahoma Sooners surge late, beat Baylor in overtime 98-92

Down as many as 12 points with under six minutes remaining, the Sooners got some timely stops and clutch shooting to beat Baylor in Waco.

The Oklahoma Sooners never led in regulation, and they didn’t need to in their win over the Baylor Bears in Waco. Oklahoma took over in overtime to pick up the 98-92 win.

After trailing by 12 points with 5:19 left to go in the fourth quarter, the Sooners used some timely defense and clutch shooting to work their way back into the game. Oklahoma battled to pull within three but couldn’t tie it.

Down five with 20 seconds to play, [autotag]Neveah Tot[/autotag] made quick work of the Bears’ defense, driving to the bucket to bring Oklahoma within three. After the layup, the Sooners employed their full-court press and got the turnover they were seeking. Ana Llanusa got the ball in the paint and found Taylor Robertson all alone for three. Robertson, who hadn’t gotten many open looks in the contest, buried the three to tie the game.

In overtime, the Sooners earned their first lead of the game on an Ana Llanusa three-pointer to make it 86-83. The Sooners would lead by five with under three to play before the Baylor Bears stormed back to tie it with just under two minutes remaining in the game. But from there, it was all Sooners.

Oklahoma closed the game on an 8-2 run to pick up an impressive win on the road against the Baylor Bears.

Baylor came into the game having won three in a row and four of their last five. Most recently, they traveled to Ames to beat the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones to move into third place in the Big 12 conference.

After leading the Sooners in scoring in their win over West Virginia, [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] tied for the team lead against the Bears. Vann and [autotag]Ana Llanusa[/autotag] each had 20 in the win. Vann was 9 of 16 from the field and chipped in six rebounds, five assists, and four steals to fill up the box score. Llanusa had an impressive all-around game as well, with five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

Vann and Llanusa were joined by three other Sooners in double figures. It’s the second consecutive game that Oklahoma has had five players score 10 or more points. [autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag] had 14. Neveah Tot had 13 points and five assists. [autotag]Liz Scott[/autotag] contributed 11 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in the game.

Though Oklahoma was just 10 of 35 from three, they made their final two attempts count. One at the end of regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime, and one early in the extra period to give Oklahoma an early lead.

On non-three-point attempts, the Sooners shot 55% from the field. Incredible efficiency in a game where every possession mattered.

Per Joey Helmer of OUInsider.com, it was the first time the Sooners had won back-to-back road games in Waco since 2006-2007.

It was a gutsy win for Jennie Baranczyk’s bunch who had to overcome a big deficit on the road against a surging team. The Sooners are now solidly in second place in the conference and have won three straight and eight of their last 10.

They have a chance to finish the regular season on a tear with four of their final six against teams with losing records in the conference. They have key matchups remaining against Texas and Oklahoma State, but are firmly in the thick of the regular season conference title race.

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Oklahoma Women dominate West Virginia 93-68 at the Lloyd Noble Center

The Sooners went on a 30-3 run spanning the first and second quarters, and that’s all they needed to get a 93-68 win over West Virginia, led by Skylar Vann’s 16 points.

The Oklahoma Sooners had five players in double figures, led by Skylar Vann’s 16 points off the bench to hold server at home in their 93-68 win over West Virginia on Saturday.

The two sides battled back and forth for much of the first quarter. The Sooners were up 16-14 with 4:20 left in the first. And then it was all Oklahoma. The Sooners went on a 30-3 run and were up 46-17 with 5:48 remaining in the second. The Mountaineers didn’t have an answer and the Sooners were able to cruise to the 25-point win.

Vann was 7 of 12 from the floor and added eight rebounds, three steals, and three assists to lead the Sooners. Ana Llanusa and Liz Scott each chipped in 15 points and Neveah Tot had 12.

“We played really well today,” head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “It was a really fun day for us, and I thought that our crowd was awesome. I thought that our defensive intensity really fueled us, which it needed to, because West Virginia is really good. They have two of the best guards in this league, and it took an entire team effort to guard them.”

On a night when Madi Williams was limited to 11 points, and Taylor Robertson had six. The Sooners needed a lift from their secondary scorers, and they provided.

Vann, Llanusa, Scott, and Tot combined to shoot 57.9% from the field. That group poured in 58 of Oklahoma’s 93 points in the win.

With the win, the Sooners move to 18-4 overall and 8-3 in Big 12 play. After losing two in a row to Texas and Iowa State, the Sooners have bounced back with big wins over TCU and West Virginia. A game behind first-place Texas, the Sooners prepare for another key matchup when the go on the road to face Baylor.

Here’s a look at the best pictures from the Oklahoma Sooners 93-68 win over West Virginia.

Oklahoma Sooners offense rolling after win over Oklahoma State

Jennie Baranczyk and the Oklahoma Sooners are rolling as they lead the Big 12 and are third in the nation in scoring.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been on a roll to start Big 12 play. After their win over Oklahoma State, they’ve now won five straight and are 6-1 in the Big 12, which is good for first place in the conference.

They continue to score at an incredible rate. They’re third in the nation in scoring, averaging 87.3 points per game. That puts them just 0.9 points per game behind the No. 4 (Coaches Poll) team in the nation, the undefeated LSU Tigers. The other team in front of the Sooners is the 14-4 Iowa Hawkeyes, who are currently the No. 9 team in the most recent USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Sooners are playing great team basketball along the way, leading the nation in assists per game with 21.2, tied with the UConn Huskies.

[autotag]Madi Williams[/autotag] is fourth in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game. In the win over Oklahoma State, she scored 26 points, marking the sixth time this season she’s had more than 20 points. It’s the fourth time since December 21 that she’s crossed the 20-point mark in a game. She’s also forcing teams to respect her when she’s outside the paint, knocking down 2.3 three-pointers per game. That ability allows [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] to spread the floor, providing opportunities for other Sooners to make plays in the offense.

[autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag] continues to be clutch for Oklahoma. In last night’s comeback win over Oklahoma State, she scored all 15 of her points in the second half. She leads the Big 12 in three-pointers made per game with 2.7 and three-point shooting percentage at 41..5%.

Oklahoma’s getting contributions from deep in the lineup. Four players average more than 10 points per game; Williams, Robertson, [autotag]Ana Llanusa[/autotag], and [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag]. Llanusa is the Sooners’ second-leading scorer at 13.3 points per game.

If you include [autotag]Neveah Tot[/autotag] (8.6) and [autotag]Liz Scott[/autotag] (7.9), Oklahoma has six players averaging eight points per game or more on the season. But the scoring of those six players only accounts for 60.9% of their team average on the season. Baranczyk is getting contributions from a number of women in her lineup.

She’s gone deep into the bench and has 10 players averaging 10 minutes or more per game on the season and eight players averaging 14.8 minutes or more per game.

As of ESPN’s latest Bracketology from Friday, the Sooners are projected to be a four-seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament. A win over projected six-seeded Oklahoma State could help improve their bracketology stock when ESPN updates it later this week.

They’re a force to be reckoned with and have a chance to win their first Big 12 title since 2009. The Big 12 will continue to provide tough tests along the way, but the Sooners are the team to beat moving forward.

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Oklahoma Sooners rally late to beat Oklahoma State 97-93

The Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball stormed back from 12 points down against a game Oklahoma State on Saturday evening in front of a lively Lloyd Noble Center crowd. The Sooners came away with their fifth straight win, 97-93 to improve to 16-2 …

Oklahoma State’s Taylen Collins and Ana Gret Asi hit back-to-back jumpers to extend the Cowgirls eight-point halftime lead to 12 in the first minute of the third quarter. The Sooners then went on a 13-2 run over the next few minutes to cut the deficit to one point.

With the score 54-53, Oklahoma State responded with a rally of their own, going on a 13-5 run to extend their lead back to 10 points. In what was a game of runs, the Sooners took their turn and went on a 10-4 outburst to close the third quarter at 72-68.

The Cowgirls would continue their hot shooting to keep the Sooners at arms-length. Oklahoma wouldn’t get their first lead of the second half until the 4:44 mark after a Madi Williams lay-up gave them an 83-82 lead. Oklahoma State answered with a pair of free throws to retake the lead before Skylar Vann hit a three to put the Sooners up 86-84 and Oklahoma wouldn’t trail again.

A Taylor Robertson three put the Sooners up 92-84 with under two minutes to play, but as they did all night, Oklahoma State wouldn’t go away, making things interesting down the stretch. The Sooners hit their free throws late to stymie the Oklahoma State upset bid.

[autotag]Madi Williams[/autotag] led the Sooners with 26 points, four rebounds, and four assists. [autotag]Ana Llanusa[/autotag] scored 17 on 6 of 12 shooting. [autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag] had 15 points, including four free throws in the final minutes to help the Sooners seal the game. Liz Scott nearly had a double-double with 11 points and 8 rebounds in the Sooners’ win.

Asi was phenomenal off the bench, leading Oklahoma State with 26 points, including seven three-pointers. Four Cowgirls scored in double-figures on the evening as they fall to 13-6 and 3-4 in the Big 12.

The Sooners have a few days off before traveling to Austin to take on the No. 25 Texas Longhorns for a pivotal Big 12 showdown. The Longhorns are coming off a loss to unranked Texas Tech and get set to face a Baylor Bears team that is unranked for the first time since 2004.

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Oklahoma women dominate TCU early, cruise to 93-66 win over Horned Frogs

Led by Madi Williams and Ana Llanusa, the Oklahoma Sooners dominate TCU 93-66 on Wednesday night to improve to 15-2 and 5-1 in Big 12 play.

The Oklahoma Sooners opened their road tilt in Fort Worth with a 12-0 run and never looked back on their way to a 93-66 win over the TCU Horned Frogs.

Oklahoma was downright dominant early, leading by as many as 25 in the first and taking a 34-13 lead into the second quarter. The second quarter was a much tighter margin, but by the end of the first half, the damage was done, and Oklahoma was up 59 to 32 at the break.

Five Sooners scored in double figures, led by 19 from [autotag]Madi Williams[/autotag], who was 8 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from three-point range. [autotag]Ana Llanusa[/autotag] chipped in 17, helping Oklahoma get off to a furious start with 11 of her 17 points in the first half. [autotag]Liz Scott[/autotag] had 12 points and [autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag] added 10. [autotag]Beatrice Culliton[/autotag] led all bench scorers with 10 points.

[autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] went deep into her bench tonight with the Sooners leading by a wide margin, and they rewarded her confidence with 29 points in reserve minutes.

The Sooners shot 53.6% from the field and made 10 of 20 three-pointers. On defense, Oklahoma held TCU to 34.8% from the field and 20% from three-point range. The Sooners won the rebounding battle by a 53-28 margin and were able to overcome a minus-8 in the turnover department because of their fantastic shooting night.

The No. 15 ranked Oklahoma Sooners moved to 15-2 on the season and 5-1 in Big 12 play, while TCU falls to 6-11 and 0-6 in the Big 12. Oklahoma now gets set to host the Oklahoma State Cowgirls (13-5, 3-3 Big 12) for the first Bedlam date of the year.

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