Sooners Pull Away from Trojans in Second Half

NORMAN, Okla. – For the third straight game, a big third-quarter takeover helped a team to a victory. But for the first time in those three games, that takeover did not belong to the Trojans.
 
No. 21 Oklahoma went on an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter and used that to take the lead for good in a 65-52 victory over Little Rock at the Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday night.
 
The Trojans (2-3), trailing 31-29 at halftime, scored the first 4 points of the third quarter to take a 33-31 lead with 8:07 remaining. But from there, the Sooners (6-1) suffocated the Little Rock offense and scored the next 8 points and 14 of the quarter's final 18 points to take a 45-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Trojan offense did not get going in the final period, and the Sooners extended their lead for a13-point win.
 
Shanity James scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game this season and reached 20 points for the third straight game, leading Little Rock with 21 and also topping the team with eight rebounds in her 100th career game.
 
Junior Sharde' Collins set a career high with 13 points, topping the 12 she had against Oklahoma at the Jack Stephens Center last year in a Trojan victory.
 
Sophomore Monique Townson led the team with six assists and five steals, and she also added six rebounds to set career highs in all three categories.
 
Throughout the night, Little Rock's defense had no answer for Oklahoma's 6-foot-3 center Kaylon Williams. She drew multiple fouls as she got inside and scored easy baskets. She had 11 points and nine rebounds at halftime and finished with 21 and 15, respectively.
 
In the early going, the game was much more competitive than the final score made it seem.
 
The Sooners made easy layups on their first three possessions of the night, taking a 6-2 lead in just under two minutes of play. But a Collins 3-pointer and an Alexius Dawn jumper combined with defensive stops gave the Trojans a 7-6 edge briefly. Oklahoma got the lead back at 8-7, but the Trojans rattled off 4 straight points next as James hit her second shot and Collins sank a layup while getting fouled to make it 11-8 Trojans with 4:58 left in the first quarter.
 
The rest of the first quarter was fairly even as well. Though Trojan guards continued to get in foul trouble – Dawn and Collins each got two in the first quarter – the team got 8 points in the quarter from James and Pratt combined, and Collins finished the period with 5. A Townson jumper with five seconds left in the first put Oklahoma's lead at just 18-17 heading into the second quarter.
 
Little Rock tied the game at 20-20 quickly in the second quarter, and from there went on a 7-2 run thanks to two James layups and a Dawn 3-pointer that gave the team a 27-22 lead midway through the quarter. But the Sooners fought back before the half ended, taking a 31-29 lead into the break as a Keanna Keys layup was the only other points scored by the Trojans in the half. Little missed eight of its final nine field goals in the half as Oklahoma mounted its comeback.
 
The Trojans held the Oklahoma offense stagnant to begin the third quarter and took a 33-31 lead thanks to an early 4-0 run. But from there, the Sooners fought back, smothering Little Rock's offense and getting 6 straight points to force Trojan coach Joe Foley to call a timeout midway through the quarter.
 
Little Rock would never lead again, and the Sooners would eventually extend their lead to as many as 16 with a minute remaining.
 
During the night, Sharde' Collins picked up her 200th career point and Alexius Dawn snagged her 100th defensive rebound.
 
Dawn finished with 8 points, Kaitlyn Pratt had 6 points and Townson and Keys had 2 apiece to complete the Trojans' total scoring. Pratt also had six rebounds but fouled out in the fourth quarter. Keys, James and Dawn all finished with four fouls as whistles again got Little Rock in trouble early and late.
 
Little Rock's road doesn't get any easier on Sunday, as the Trojans return home to take on No. 6 Texas. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center.