by NORMAN – Five Sooners scored in double figures Thursday night as No. 19 Oklahoma defeated, UT Rio Grande Valley, 92-59, at Lloyd Noble Center.
OU (6-2) used a second-half surge to take down UTRGV (5-4), outscoring the Vaqueros by a 51-margin in the final two quarters. Freshman center Nancy Mulkey keyed a 10-0 run by scoring eight points for the Sooners in the third quarter to finish with a career-best 11 points off the bench.
Up 47-41 at halftime, the Sooners used their height advantage to push their lead into double digits as Mulkey, who was 4-for-5 from the field and 3-of-4 at the foul line Thursday night, scored four times on five possessions.
“I was pleased with our second half,” OU head coach Sherri Coale said. “I thought the intensity and our ability to turn them over united our offense. We got lost in the joy of competing. The game is a lot easier when you do that. Shooting percentages were obviously good in the second half and that helps a lot too. A lot of that was creating good looks at the basket because of our defense.”
The Sooners finished 11-of-15 from the field in the third quarter as OU knocked down seven straight shots to close the frame. The hot shooting continued into the fourth quarter as OU outscored UTRGV, 26-9, to close the game. The Sooners posted a .633 (19-of-30) field goal percentage in the second half.
Vionise Pierre-Louis picked up her fourth double-double of the season with a 13-point, 10-rebound performance. The junior center also finished with three blocks and moved into seven place all-time at OU with 87 career rejections.
Chelsea Dungee (Cherokee Nation) finished with a season-best 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 26 minutes. The freshman has scored in double figures in four straight games.
