by By Clay Horning/CNHI News Service
EATTLE — If you can’t stop them, you can’t beat them, and Oklahoma did not begin to stop Washington Monday night inside Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Huskies became the third team in four games to shoot better than 50 percent and score more than 80 points against the Sooners, claiming a resounding 108-82 victory.
Sitting on 61 points after three quarters — a number it had only matched four other times all season and not once since New Year’s day against TCU — the Sooners nonetheless trailed by 23 points.
The Huskies just never stopped scoring.
“Washington was unbelievable tonight, just unbelievable,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “I’m not sure who would have beaten them tonight.”
OU stuck around for a while, even as it endured its worst foul trouble of the season.
Vionise Pierre-Louis was called for her second foul with 4:32 left in the first quarter.
Maddie Manning got her second at the 3:24 mark of the first quarter and Gioya Carter picked up her third 4:18 before the half.
Also, reserve center Nancy Mulkey was hit with two fouls in just eight first half-minutes.
Still, led 15 points from Carter, 16 from Chelsea Dungee (Cherokee Nation) and 11 from Peyton Little, OU was within 54-47.
In the middle of it, a 3-pointer from Little even put the Sooners up 31-30. Washington responded with 15 straight points, yet still the Sooners wouldn’t go away.
OU remained confident.
“We were only down seven and we had two of our best players on the bench basically the whole first half,” Little said. “We liked where we were.”
Instead, Washington kept going and OU couldn’t answer. Coale explained.
“We just lost our minds in the third quarter,” she said. “They hit a couple 3s and we went back to … [thinking] we can sore 12 points in one possession, and I don’t think that’s ever been done in the history of basketball.”
Washington forced the issue.
During those 10 minutes, it made 11 of 15 shots, hit all four of its 3-point attempts and, had the Huskies made all of their free-throw attempts, they would have scored 35 points in the frame rather than 30.
OU made 5 of 16 shots and 1 of 6 from 3-point land.
The Sooners got points on three straight possessions early in the quarter and on four straight possessions near the end, but no more.
“We came out in the third quarter and just went crazy,” Little said. “And you can’t do that against a team like Washington.”
The Sooners had no answer for Kelsey Plum, who finished with 38 points, and, perhaps more amazing, 11 assists. Nor could they control Chantel Osahor, who was right on her averages, scoring 16 points and grabbing 15 rebounds and flirted with a triple-double with seven assists.
“We kind of just sent our fans off with a lot of respect and appreciation for them,” Plum said, referencing the 7,579 in attendance.
Carter led OU with 17 points, but only two after the half. Dungee finished with 16, Little with 14 and Manning with 12.
Pierre-Louis couldn’t get anything going offensively, but led OU with seven rebounds.
Point guard Gabbi Ortiz finished with seven points, six assists and six rebounds..
Four a fourth straight season, the Sooners (23-10) were stopped during the tournament’s first two rounds.
Meanwhile, Washington (29-5), who plays Mississippi State in Oklahoma City Friday, might look even better than the team it became last year, when it reached the Final Four.
Manning was asked to reflect on the season.
“I’m really at a loss for words, which I very rarely am,” Washington coach Mike Neighbors said. “Super proud of the whole team, I thought we got contributions all up and down the lineup.”
More than OU could begin to stop.
