by NORMAN – Behind an offensive surge in the third quarter, the Oklahoma women’s basketball team defeated Colorado State, 70-55, Sunday afternoon inside Lloyd Noble Center to move to 5-0 on the season.
Up 31-23 at half, the Sooners came out firing in the third quarter, scoring the first eight points of the frame. OU finished the third with 28 points on 12-of-16 from the field, its best offensive quarter this season, to stretch its lead to 59-36. The Sooners outshot the Rams (2-3), 42.3 percent to 30 percent in the contest.
This marks the first time the Sooners have been undefeated in November since the 2010-11 season, and their 5-0 start is also the best since that year.
Eleven Sooners scored on Sunday, paced by redshirt senior Maddie Manning with season-highs in points and rebounds with 16 and nine, respectively. In her first career start, freshman Chelsea Dungee (Cherokee Nation) tallied a career-high 10 points, eight of which came in the first quarter.
“Good win against a quality opponent,” OU head coach Sherri Coale said. “I thought their gameplan was fantastic. They’re long and they’re physical and loaded the ball side to try to limit us getting anything in the paint. They collapsed around our post guys and I think our posts made good decisions and kicked it out and we took rhythm shots. We didn’t shoot it very well in the first half but we got to the free throw line a bunch and stayed aggressive. That was important and I thought we had a really nice third quarter.
“I think it (third quarter) was probably led by Maddie (Manning), truthfully,” Coale continued. “She was incredibly decisive and had a hardness to her, especially to her offensive game and we fed off that. We take on her identity a lot, whatever demeanor she has when she’s on the floor kind of becomes our team demeanor. Hers was good in the third quarter so we were good.”
Redshirt senior Peyton Little added nine points, and junior Gabbi Ortiz contributed eight. Off the bench, freshman Nancy Mulkey recorded a season-best six points in 10 minutes of action to go along with two rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Little and junior Vionise Pierre-Louis also added two blocks apiece, and Pierre-Louis corralled seven rebounds. Through five games, Pierre-Louis leads the Sooners with 52 rebounds, the most since 2009 when Amanda Thompson had 51.
The Sooners return to the road on Thursday as they take on No. 20 Kentucky in the 2016 SEC/Big 12 Challenge at Memorial Coliseum. The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. CT and air on the SEC Network.
