'We still found a way': No. 18 Sooners overcome season-high 27 turnovers to edge ninth-ranked Longhorns

NORMAN — Oklahoma prefers to play up-tempo basketball, but Texas’ aggressive defensive style resulted in a slow-down game on Saturday afternoon. Turns out, the Sooners can win while playing grind-it-out hoops, too.

No. 18 Oklahoma overcame a season-high 27 turnovers and Liz Scott scored her only points on a short running bank shot with 4.1 seconds left, allowing the Sooners to escape Lloyd Noble Center with a 65-63 win over the ninth-ranked Longhorns. It was Oklahoma’s first win over a top-10 opponent since beating then-No. 8 Texas 74-73 in Norman on Feb. 18, 2017.

The win allowed Oklahoma (18-3, 7-2 Big 12) to keep pace with Iowa State atop the Big 12 Conference standings and ended a four-game winning streak for Texas (15-4, 5-3). Oklahoma, which beat the Longhorns in Austin, Texas, last season, owns consecutive wins over Texas for the first time since 2013.

Oklahoma now is 11-1 this season at home under first-year coach Jennie Baranczyk, who celebrated after the game with her predecessor, the retired Sherri Coale, who watched the game from a baseline seat.

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“There were so many big plays from so many different players,” Baranczyk said. “It’s fun to be on this side of a game that has 19 lead changes. … We found a different way to win tonight and I’m proud of that. Obviously, this was not our A-game. We didn’t shoot as well as we normally do. We turned the ball over … but we still found a way. I’m really, really proud of this group to do that.”

Oklahoma entered the game averaging 87 points per game — second-best in NCAA Division I — but the Longhorns were having none of that, forcing the Sooners into turnover after turnover. Of course, Texas also had a bunch of turnovers — 24 — against Oklahoma, helping keep the game low-scoring and close. Neither team led by more than eight points. Oklahoma shot only 39.2% from the field, Texas just 33.3%.

“It wasn’t the most beautiful basketball game, period,” Baranczyk said.

Texas led 63-61 after Joanne Allen-Taylor hit three free throws with 1:49 left, but the Longhorns missed all three of their shots — all from 3-point range — after that. Madi Williams, who led Oklahoma with 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, converted a layup to tie the game with 1:19 left. After a Texas miss, Oklahoma turned the ball over with 45.8 seconds left when Taylor Robertson threw a pass out of bounds while under heavy defensive pressure.

Texas’ Kyndall Hunter missed a 3-point attempt with 28 seconds left and Robertson rebounded for the Sooners, who held the ball for a potential final shot. Scott took a pass, dribbled into the lane and shot while colliding with Allen-Taylor. The shot went in and a blocking foul was called.

“Liz hadn’t made a bucket all night and she came in and she had the confidence to make her move with the clock counting down,” Williams said. “She got a bucket and she was rewarded for it.”

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Scott missed the free throw and Texas rebounded and quickly called timeout with 3.6 seconds left. Hunter inbounded from in front of the Texas bench to Rori Harmon, who never looked at a teammate before throwing up a 3-point attempt that clanged off the rim at the buzzer. Harmon led the Longhorns with 15 points.

“We had a specific play that we were going to we're going to try to run, get a good look,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “We had gotten it twice during the game. For whatever reason, we just didn't execute.

“It's the difference in having a veteran (team like Oklahoma) and having a young team. I beat my head in the wall all day trying to get our kids to attack and get the ball inside and get the ball in the paint. I just — I lost the battle. We really settled a lot for jump shots. I really had a hard time trying to get my team to play the way we practiced for two days.”

Robertson scored 17 points to go with 10 rebounds for Oklahoma and went 3 of 8 from 3-point range. She now has 404 career 3-pointers, moving her into a tie for 10th place on the Division I career list with Presley Hudson of Central Michigan, who played from 2016 to 2020.

Texas led 19-18 with 8:39 left in the second quarter when officials slapped Schaefer with a technical foul after he protested a foul call against former Moore High School star Aaliyah Moore, who knocked Robertson to the ground as Robertson was shooting a 3-pointer.

Robertson made all five subsequent free throws and the Sooners led 30-22 before Texas regained the lead with an 11-2 run. Williams scored two baskets in the final 1:16 to put the Sooners up 36-33 at halftime. She and Robertson both scored 14 points in the half.

Moore and Aliyah Matharu each finished with 10 points for Texas, while Kelbie Washington scored 10 for the Sooners.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU vs. Texas women's basketball score: Sooners' win over Longhorns