Shorthanded Sooners fall 74-64 at Kansas

Sherri Coale says "I could not be more proud of my six players"

The Oklahoma women’s basketball team battled shorthanded but lost 74-64 to Kansas Thursday night in Lawrence in the Big 12 Conference opener for both squads.

Playing with just six players due to COVID-19 contact tracing, OU (0-3) played a fully-staffed KU squad (4-1) to a 59-59 tie with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter before the Jayhawks pulled away down the stretch. Missing from the Oklahoma lineup were star forwards Madi Williams, the team's leading scorer through two games, and Mandy Simpson, the Sooners' leading rebounder.

Gabby Gregory led all players with 22 points. The sophomore was 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added five rebounds and a blocked shot.

Liz Scott notched her first career double-double as she scored 10 points and collected 10 boards. Taylor Robertson also scored 10 and chipped in five rebounds.

Freshman Nevaeh Tot stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Skylar Vann had eight points and six boards.

OU shot 43.5 percent (10-for-23) in the first half and headed into the locker room with a 27-26 lead. Gregory had 15 points at halftime on 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Scott had seven rebounds at the break.

Kansas fired back in the second half, shooting 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the floor.

OU’s next game is Sunday at home against Texas State. The game tips at 2 p.m. on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

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