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OU Basketball: Oklahoma Comes Up Short in Big 12 Semifinal

The Sooners ran out of gas in the second half, falling victim to the Cyclones’ momentum and strong crowd.
Ross Lovelace|
OU Basketball: Oklahoma Comes Up Short in Big 12 Semifinal
OU Basketball: Oklahoma Comes Up Short in Big 12 Semifinal

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Oklahoma Sooners

After outlasting TCU in a thriller on Friday, Oklahoma’s Big 12 Tournament run ended abruptly at the hands of Iowa State’s 3-point attack. 

The Cyclones knocked off Jennie Barancyzk's Sooners in an exciting, high-scoring game 82-72

OU fell to 25-5 overall, while Iowa State improved to 20-9.

Iowa State shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range led by Nyamer Diew, who drilled 4-of-6 triples on the afternoon. Despite shooting just 7-of-21 from the floor, Ashley Joens totaled 22 points and reached the 3,000-point milestone for her career.

Madi Williams — injured last weekend at Oklahoma State — was back at full strength and led the Sooners with 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting, with help from Nevaeh Tot's four 3-point baskets and 14 total points.

The Sooners started the game on a quick 11-3 run behind triples from Tot and Skylar Vann. Oklahoma established an early presence on the glass behind Liz Scott’s seven first-quarter rebounds. Iowa State answered with a 10-2 run of its own.

Oklahoma held a one-point lead, 19-18, at the end of the first frame. The back-and-forth action continued into the second quarter.

The offense took off on both sides before halftime as 3-pointers were raining down on both ends. The two teams combined for 13 first half triples. 

Williams’ 11 points powered the Sooners, but back-to-back buckets from the Cyclones gave Iowa State a lead heading into the break.

At halftime, Bill Fennelly’s squad led 42-39 despite Oklahoma’s strong offensive effort.

In the third quarter, the Cyclones struck first out of the gates. A 3-point basket and a jump shot off an Oklahoma turnover gave Iowa State a 47-39 lead with 8:52 remaining in the frame.

The Sooners answered back with an Ana Llanusa layup, but the Cyclones kept rolling on offense. Nyamer’s layup in the paint gave Iowa State its biggest lead of the game, 54-43, with 6:35 left in the third quarter.

Once the crowd picked up on Iowa State’s run, it was nearly impossible for the Sooners to regain any momentum. The Cyclones had an answer for every bucket Oklahoma made. With 9:19 remaining in the final quarter of the game, Iowa State held a commanding 70-53 lead.

On the verge of letting the game get out of hand, Oklahoma made one final run. The Cyclones missed eight shots in a row, and the Sooners capitalized with an 11-0 run. With 3:59 remaining, Oklahoma trailed by just six, 70-64.

Six points was the closest the Sooners came, as Iowa State’s shooters stepped up in the game’s biggest moments. No shot was bigger than Emily Ryan’s contested triple as the shot clock expired, extending Iowa State’s lead to 78-67 with 2:28 left in the game.

While to Sooners now await their fate from the NCAA Tournament committee, Iowa State will play for a Big 12 Tournament Championship against Texas. The good news for Oklahoma, is that Baranczyk's group is squarely in the field.

After a successful conference season, the Sooners now turn all attention to the Big Dance.

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Ross has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners since 2018. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and the Sooners On SI podcast. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross started with Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and worked for Sooners On SI and Thunder On SI. Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross and his wife live in New Orleans, where he is a Marketing and Volunteer Coordinator at the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

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