Oklahoma Drops Third Straight in Blowout Loss at Iowa State

Oklahoma has been successfully playing the Cinderella role this season. But the slipper may have come off.
The No. 15-ranked Sooners suffered their third consecutive double-digit defeat on Saturday night in Ames, IA, with an 89-67 loss to No. 6 Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum.
Madi Williams posted her ninth 20-point game of the season, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Cyclones completed the season sweep with relative ease.
“Well, we faced some Hilton Magic today,” head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “They were obviously very good from the 3-point line. There are some moments that I'm really proud of and other moments that we've got to continue to get better.
“But we know that this is an incredible place to play and it is a standard for women's basketball in terms of atmosphere. It's an atmosphere we want to build in Norman, to be honest.”
Skylar Vann scored 15 and Liz Scott had eight points and six rebounds for the Sooners, but perimeter specialist Taylor Robertson was held to just one 3-pointer and finished with five points and seven rebounds.
Four Iowa State players scored in double figures, led by Ashley Joens, who hit three 3-pointers and finished with 28 points. Emily Ryan scored 15 and handed out nine assists, and Lexi Donarski scored 14 on 4-of-11 perimeter shooting with four assists. Aubrey Joens made four 3s and finished with 12 points as the Cyclones stayed hot from outside all night.
Oklahoma fell to 20-6 overall and 9-5 in Big 12 Conference play. A win would have put the Sooners a half-game out of first place in the Big 12 standings behind with the Cyclones (22-4, 11-3).
A Hilton crowd of 11,321 gave the home team an energy that pushed Iowa State to a fast start. The Cyclones made two quick 3-pointers and hit 6-of-10 from range in the first quarter to take a 28-16 lead after one period.
Iowa State led by 10 at halftime and opened it up to a 57-39 lead at the midway through the third and 71-45 heading into the final quarter.
Iowa State nailed 16 3-pointers, which tied a record for the most for an OU opponent in conference play in program history.
OU travels to TCU on Wednesday 6 p.m. tipoff.

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.
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