Oklahoma Pulls Away From WVU to Continue Road Dominance
Oklahoma continued its road wizardry on Wednesday night.
The surprising Sooners beat West Virginia 88-76 at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown and strengthened their grip on second place in the Big 12 Conference standings, but Iowa State's loss to Texas later in the evening pushed OU into a tie for first place with the Cyclones.
The game was back and forth for much of the first half, but No. 14-ranked Oklahoma outscored the Mountaineers 14-1 to end the third quarter to build a commanding 72-58 lead.
The Sooners (16-2 overall) improved to 5-1 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2016-17 and won its fifth straight in Morgantown, OU’s longest current streak against any Big 12 opponent. WVU fell to 8-7 and 1-4.
A 14-0 run allowed Oklahoma to build an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, but WVU cut it to 81-72 in the final 2 1/2 minutes.
The Sooners’ next possession wound down, however, before Taylor Robertson drove the baseline and beat the shot clock with a reverse layup to make it 83-72 with 2:19 to play.
Madi Williams led Oklahoma with 23 points and nine rebounds and Robertson had 22 on five 3-pointers. But OU’s dynamic duo also committed 10 of the Sooners’ 20 turnovers to help keep the Mountaineers in the game.
Williams also had five assists, including a clincher to Emma Svoboda, who buried a jump shot for an 85-72 lead with 1:28 to play.
Robertson’s fifth 3-pointer was the 400th of her career, making her the 11th player in NCAA history to reach that milestone.
OU also won its eighth consecutive road game dating back to last season. The streak is good for fourth nationally and second among Power Five schools behind Indiana's 12 straight.
The Sooners have now won 13 of their last 14, the program’s best stretch since the 2008-09 team won 20 straight on its way to the Final Four.
Oklahoma, the reigning National Team of the Week according to the USBWA after landmark wins over Baylor and TCU last week, hopes to continue its road success on Sunday when the Sooners visit Kansas State in a 1 p.m. tipoff.