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Seniors Power Oklahoma Early in NCAA Tournament Victory over Portland

OU's superior depth took over in the third and fourth quarters as the Sooners pulled away late to a comfortable victory in Los Angeles.
John E. Hoover|
Seniors Power Oklahoma Early in NCAA Tournament Victory over Portland
Seniors Power Oklahoma Early in NCAA Tournament Victory over Portland

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma is moving on. Madi Williams, Taylor Robertson — and their teammates — made sure of it.

The No. 16-ranked Sooners defeated Portland 85-63 in the first round of their NCAA Tournament game Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Five players scored in double figures for OU, but it was Robertson (14 points) and Williams (13), Oklahoma’s decorated senior duo, who combined to score 25 of their team’s first 54 points to power the Sooners early and allow OU to pull away late.

Oklahoma got balanced scoring across the board as Aubrey Joens scored 14 points off the bench and Ana Llanusa had 11. Skylar Vann scored 11, Liz Scott nine and Nevaeh Tot eight.

Robertson hit her first three 3-point shots, and Williams added four rebounds and two steals before the others heated up in the second half to key the rout. Vann recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds to go with her 11 points.

The victory moves OU into Monday’s second round against the winner of Saturday’s late game between 4-seed UCLA (25-9) and 13-seed Sacramento State (25-7), a 10:30 p.m. scheduled start. Second-round tip times will be announced later.

OU, the 5-seed, advances with a 26-6 record, while 12-seed Portland ends the season at 23-9.

The Sooners nursed a single-digit lead most of the first half that Robertson extended to nine (36-27) with a 3-pointer. OU led 39-34 at halftime.

But in the third quarter, Oklahoma finally stretched the scoreboard to a comfortable margin.

Tot scored on a drive to make it 43-36, and Robertson followed with a 3 that swelled the lead 46-38. A free throw by Scott and another steal-and-layup by Tot pushed the Sooners to their first double-digit lead at 49-38 with 6:15 on the clock.

Joens’ three-point play gave OU a 52-40 edge, and Scott scored four straight points to push it to 63-47 at the end of the third quarter. 

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

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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