NORMAN — Scoring Oklahoma’s last nine points in a narrow victory over Texas Tech, freshman Sharane Campbell had been instrumental in front of the home crowd in one victory already this season.
In Bedlam’s return engagement at Lloyd Noble Center Saturday afternoon, Campbell did it again.
The Sooner women finally pulled away from Oklahoma State late in the second half and it was Campbell, leading with 20 points and 12 rebounds, carving the path to an 80-71 victory.
The win keeps OU (15-6, 7-3 Big 12) locked in second place in the conference standings. It’s a spot that might be challenged at top-ranked Baylor on Monday night, but at least the Sooners will roll into Ferrell Center off a victory.
“She’s got a high motor and plays the game extremely hard,” Oklahoma State coach Jim Littell said of Campbell, who this time last season was leading the girls team at Star Spencer High School. “There’s another one up in Iowa State named [Chelsea] Poppens that’s got that type of motor, too … She lowers her head and is going to get to the hole. The hardest thing in the game to guard is the dribble drive.”
It is Campbell’s bread and butter.
She made 1 of 2 3-point attempts, but did most of her damage going to the basket, where she earned 12 free-throw attempts. Had she made them all, she would have finished with 25 points.
“I’m just playing,” Campbell said.
Saturday’s other revelation was Jelena Cerina, the Serbian senior, by way of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, who finished with a career-high 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting in only 17 minutes of court time.
“Coach told me to play with patience,” Campbell said. “When I’m passed the ball, I’m always in a rush, because I think I have all these moves. I get in a rush and then I make mistakes. I need to just stop and be patient and wait for everything to just come.”
Between Campbell and Cerina, the Sooners made 14 of 20 shots, which proved a big counter to the shooting struggles of OU’s two leading scorers, Aaryn Ellenberg and Whitney Hand.
Ellenberg finished with 16 points, but made only 4 of 16 shots after hitting 1 of 15 in her previous two games. Hand was terrific on the boards, grabbing 13 rebounds to lead a 45-36 Sooner advantage, but finished with five points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Hand’s performance was indicative of other Sooners, who delivered despite their struggles.
Point guard Morgan Hook couldn’t find the range, missing all three of her 3-point tries, but delivered nine assists against two turnovers. Ellenberg hit back-to-back shots early before going ice cold, but came back with a huge 3-pointer that put OU on top 72-67 with 3:12 remaining.
A tight game throughout, OU’s biggest lead until the final moments was 27-18 8:29 before the half. Yet after settling for a 35-34 intermission edge, the Sooners trailed by as many as four points in the second half and were stuck in a 59-59 deadlock with 7:05 remaining.
Kaylon Williams, with an assist from Hand, put OU up for good with 6:42 to play. Campbell kept the Sooners in front by scoring seven of her points the rest of the way.
Liz Donohoe and Tiffany Bias both finished with 20 points for the Cowgirls. Center Lindsey Keller grabbed 11 rebounds.
OU’s best numbers belong to no single Sooner. Instead, it was the squad’s 21-to-8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“I will smile all night,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “I knew we weren’t shooting ourselves in the foot, but I had no idea.”
Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com
