NORMAN — The Oklahoma women did not come out scared nor intimidated against No. 1 Baylor on Thursday night. Of all the ways to get yourself embarrassed against a very good team, the Sooners embodied none of them.
It didn’t matter.
OU was embarrassed anyway.
The Lady Bears played like a team that didn’t want to beat the Sooners so much as crush them, and that’s just what they did Thursday night at Lloyd Noble Center, winning 89-58.
The score was 18-18 9:17 before the half, before the Lady Bears clamped down to take a 43-28 intermission edge.
After the Sooners (12-6, 4-3 Big 12) scored on five straight possessions to get the crowd of about 7,500 on its feet and make it 46-40 with 17:17 remaining, the Lady Bears closed on a 43-18 run.
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey directed her players just as they played, showing no mercy by leaving her starters in until 2:14 remained, only pulling them moments after junior center and reigning national player of the year Brittney Griner attempted and canned her first 3-point try of the season coming out of a time-out Mulkey called with 3:13 to play.
Griner finished with 18 points, six rebounds and seven blocked shots. Odyssey Sims finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
“They’re the No. 1 team in the country,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “They have incredible athletes in every position. They come off the bench with incredible athletes.”
Whitney Hand was the best Sooner on the floor, leading OU with 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting and on the boards with seven rebounds. She was also the only effective Sooner on a team that simply couldn’t keep up with the Lady Bears’ hounding.
“I thought we got good shots,” Hand said. “We were 4 of 19 from 3, or something like that. Half of those go in like they usually do and it’s a different game.”
But even if they were good looks, they were delivered hurried and harried, the state of being almost any team finds itself in against Baylor’s pressure.
“I thought we did a really good job early of penetrating and kicking and sharing the basketball and moving it around and moving off penetration, but we just got worn down,” Coale said. “We didn’t have anywhere to go … And it’s a real challenge trying to defend them. Then that carries over and it’s just a snowball. I just felt like we got fatigued and quit moving.”
The Sooners made 36.7 percent (22 of 60) of their shots but only 33.3 percent (11 of 33) after the half, while Baylor was better than 50 percent most of the game before settling at 49.1 percent (33 of 67).
And without its best rebounder — Joanna McFarland, whose broken jaw will remained wired shut until Monday — OU couldn’t compete on the boards, where Baylor (20-0, 4-3) won the rebounding battle 45-30.
Griner finished well below her 22.7-point average as OU fought hard to limit her contact with the ball, but other Lady Bears took advantage, with Terran Condrey adding 14 points, Destiny Williams 13 and Kimetria Hayden and Brooklyn Pope both adding 10.
“I felt that they left players open because they were so concerned on defending Griner,” Mulkey said.
OU had a plan, but precious few answers.
Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com
