NORMAN — The Oklahoma women have struggled to be what they’ve been this season.
Out of the polls for the first time in several years, they have fought the good fight, but only occasionally received the desired results.
That all changed Tuesday night at Lloyd Noble Center, where OU topped defending national champion and 14th-ranked Texas A&M for the first time in seven tries and the first time since Jan. 17, 2010.
It ended 64-55 as the Sooners closed as well they began each half. There were some lulls in the middle, yet nothing that allowed the Aggies any closer than the same three points they trailed by at the half.
“We talked about maturity and the way we had been responding to teams,” junior guard and team captain Whitney Hand said. “When they would fight, we would have to fight back, and we were doing that well, but we were never initiating that first blow. I think we did that tonight. We got A&M on their heels.”
The win puts the Sooners (18-9, 10-5 Big 12) in the driver’s seat to finish second in the conference race behind No. 1 Baylor. They’re tied with the Aggies (19-7, 10-5) in the second spot, but A&M must play the Lady Bears again.
Aaryn Ellenberg hit half her shots, 8 of 16, for the first time since Jan. 17 and led the Sooners with 23 points.
Point guard Morgan Hook may have played her best game against a top-flight opponent, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and no turnovers without ever exiting the game.
“How much has Morgan Hook grown up since the first time we played A&M and tonight?” OU coach Sherri Coale said, referencing the two teams’ first meeting this season, when Hook scored one point and dished a single assist in 26 minutes. “(She) looked like a completely different kid.”
OU led 33-30 at the half and began the second 20 minutes as well as it has this season, getting points on 7 of 8 possessions to take a 47-36 edge with 15:20 remaining. It was followed by a tailspin that included nine straight empty possessions and more than 7 minutes without scoring.
Coale didn’t even call a timeout.
“Had we not gotten quality shots, it would have been an issue,” she said. “But we were getting quality shots and we were getting stops on defense.”
It was the difference in the game.
While OU couldn’t score a point, A&M could score only six points.
Joanna McFarland, off an offensive rebound, finally took the lid off the basket and put OU up 49-44 with 8:11 remaining. On the next trip, Ellenberg beat the shot clock from 10 feet on the right baseline and, two trips later, ripped a 3-pointer from the top of the key. All of a sudden, OU had a 7-2 run, a 54-46 lead and full control of the game.
“That really destroys a defense when you make those hustle plays that Hand, McFarland or Ellenberg (can make),” A&M coach Gary Blair said. “Somebody is always hustling in there.”
The Aggies got 12 points from Sydney Carter and 11 points from Tyra White, but the Aggie duo combined to make just 6 of 31 shots to get those points. Overall, OU held A&M to 28.6 percent field accuracy.
It was about all the Sooners could have wanted.
“I think it gives us confidence and momentum,” Hook said.
Maybe more than they’ve had all season.
Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com
