OU Womens Basketball Eliminates Siena, 85-70

Malibu, Calif. -- Oklahoma (3-0) used a pair of back-to-back fast break three-pointers by redshirt-freshman Erin Higgins and a trey by sophomore Laura Andrews midway through the second half to push its lead to 22-points, 62-40, against Siena (1-2) before claiming the game 85-70 inside the Firestone Fieldhouse Friday.

The 19^th-ranked Sooner women's basketball team will now face host Pepperdine (2-1) in the championship game of the Yellow Book Turkey Shoot-Out in Malibu, Calif., Saturday at 9:15 p.m. CST. Pepperdine defeated UC-Riverside, 70-57, in the opening game of the tournament Friday.

Oklahoma opened the second half on a 28-16 run and took its biggest lead -- 26 points -- with 7:25 remaining. OU's 16-of-18 performance (88.9%) from the free throw line Friday was one of OU's best showings in recent games, however, Siena nailed 23-of-27 fouls shots for a 85.2 free throw percentage.

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“We were excellent from the free throw line tonight,” said head coach Sherri Coale. “Erin (Higgins) and Laura (Andrews) had big three pointers in the middle of the second half to really blow the game open for us which allowed us the opportunity to play a lot of people.”

Even though Beky Preston only played 21 minutes due to foul trouble, she produced a game-high tying and a personal-best 16 points. The 6-3 center connected on 6-of-7 shots from the field and all four attempted free throws. She also had three steals and four rebounds on the evening.

“Beky is really playing with confidence and poise right now,” said Coale. “I thought she demanded the ball tonight and had a nice balance of playing really hard but not out of control. Our guards did a really good job of getting her the ball in a position she could do something with it.”

Senior Maria Villarroel and freshman Leah Rush accounted for 13 points each for the Sooners, while junior point guard Dionnah Jackson grabbed a teamhigh five rebounds. Oklahoma, which also got eight points each from senior Caton Hill, Jackson, and Andrews, shot a solid 59.3 percent from the field (32-of-54) but was outrebounded for the first time this season, 30-23.

Katelyn Dooley paced the Saints with 16 points and Michelle Blot added 13. Siena was held to 42 percent shooting.

Oklahoma struggled early on as the Saints forced six turnovers in the first nine minutes. Siena closed the gap to 23-20, but the Sooners made 11-of-11 free throws as they raced to the break with a 14-point cushion, 44-30. OU turned the ball over a season-high 27 times.

“Overall, we weren't very sharp tonight,” said Coale. “We passed up some open shots, trying a little too hard to make the extra pass and we made silly mistakes. We have to learn to cherish the basketball better.”

OU Womens Basketball Eliminates Siena, 85-70

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