Sooners Go Inside for 76-57 Victory

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma had its good moments against Texas State, but coach Sherri Coale wants there to be a lot more.

Erin Higgins scored 12 points and Chelsi Welch and Casey Walker added 10 each as the Sooners (No. 25 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) beat the Wildcats 76-57 on Sunday.

"We went through the motions and played just well enough to win, and that's not the object," Coale said. "I'm not pleased with our execution or our defensive performance. I'm never pleased when we're mediocre."

The Sooners trailed early on but used a 12-2 run to take a 21-12 lead and never trailed again. After leading 42-25 at halftime, Oklahoma's lead was never less than 14. An 8-0 run early in the second half made it 55-32, and Texas State never made a significant run.

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Higgins was 4-for-7 from 3-point range, but the Sooners (2-0) got most of their scoring inside against the smaller Wildcats.

Walker came off the bench to score six of her 10 points on free throws as the Sooners were able to get to the free-throw line regularly. Oklahoma shot 27 free throws compared to only nine for Texas State. The Sooners also outrebounded the Wildcats 39-27.

"It was good for me to come off the bench and be a strength for us in the post," said Walker, a 6-3 center. "I think my size and my strength helped."

But while the Sooners were never threatened, Coale and her players weren't happy with their overall performance. Among the Sooners' nastier statistics -- 20 turnovers.

"We dominated at times when we wanted to and at other times we let them dominate us," Higgins said. "All in all, we're happy with the win, but we're not necessarily satisfied."

All 13 Sooners who were in uniform played at least nine minutes as Coale did some early-season experimentations with her bench. Twelve of the players scored.

"We have a lot of potential and really good options that will work itself out in a couple weeks," Coale said. "I would like to know we had a known rotation, but we don't have that yet. We have too many people who play well at the time."

Oklahoma shot 51 percent from the field and limited the Wildcats' perimeter shooting. Texas State shot 41 percent from the field but only 24 percent from 3-point range.

Tori Talbert had 22 points for Texas State and Tamara Thompson scored 11.