OU Dominates Louisiana Tech, 86-59

EUGENE, Ore. -- The Oklahoma women's basketball team shot 61.0 percent and scored 51 points in the second half to cruise to an 86-59 victory over Louisiana Tech in the first game of the Nike Classic on McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore., Saturday.

Oklahoma (6-3) control the game from the beginning as the Sooners never tailed and earned their largest advantage of 31-points with 3:19 to play.

“I think we had a lot of fun tonight,” said OU coach Sherri Coale. “We competed and played together and had a lot of fun playing the game.”

Box Score | Sooner Gameday Central

Oklahoma took a 35-21 lead into halftime behind the efforts of sophomore guard Erin Higgins who was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc for 12 of her game- and career-high 19 points. Higgins ended the evening with a season-high five made threes and a 70 percent field goal percentage, hitting 7-of-10 shots.

Preseason All-American Dionnah Jackson had nine of her 19 points before intermission. The senior leader was once again solid across the board as she grabbed 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the year and was two assists shy of a second triple double with eight.

For the second consecutive game, sophomore Chelsi Welch scored in double digits as she recorded 13 points with the assistance of three three-pointers.

OU put together its best all-around game of the season as every member contributed either offensively or defensively. Eleven of the 12 Sooners that saw action scored and all but three had a rebound.

Oklahoma's 27-point victory is the second largest of the season but marks the first time OU has defeated Louisiana Tech (4-4) in five tries.

La Tech only connected on five first half field goals and ended the game shooting 37.3 percent (19-of-51). The Sooners shot 35.3 percent in the first 20 minutes but ended the game shooting 48.5 percent (33-of-68).

“Any time you hold a team to five field goals you're guarding them,” Coale said. “They have great, great speed and I thought our kids did a great job following the scout and not letting them get to the rim. We had excellent help away from the basketball and closed out with our hands high to try to stop the three-point shot. I thought we defended them pretty well.”

The Lady Techsters ended the game with 22 turnovers to OU's season-low 14. OU also out rebounded a larger La Tech team, 38-33. Tech appeared at the free throw line 27 times, making 19, while OU went 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Oklahoma continues its northwest swing as the Sooners head to Salt Lake City Sunday to face Utah on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m.