OU Women Blitz Oral Roberts, 107-76

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- Erin Higgins scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half to help Oklahoma pull away for a 107-76 win against Oral Roberts at the Bertha Teague Classic on Saturday.

Coming out of a timeout called by Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale, Higgins sparked a 20-3 run with a 3-pointer from the left wing.

After Beky Preston scored inside, Higgins added another 3-pointer from the left wing, then drove the lane and found Ashley Paris underneath the basket. Paris missed the basket, but got the rebound for a score.

The next trip down, Higgins set up Kendra Moore's fast-break layup to stretch Oklahoma's lead to 69-54. Leah Rush added a jumper, Preston made a free throw and Rush's 3-pointer from the left corner put Oklahoma (7-1) up by 21 points.

Statistics | Game Notes | Sooner Basketball Central

Oklahoma kept distancing itself, going up 88-60 after Chelsi Welch's two free throws capped a 13-2 run that included yet another Higgins 3-pointer.

Oklahoma's 107 points were its most in a game since a 113-72 win against Baylor on Dec. 30, 1991.

Rachel Balzer scored 20 to lead Oral Roberts, which made the NCAA tournament last season as the Mid-Continent Conference champion.

Higgins finished 4-for-6 from 3-point range and passed Carin Stites to move into second place on Oklahoma's all-time 3-point shooting list. Only Etta Maytubby (174) has made more 3-pointers for Oklahoma than Higgins (154).

After Oral Roberts (3-2) trimmed Oklahoma's 13-point first half lead to 47-45 on its opening possession of the second half, Courtney Paris scored the Sooners' first five points of the half to restore a five-point lead. But on the Golden Eagles' next possession, the Sooners' leading scorer and rebounder picked up her fourth foul going for a rebound with 17:26 left.

Higgins' 3-pointer gave Oklahoma a 55-49 lead, but Coale called for a timeout after her team allowed Alicia Seay to score an easy transition layup after Higgins' made basket.

She waited for her team with her hands on her hips, then ripped into a finger-pointing session to get her players back on track.

Once the rest of the timeout was finished, Higgins continued the huddle with the four other players on the court, then sparked Sooners' rally.

Courtney Paris, who played only three minutes in the second half before fouling out, finished with 19 points, Rush scored 16 and Ashley Paris added 15 for Oklahoma, which has won 18 in a row against Oral Roberts after losing 14 of the first 17 games in the series.

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Team Notes
No. 19/20 Oklahoma improved to 7-1 on the season and extended its winning streak to four games. OU has also won 18 straight against Oral Roberts.
The Sooners return to the hardwood on Monday when they face No. 23 UCLA (2-2) at the Lloyd Noble Center at 7 p.m.
OU turned in season high percentages from the field (.569), three point range (.538) and the free throw line (.810). OU's 34 free throws was also a season high.
Oklahoma shot .615 (16-26) from the field in the first half, which is season high for any half this season. They also committed a season-high 15 first half turnovers.
With OU up 60-54 at the 15:26 mark in the second half, OU went on a 15-0 run over three minutes and 17 seconds to extend its lead to 21 points. In the Sooners previous game, they used a 13-0 second half run to put away TCU in a 77-63 win.
OU passed the 100-point mark for the first time this season. OU has scored 100 or more points on 10 occasions under Sherri Coale.

Individual Notes
Ashley Paris (15) and Beky Preston (10) turned in season highs in points, while Erin Higgins (16) and Chelsi Welch (11) tied their season bests.

Courtney Paris Notes
Courtney Paris scored 14 of the Sooners first 20 points but did not register a bucket after the 13:24 mark in the first half. Paris went to the bench with three fouls at the 7:45 mark.
Paris then scored OU's first five points of the second half before going to the bench with four fouls at the 17:32 mark. Paris returned for two minutes before earning her fifth foul at the 6:57 mark with OU leading 88-64.
Paris finished with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting and a season low five rebounds. Paris was only on the court for 13 minutes.
Paris entered the OU single season top-10 for blocks with two first half swats, which increased her season total to 27. The OU single season record is 78 by LaNae Jones in 1995-96.

Chelsi Welch Notes
Chelsi Welch made her first seven free throws of the game to extend her steak of consecutive makes to 28. She missed her eighth free throw before finishing 11-for-12 at the line. She is currently 29-of-30 (.967) from the charity stripe this season.

Leah Rush Notes
Leah Rush, who's 16 points were her second best effort of the season, grabbed a season-high nine rebounds.

Erin Higgins Notes
Erin Higgins hit four 3-pointers for the fourth time this season and the third time in the last six contests. All four of her makes came in the second half. In her career the junior has made four or more 3's on 19 occasions.
Higgins moved to No. 2 on the OU career 3-pointers list with 154. She only trails record holder Etta Maytubby (1993-96), who made 174 from long range.

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