Sooners Upend No. 25 Tigers

Saturday, December 7

Norman

3:00 PM

University of Oklahoma

5-4,0-0Big 12

LSU

8-2,0-0SEC

LSU

Oklahoma

Photo by: Ty Russell

December 07, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Associated Press

NORMAN – Taylor Robertson scored 21 points, Ana Llanusa added 20 and Oklahoma won for the first time in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, drubbing No. 25 LSU 90-68 on Saturday.

With the victory, OU improves to 5-4 on the year and earns its first win over a ranked opponent this season. LSU moves to 8-2.

"We were as present as we have ever been," said head coach Sherri Coale. "Tatum Veitenheimer did an unbelievable job running our team at point. She was in the present and was seeing the game at the right speed. I thought all five guys on the floor wanted the ball which is the secret to attacking the press and making them pay for their aggression. That was the biggest difference in the way Mandy (Simpson) played tonight; she just wanted the ball."

Mandy Simpson scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Sooners, who scored the last nine points of the first quarter to lead 23-16 and added a 14-0 run starting midway through the second quarter to lead 51-32 at the half. Simpson's 18 points were good for a career high.

"If I was going to give a game ball away tonight, there is no doubt I'd give it to Mandy Simpson," said Coale. "The 18 (points) and 10 (rebounds) is great, but it is all the battling she did to keep the ball from going to the block, the battling to tip the rebound that we come up with from the perimeter. All those plays, nuance plays and the space between the things that show up on the stats sheet."

"It feels amazing," said Simpson of the upset victory. "I know what this team is capable of, I know what we can do, and we showed it. This was our potential, we can keep getting better. This is how we should be playing, this is how we have to play this season. It just feels great to finally get to that point."

Madi Williams had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting for Oklahoma (5-4), which made 10 of 17 3-pointers and shot 55% for the game. Robertson and Llanusa both had four triples. Robertson, a sophomore who was 4 of 8, entered the game as the NCAA active career leader at 47.3% and was leading the nation with 43 3-pointers and a 5.38 average.

Khayla Pointer had 24 points to lead the Tigers (8-2), who had their seven-game winning streak snapped. Ayana Mitchell added 20 points on 10-for-10 shooting.

LSU missed its first 10 3-pointers before making its last one. The Tigers shot 48% but were out-rebounded 36-31 and outscored by nine at the foul line.

The victory marked OU's first win over a ranked opponent in non-conference play since the Sooners topped then-No. 25 Gonzaga in 2014 and OU's first 20-point win over a ranked non-conference foe since a win over Kentucky in the Elite Eight in 2010.