Secor and Milligan Lead OU at Clover

	Team	1	2	3	Score
1.	Arizona	281	-	-	281 (-7)
2.	UNLV	283	-	-	283 (-5)
3.	²⁰Houston	286	-	-	286 (-2)
4	¹⁰Arizona St.	288	-	-	288 (E)
5.	Grand Canyon	295	-	-	295 (+7)
T6.	²³Oklahoma	296	-	-	296 (+8)
T6.	Colorado State	296	-	-	296 (+8)

	OU Golfers	1	2	3	Score
T19.	K. Milligan	73	-	-	73 (+1)
T19.	E. Secor	73	-	-	73 (+1)
T26.	H. Screen	74	-	-	74 (+2)
T43.	L. Winans	76	-	-	76 (+4)
T47.	M.F. Martinez	77	-	-	77 (+5)

MESA, Ariz. – No. 23 Oklahoma registered a 1-under 143 on the back nine in round one at the Clover Cup to finish the opening day at 8-over and in a tie for sixth at the par-72, 6-084-yard Longbow Golf Club.

Led by Kaitlin Milligan and Ellen Secor, who both carded 1-over 73s on Friday, the Sooners moved from 11th to sixth and just one shot outside of the top five on the back nine. OU's 296 (+8) on Friday is good for the second-lowest opening round of the season, as head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell's team seeks its sixth top-five finish in its last seven tries.

"We played much better on the back nine today and I hope we can carry that momentum into tomorrow," Drouin-Luttrell said. "It's easy to start thinking ahead at this course because there are some holes that you can attack, but we have to stay in the present and focus on one shot at a time."

Secor (+1, 73) was electric on her final nine holes, tallying seven pars and two birdies to move into a tie for 19th with teammate Kaitlin Milligan. For the redshirt senior, Friday's round continues her hot streak of golf in the state of Arizona, as she is averaging a score of 69 over her last four rounds in the Grand Canyon state.

"I finally got comfortable on the greens and just trusted my lines during my back nine," Secor said. "I've played Longbow a lot, and I always have played better on the back nine, so I had a pep in my step once I got to 10. I really love playing out in Arizona - there's something about the desert that really suits my eye. I'm not scared of the holes that are lined with waste bunkers, and those bunkers almost help me focus on the fairways and greens. I've got a ton of family and friends out here, so their support is great, and it's always good to come back here."

Milligan (+1, 73) closed her afternoon with two birdies on her final four holes to move into a tie with Secor at Longbow. Her card of 73 is tied for the third-lowest round of her season as the All-Big 12 selection will look to grab the first top-20 finish of the season.

"It definitely feels good to have some momentum as I go into tomorrow's round," Milligan said. "I'm pleased with the way that I finished today. I just had to miss it in the right spots with the greens being so firm. Staying patient with my putts because they were burning the edges all day, I know that some will fall tomorrow. Overall, I'm really happy with the energy that we brought today as a team."

Hannah Screen (+2, 74) sunk seven pars and a birdie to wrap up her opening 18 at the Clover Cup and sits in a tie for 26th place after 18 holes. The London product has fired a score of 74 or better in 12 of her last 13 rounds, with five rounds in the 60s.

Libby Winans (+4, 76) and Maria Fernanda Martinez (+5, 77) closed the day for Oklahoma, tallying rounds of 76 and 77, respectively. Winans, who won the Clover Cup in 2018, will look to bounce back in Saturday's second round.

The Sooners will look to carry their momentum from Friday's back nine into Saturday round two when they tee off at 9:00 a.m. with No. 10 Arizona State and Grand Canyon.