Sooners Fall Short vs. No. 12 Iowa State

Wednesday, January 5

Norman

6 PM

University of Oklahoma

12-2,1-1Big 12

Iowa State

13-1,2-0Big 12

Iowa St.

Oklahoma

Sooners Fall Short vs. No. 12 Iowa State

January 05, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Box Score Photos Postgame

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN – The Oklahoma women's basketball team's fourth-quarter comeback attempt fell short Wednesday night in Norman as the Sooners dropped a conference game to No. 12 Iowa State, 81-71, at the Lloyd Noble Center.

As a result of the defeat, the 23rd-ranked Sooners (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) had their nine-game winning streak snapped by Iowa State (13-1, 2-0 Big 12). Madi Williams led OU on the night, pouring in 26 points and pulling down a team-high nine rebounds in the loss.

"We're going to take away some things from this game that are good and then some things that we need to work," head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. "We played a very, very good basketball team tonight in Iowa State and there are definitely some things that we've got to do better. But I'm still proud of our team and proud of our effort and I'm excited to see how we bounce back."

The Sooners opened the contest on an 8-0 run as Williams, Taylor Robertson and Kelbie Washington all got involved early before Iowa State made it a one-point game after the first quarter. The Cyclones, led by All-American Ashley Joens, took the lead with the first bucket of the second and grew their advantage to 10 before another Oklahoma run sent the Sooners into the break down 41-34.

Washington, the reigning USBWA National Freshman of the Week, tallied all 11 of her points in the first half on 5-of-9 shooting. She was only upstaged by Joens, whose 12 points led all scorers in the half as the forward added six rebounds in the first 20.

Iowa State weathered countless storms as Oklahoma fought to get back into the game as the Sooners cut the deficit to five midway through the third frame. But the Cyclones closed the quarter on a 14-7 run to hold onto a 14-point advantage heading into the final frame.

But the Sooners, who erased double-digit deficits vs. No. 16 BYU and Utah, stormed back into the game following an 8-0 run to open the fourth, forcing ISU head coach Bill Fennelly to use a timeout. The Cyclones, who lead the nation in 3-point field goals, used an Ashley Joens 3-pointer to spark an 8-3 run that the Sooners wouldn't overcome. Oklahoma got back within eight points late in the game but fell to Iowa State, 81-71.

The Sooners held Iowa State to 39.7% from the field, well below the Cyclones' season clip of 44%. Part of that effort was highlighted by OU's season-high 10 blocks, the most for the Sooners since they swatted 10 shots vs. West Virginia in 2018.

"I thought we defended pretty well," Baranczyk furthered. "We've just go to finish the play and we'll be OK."

Oklahoma resumes its conference slate on Saturday, Jan. 8, when it travels to Lawrence, Kan., for a 4 p.m. game with Kansas (9-1, 0-0 Big 12) on ESPN+.