Oklahoma Sooners surge late, beat Baylor in overtime 98-92
The Oklahoma Sooners never led in regulation, and they didn’t need to in their win over the Baylor Bears in Waco. Oklahoma took over in overtime to pick up the 98-92 win.
After trailing by 12 points with 5:19 left to go in the fourth quarter, the Sooners used some timely defense and clutch shooting to work their way back into the game. Oklahoma battled to pull within three but couldn’t tie it.
Down five with 20 seconds to play, Neveah Tot made quick work of the Bears’ defense, driving to the bucket to bring Oklahoma within three. After the layup, the Sooners employed their full-court press and got the turnover they were seeking. Ana Llanusa got the ball in the paint and found Taylor Robertson all alone for three. Robertson, who hadn’t gotten many open looks in the contest, buried the three to tie the game.
In overtime, the Sooners earned their first lead of the game on an Ana Llanusa three-pointer to make it 86-83. The Sooners would lead by five with under three to play before the Baylor Bears stormed back to tie it with just under two minutes remaining in the game. But from there, it was all Sooners.
Oklahoma closed the game on an 8-2 run to pick up an impressive win on the road against the Baylor Bears.
Baylor came into the game having won three in a row and four of their last five. Most recently, they traveled to Ames to beat the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones to move into third place in the Big 12 conference.
After leading the Sooners in scoring in their win over West Virginia, Skylar Vann tied for the team lead against the Bears. Vann and Ana Llanusa each had 20 in the win. Vann was 9 of 16 from the field and chipped in six rebounds, five assists, and four steals to fill up the box score. Llanusa had an impressive all-around game as well, with five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Vann and Llanusa were joined by three other Sooners in double figures. It’s the second consecutive game that Oklahoma has had five players score 10 or more points. Taylor Robertson had 14. Neveah Tot had 13 points and five assists. Liz Scott contributed 11 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in the game.
Though Oklahoma was just 10 of 35 from three, they made their final two attempts count. One at the end of regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime, and one early in the extra period to give Oklahoma an early lead.
On non-three-point attempts, the Sooners shot 55% from the field. Incredible efficiency in a game where every possession mattered.
Per Joey Helmer of OUInsider.com, it was the first time the Sooners had won back-to-back road games in Waco since 2006-2007.
It was a gutsy win for Jennie Baranczyk’s bunch who had to overcome a big deficit on the road against a surging team. The Sooners are now solidly in second place in the conference and have won three straight and eight of their last 10.
They have a chance to finish the regular season on a tear with four of their final six against teams with losing records in the conference. They have key matchups remaining against Texas and Oklahoma State, but are firmly in the thick of the regular season conference title race.
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