OU women make it seven straight Bedlam wins, 82-77 over Okie State

If there was ever an example of why OU's Danielle Robinson is an All-American and one of, if not the best point guards in the country it was on display Saturday afternoon in Stillwater.  The Sooners were down early and in trouble with their senior leader on the bench with two early fouls.  Robinson would then pick up a third just before half time as OU went to the break down a manageable four points.  The Sooners got another scare in the first half when Whitney Hand was knocked to the ground and had to leave the game.  The initial fear was of course her surgically repaired knee, but in my opinion it really looked more like she just tweaked her ankle.  To the collective sigh of Sooner Nation, Hand would start the second half and go on to hit several big shots helping OU eventually secure the victory.

Robinson was outstanding as usual, even more so if you consider she played with four fouls for a better part of the second half.  Despite that fact, Robinson finished with 20 points, seven assists, and a perfect 10-10 from the line many of which were game clinchers down the stretch.  All of that overshadows the fact that Robinson wasn't even the leading scorer in the game, that feat was accomplished by impressive OU freshman Aaryn Ellenberg who led all scorers with 23 points.  Ellenberg has been unbelievably good for the Sooners as a true freshman and continues to hit big shot after big shot.  Perhaps the most impressive aspect of her game is her fearlessness, she certainly isn't afraid to step up and take the shot when the game is on the line.

Besides Robinson, the biggest difference in the game was the Sooners outside shooting.  OU had been struggling from behind the arc in their last several games and that stat reversed itself big time on Saturday.  It seemed that whenever OU needed a big shot to either tie the game or take the lead, it was a three pointer and more often than not they nailed it.  OU went a solid 50% from three behind 3-5 from Carlee Roethlisberger, 3-6 from Hand, 4-9 from Ellenberg, and 2-4 from Morgan Hook.  The Sooners also got nice contributions from posts Joanna McFarland (8 points) and Lyndsey Cloman (6 points).  McFarland had been struggling in conference play, so hopefully her performance in yet another OU Bedlam victory will help to spark her confidence.

The Bedlam victory sets up a gigantic game with #1 in the country Baylor Bears on Wednesday in Waco.  OU and Baylor have developed quite a rivalry over the last decade and Wednesday night will be another chapter in the Kim Mulkey fashion disaster rugged series.  OU will have to continue their hot shooting and find some combination of post play to at least slow down Baylor's Britney Griner.