Sooners Women's Basketball Season Ends On Sour Note Against Stanford

Sharane Campbell-Old's senior season ended earlier than she may have hoped for after a disappointing loss to the fourth seeded Stanford Cardinal, by a final score of 86-76. But the season itself was not a disappointing one for her or the team. Oklahoma finished the year 21-12 and finished the season winning 16 of their last 23. They also won two postseason games including one NCAA Tournament win. But the second round exit against Stanford left a bittersweet ending on the Sooners season, especially given that the Sooners had a chance to head back to Oklahoma City for the Sweet 16 if they had won the game.

Perhaps the loss would be easier to swallow if they were outplayed the whole game, but they had the lead at half and played good early on. Gioya Carter was on fire, scoring the team's first 10 points in the game and Oklahoma had a seven point lead with seconds remaining in the half before Lili Thompson made a three pointer on a buzzer beater to end the first half of action.

Then the Sooners inexperience showed and they went 4/25 on field goals throughout a stretch of the game, a stretch that gave Stanford the advantage and ultimately the win. Stanford went on a 12-2 run and never looked back, as Coale's team couldn't gain any more momentum in Stanford's home court during te second half.

Campbell-Olds scored nine points to go with eight rebounds in her final collegiate basketball game. She went 3/10 from the field and 1/6 from three pointers, so she's had better games this season. She played just 29 minutes after getting into a lot of foul trouble early on.

Kaylon Williams, the junior from Midwest City, played outstanding in this one. She recorded a double double with 22 points and 10 rebounds while shooting efficiently from the field. Her play was what kept Oklahoma within striking distance for a majority of the game.

Sophomore Peyton Little, the Sooners leading scorer on the season, was held to just a total of four points and shot just 1/8 in the loss. Stanford wanted to challenge the Sooners guards, and it worked in the Cardinal's favor defensively. Freshman Gabbi Ortiz had 12 points but four different turnovers that helped swing the momentum toward Stanford.

Stanford's Amber Orrange and Lili Thompson led the way for the Cardinal with a combined 43 points between them. Bonnie Samuelson also contributed 19 points and played all but two minutes in Stanford's 10 point win.

The victory sent Stanford to Oklahoma City for the Sweet 16 as the Sooners will have to watch and wonder what could have been if they had advanced just one more round. But for now, they'll enjoy their 21-12 season despite the tough loss. They should be back in 2015 with a stacked team that features a lot of talent and untapped potential.