March 17, 2007

Box Score

AUSTIN, Texas - Sophomore guard Sonya Daugherty (St. Louis, Mo./Hancock) produced a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double, but third-seeded Oklahoma had three players in double figures as it posted a 74-60 win over 14th-seeded Southeast Missouri State in a first round contest of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament earlier today at the University of Texas' Frank Erwin Center in Austin.

Southeast broke a 6-6 tie early in the game with a 11-3 scoring run that included nine points from Daugherty to post a 17-9 advantage at the 13:14 mark. Oklahoma came back with a 25-10 run of its own, including five combined three-pointers at the hands of freshman Jenna Plumley and senior Leah Rush, during a 10-minute period and gained a 34-27 lead that culminated on a jumper from freshman Amanda Thompson with 3:26 left in the stanza. The Redhawks scored seven straight points in a minute to tie the score at 34-all which ended with a jumper from junior guard Ashley Lovelady (Elkhart, Ind./Moberly Area CC) before Rush connected on a trey a few seconds later that gave the Sooners a 37-34 halftime lead.

Oklahoma (27-4) continued where it left off by scoring 11 of the first 15 points in the first five minutes of the second half to capture a 48-38 lead on a layup from senior Chelsi Welch. Southeast later sliced its deficit to 50-44 at the 10:19 mark on a Daugherty jumper that closed a 10-4 run over a four-minute stretch. After a layup from sophomore Ashley Paris put the Sooners ahead 60-50 at the 6:49 mark, the Redhawks closed the gap to 60-55 on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Tarina Nixon (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland) and a jumper by sophomore forward Rachel Blunt (Dexter, Mo./Dexter) with 5:53 remaining in the contest. A 14-5 scoring drive closed out the game for the Sooners and advanced them to Monday's second round showdown against sixth-seeded Marquette.

Junior forward Missy Whitney (Charleston, Mo./Three Rivers CC) added 14 points and five rebounds for Southeast, while senior center Lachelle Lyles (Chicago, Ill./Shelton State CC) tallied 10 rebounds, three steals and three points in her final collegiate game. Lovelady and Nixon added eight points apiece and combined for 10 of the Redhawks' 12 assists on the day.

Plumley paced Oklahoma with 20 points, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, while Rush produced 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field. Courtney Paris posted her 59th consecutive double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Redhawks finished the season with a school-best 24-8 record.