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STILLWATER, Okla. — For the first time since 2009, the Oklahoma women's basketball team is champions of the Big 12 Conference. The No. 16 Sooners defeated Oklahoma State, 80-71, in Stillwater on Saturday to clinch a share of their seventh Big 12 regular season title.
Oklahoma (24-5, 14-4) outscored the Cowgirls by 15 points in the second half to hoist the trophy. The Sooners, led by second-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk, locked up the No. 2 seed at next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship after sharing the title with Texas.
The Sooners and Oklahoma State (20-10, 10-8) battled at a breakneck pace in the first quarter, with the Crimson and Cream narrowly holding a 24-20 advantage after one. The Pokes answered in the second quarter, jumping out to a nine-point lead late in the half by outscoring OU by 10 in the period. With a title on the line, Baranczyk's team made halftime adjustments, and an 11-2 run powered Oklahoma to a 24-10 drubbing in the third to take a lead it wouldn't surrender. The Sooners answered every Cowgirl punch in the final frame, as clutch baskets from seniors Taylor Robertson and Ana Llanusa pushed the Sooners to their title.
Robertson led the Sooners with 15 points, making a trio of 3-pointers in the win. The guard from McPherson, Kan., dished out six assists and pulled down three rebounds. Skylar Vann, a product of Edmond, Okla., finished with a double-double after scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Freshman Beatrice Culliton added 11 points in her second Bedlam battle.
The Sooners outshot the Cowgirls by nearly 12%, as OU improved to 21-0 this season when scoring 80 points. Oklahoma outrebounded OSU 42-26 and dished out 23 assists in the win. The victory was OU's fourth straight over Oklahoma State, as Baranczyk improved to 4-0 as the OU head coach in Bedlam.
Up next for the Sooners is the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Mo., which opens on Thursday, March 9. Oklahoma will be the No. 2 seed after dropping the tiebreaker to the Longhorns, and will matchup with either No. 7-seeded Kansas or No. 10-seeded TCU on Friday at 5 p.m. The winner of that contest will play either Baylor or Iowa State in the semifinal on Saturday.
