Baylor
Oklahoma
Sooners Rush Past Bears, 87-66
8/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2000
WACO, Texas - A close game at the half became a runaway before the final buzzer as the Oklahoma Sooners beat the Lady Bears 87-66 at the Ferrell Center Saturday night.
The Bears hung in against throughout the first half against a tough Sooner team, led by preseason all-American Phylesha Whaley. At the half, the Bears trailed by just four, 43-39, despite the Sooners' first-half shooting percentage of nearly 55%.
Baylor led early, 15-9, but Oklahoma quickly recovered and led the last eight minutes of the half. The Bears stayed close, thanks to Mandy Hayworth's 17 first-half points, on the way to a team-high 22 on the night.
"We took our game up to another level tonight," Hayworth said.
The Sooners kicked their already hot tempo up a notch in the second half, shooting 68%. Oklahoma jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first two minutes of the second half, and Baylor never got as close again.
"I think this team showed a lot of heart," Baylor head coach Sonja Hogg said. "That was a pretty good basketball game in that first half, wasn't it?"
Oklahoma's Whaley led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting. She also added 11 rebounds, a game high.
"They're very balanced in scoring," Hogg said. "We couldn't afford to double up on her [Whaley]."
The loss drops the Lady Bears to 5-9 overall, 0-4 in Big XII Conference play. Oklahoma moves to 13-3, 3-0 in conference.
The Lady Bears' next game is at home on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m. against Kansas.
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