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Big 12 Women's Basketball: Oklahoma gets other half of conference title

Associated Press

NORMAN, Okla. - Courtney Paris scored 28 points and Chelsi Welch added a career-best 24 as No. 12 Oklahoma claimed a share of the Big 12 title with an 88-61 victory over No. 16 Baylor on Wednesday night.

Paris added 18 rebounds to record her 55th straight double-double and she also tied her career-high with five assists as the Sooners (23-4, 13-3 Big 12) turned a matchup of the league's two most recent champions into a rout.

Oklahoma, which will share the conference title with Texas A&M, rushed out to an early lead and then put the game away just after halftime.

Bernice Mosby had 15 points to lead Baylor, which suffered the second most lopsided defeat since Kim Mulkey became coach in 2000. The Bears lost 88-57 at No. 3 LSU on Jan. 30, 2006.

Paris' basket off an offensive rebound ended a run of nine straight points early in the second half and gave Oklahoma a 56-36 lead. Baylor (24-6, 11-5) started the second half 1-for-7 and committed five quick turnovers to dig itself into a hole.

Mosby, who had only one basket to that point, scored six points during an 8-2 response for Baylor while Paris took a brief rest. But Paris scored on the first possession after her return, and Welch pumped in nine points during a 12-0 run that put Oklahoma up 72-46.

Welch hit a 3-pointer, then outran Baylor's defense for a layup in transition before Paris converted a three-point play. Welch then topped it off with four free throws.

Paris narrowly missed becoming the first Oklahoma player to score at least 30 points in three straight games. Only she and Sooners career scoring leader Phylesha Whaley have ever had back-to-back 30-point games.

Paris had a shot to best Whaley, but her attempt for her first career 3-pointer caromed off the rim. She sat out the final 5:33 after Oklahoma went up by 31.

Amanda Thompson added 10 points and Paris' twin, Ashley, added 10 rebounds.

Oklahoma opened an early 16-7 lead with Paris established herself inside with two layups and a three-point play and then handed off to Thompson to set up her basket along the right baseline.

The Sooners then heated up from long range, with Erin Higgins and Welch each hitting two of the team's five 3-pointers as Oklahoma built a 34-17 advantage. After Higgins' second 3, Baylor held Oklahoma without a basket for more than 7 minutes but was only able to cut the gap to 45-34 by halftime despite going 6-for-8 on 3-pointers in the opening half.

Oklahoma State 64, Kansas State 55: MANHATTAN, Kan. - Danielle Green scored a career-high 24 points and Oklahoma State reached the 20-win mark for the first time in nine years with a 64-55 victory over Kansas State Wednesday.

Andrea Riley added 16 and Taylor Hardeman came off the bench to score 12 points on four 3-pointers for the Cowgirls (20-9, 8-8 Big 12), who won their third straight game.

Riley, the reigning Big 12 Rookie of the Week, also had six assists to move to fourth on Oklahoma State's single-season assist list.

The Wildcats (16-13, 4-12) were led by Kimberly Dietz with 23 points. No other player scored in double figures for Kansas State, which shot just 32.8 percent from the field and committed 18 turnovers.

The Wildcats, who finished the regular season on a five-game losing streak, shot 9-of-33 from beyond the arc - meaning they shot eight more 3-pointers than 2-pointers (33-25).

Ashley Sweat, who was averaging 19.4 points in Kansas State's previous five games, was held to just six points on 2-of-9 shooting, and had to leave the game at one point in the second half after she hit the back of her head on the floor. She returned a few minutes later.

Oklahoma State led for the entire second half. It was the Cowgirls' first win in Manhattan since 69-55 victory on Feb. 3, 2001, and it moved them to a perfect 6-0 against the Big 12 North Division this season.

Fueled by Greens 7-of-9 shooting in the opening half, the Cowgirls led 35-27 at the break and opened up their first double-digit lead when Riley connected on two free throws to make it 42-31 early in the second half.

Kansas State, which is just 2-11 since starting forward Marlies Gipson went down with a knee injury, closed the gap to seven twice in the second half, but never could get any closer.