Feb. 25, 2007
NORMAN, Okla. - Courtney Paris had 22 of her 33 points in the second half to lead No. 13/11 Oklahoma past Missouri, 72-57, at the Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday.
Missouri (17-11, 5-10 Big 12) shot just 34 percent in the game and wasn't able to get the big run to overtake the Sooners. The closest Mizzou could get in the second half was six when Carlynn Savant and Marchele Campbell drained consecutive 3-pointers to make the score 57-51 with 8:56 left. The Tigers scored just six points the rest of the way.
EeTisha Riddle led the Tigers with 12 points but made just 4-of-14 from the floor. Savant had eight points and eight boards as she became Missouri's all-time 3-point leader, passing Tracy Lozier with her 141st trey at the 11:27 mark of the second half. Alyssa Hollins also had eight and led the team with three assists.
Oklahoma (22-4, 12-3 Big 12) got 33 and 21 from Paris for her 54th-straight double-double. Leah Rush also reached double-figures with 12 points and seven boards. Jenna Plumley had six assists and three steals.
The Sooners finished with a 49-28 margin on the boards and 46-12 points in the paint edge.
MU was up 5-4 before OU went on a 10-0 run capped by an Erin Higgins 3-pointer at 11:50. Riddle halted the run with a jumper from the free throw line. Paris made a pair of field goals before the Tigers got 3-pointers from Marchele Campbell and Hollins to cut the Sooner lead to 18-13.
Savant made a pair of free throws with 4:31 in the half to pull the Tigers within three, at 23-20. But OU got a three-point play from Ashley Paris to push the lead back to six. The Sooners took a 32-25 lead into the half.
MU shot just 32 percent in the half while OU finished at 42 percent. Hollins led the Tigers with seven points.
The Sooners opened the scoring in the second half with a 9-4 run and led 44-31 following Higgins' third 3-pointer of the game. The Tigers fought back and cut the lead to nine with 12:08 on a Kassie Drew trey.
A pair of three's from Savant and Campbell made it 57-51 OU with 8:56 left. Savant's three set the MU all-time record with 141. Both teams went cold for the next two minutes before Oklahoma pushed the lead back to double-figures with an 8-0 run that made it 65-51 with 4:29 remaining.
Riddle halted the run with a pair of free throws but the Tigers couldn't get any closer.
Missouri will return home to face arch-rival Kansas in the regular-season finale on Thursday. Tip-off at Mizzou Arena is at 6:30 p.m.