AnniePokely
01-13-2008, 09:01 AM
Riley scores 45 as No. 25 Cowgirls rout No. 6 OU
Ryan Steele - NewsPress
With five minutes left Saturday, University of Oklahoma fans began heading for the exits in droves.
They had seen all they could stomach.
No. 25 Oklahoma State dominated from start to finish as it routed the sixth-ranked Sooners, 82-63, in front of a sell-out crowd of 13,611 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena — which set a school record for attendance at a women’s basketball contest.
It also marked the largest crowd to witness a women’s game in the state of Oklahoma. The Cowgirls snapped a 17-game losing streak against OU and earned their first Bedlam victory since March 2, 1999. Once the game ended, several hundred O-State fans stormed the court to celebrate with the team.
“Obviously it’s a pretty special night,” said OSU coach Kurt Budke. “We said before the night started that if we came in and played close to a perfect game as we could play, we’d have a chance.
“If you look at these stats, that’s probably as close to a perfect game as I’ve ever seen in my 23 years of coaching. I’m very, very proud of my team. ... This is the kind of win that has a chance to help a program take the next step.”
The Sooners had no answer for OSU sophomore Andrea Riley, who shot 12-of-23 from the field and recorded a career-high 45 points. It was the highest point total by a Cowgirl inside GIA and the second-most in program history — Donna Ridling posted 51 against Tulsa in 1978.
Riley, who went 2-of-10 in the first 20 minutes, scored 11 straight points midway through the second half to help put OU away.
“Half of their players were on (Riley) and she still scored,” said OSU senior Maria Cordero. “She just took over this game. You might as well let her keep the ball because she was scoring and no one could guard her. She had a great performance.”
Budke added, “Andrea carried us to this victory. I’ve had great players over the years and there’s no question that (Riley’s performance) was the best I’ve ever seen. She is making great decisions and she is definitely one of the best guards in America.”
Riley admitted Saturday’s scoring output was almost the highest of her life. When she was 13, she recorded 52 points in a 32-minute AAU summer game.
“I was kind of in the zone (Saturday),” said Riley, last season’s Big 12 Freshman of the Year. “I wasn’t thinking about scoring. I wanted to help my team but I’m not the kind of player that is very selfish. As long as we win, I’m OK.”
OU coach Sherri Coale added, “She was absolutely unbelievable. ... If she plays like she did (Saturday), she might be the best guard to ever play in the Big 12.”
Winning never seemed to be a concern for the Cowgirls, who jumped out to a 9-0 lead and led, 30-17, at intermission. It tied for the lowest-scoring half of the year for OU, which missed 10 of its first 14 shots.
OSU (14-1, 2-0) held the Sooners to a season-low 38.7-percent shooting and committed a season-low five turnovers.
“You can go through the box scores of every team in America and I bet you don’t find another team that turned it over five times,” Budke said. “That’s the key to the game.”
Coale added, “I thought they came out with more juice than we had. They looked hungrier for 40 minutes than we did and that’s a very tough thing for me to say. Truthfully, I thought they fought harder possession by possession.”
Amanda Thompson led the Sooners (10-3, 1-1) with 18 points while Courtney Paris added 15 points and a game-high 19 rebounds to extend her NCAA-record double-double streak to 74 consecutive games.
OSU senior Danielle Green had a double-double of her own with 17 points and a career-best 12 boards. Saturday marked O-State’s first victory against a Top 10 opponent since knocking off third-ranked Texas Tech in double overtime in 2004.
The Cowgirls are 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1999-00 campaign.
“There’s room for two great teams in the same state,” Budke said. “We still got a long way to go to catch (OU) but I think (Saturday), we served notice that there is another team in Oklahoma and in the Big 12 that you better prepare for because our girls are going to play hard every night.”
A new look
During Saturday’s game, Budke was wearing a bright orange blazer that he received as a gift after giving a speech at an OSU Alumni Association event last year.
“There was two or three of them there and I told them if they ever get me one of those, I’d wear it when we play Oklahoma,” Budke recalled. “I was just kind of joking and all of the sudden, there it was at my front door. I’m very proud of my school and my school colors. I just might retire it.”
Riley added, “He had the orange coat, we had the black nails and Coach Kenya (Larkin) had the orange pumps. We were kind of color coordinated.”
Budke’s attire drew a few friendly jabs, including one from Coale.
“Before the game, I told him what he was doing was great for women’s college basketball — then I told him his jacket was ugly,” Coale quipped.
Ryan Steele - NewsPress
With five minutes left Saturday, University of Oklahoma fans began heading for the exits in droves.
They had seen all they could stomach.
No. 25 Oklahoma State dominated from start to finish as it routed the sixth-ranked Sooners, 82-63, in front of a sell-out crowd of 13,611 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena — which set a school record for attendance at a women’s basketball contest.
It also marked the largest crowd to witness a women’s game in the state of Oklahoma. The Cowgirls snapped a 17-game losing streak against OU and earned their first Bedlam victory since March 2, 1999. Once the game ended, several hundred O-State fans stormed the court to celebrate with the team.
“Obviously it’s a pretty special night,” said OSU coach Kurt Budke. “We said before the night started that if we came in and played close to a perfect game as we could play, we’d have a chance.
“If you look at these stats, that’s probably as close to a perfect game as I’ve ever seen in my 23 years of coaching. I’m very, very proud of my team. ... This is the kind of win that has a chance to help a program take the next step.”
The Sooners had no answer for OSU sophomore Andrea Riley, who shot 12-of-23 from the field and recorded a career-high 45 points. It was the highest point total by a Cowgirl inside GIA and the second-most in program history — Donna Ridling posted 51 against Tulsa in 1978.
Riley, who went 2-of-10 in the first 20 minutes, scored 11 straight points midway through the second half to help put OU away.
“Half of their players were on (Riley) and she still scored,” said OSU senior Maria Cordero. “She just took over this game. You might as well let her keep the ball because she was scoring and no one could guard her. She had a great performance.”
Budke added, “Andrea carried us to this victory. I’ve had great players over the years and there’s no question that (Riley’s performance) was the best I’ve ever seen. She is making great decisions and she is definitely one of the best guards in America.”
Riley admitted Saturday’s scoring output was almost the highest of her life. When she was 13, she recorded 52 points in a 32-minute AAU summer game.
“I was kind of in the zone (Saturday),” said Riley, last season’s Big 12 Freshman of the Year. “I wasn’t thinking about scoring. I wanted to help my team but I’m not the kind of player that is very selfish. As long as we win, I’m OK.”
OU coach Sherri Coale added, “She was absolutely unbelievable. ... If she plays like she did (Saturday), she might be the best guard to ever play in the Big 12.”
Winning never seemed to be a concern for the Cowgirls, who jumped out to a 9-0 lead and led, 30-17, at intermission. It tied for the lowest-scoring half of the year for OU, which missed 10 of its first 14 shots.
OSU (14-1, 2-0) held the Sooners to a season-low 38.7-percent shooting and committed a season-low five turnovers.
“You can go through the box scores of every team in America and I bet you don’t find another team that turned it over five times,” Budke said. “That’s the key to the game.”
Coale added, “I thought they came out with more juice than we had. They looked hungrier for 40 minutes than we did and that’s a very tough thing for me to say. Truthfully, I thought they fought harder possession by possession.”
Amanda Thompson led the Sooners (10-3, 1-1) with 18 points while Courtney Paris added 15 points and a game-high 19 rebounds to extend her NCAA-record double-double streak to 74 consecutive games.
OSU senior Danielle Green had a double-double of her own with 17 points and a career-best 12 boards. Saturday marked O-State’s first victory against a Top 10 opponent since knocking off third-ranked Texas Tech in double overtime in 2004.
The Cowgirls are 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1999-00 campaign.
“There’s room for two great teams in the same state,” Budke said. “We still got a long way to go to catch (OU) but I think (Saturday), we served notice that there is another team in Oklahoma and in the Big 12 that you better prepare for because our girls are going to play hard every night.”
A new look
During Saturday’s game, Budke was wearing a bright orange blazer that he received as a gift after giving a speech at an OSU Alumni Association event last year.
“There was two or three of them there and I told them if they ever get me one of those, I’d wear it when we play Oklahoma,” Budke recalled. “I was just kind of joking and all of the sudden, there it was at my front door. I’m very proud of my school and my school colors. I just might retire it.”
Riley added, “He had the orange coat, we had the black nails and Coach Kenya (Larkin) had the orange pumps. We were kind of color coordinated.”
Budke’s attire drew a few friendly jabs, including one from Coale.
“Before the game, I told him what he was doing was great for women’s college basketball — then I told him his jacket was ugly,” Coale quipped.