ROAD BLOCK
Natasha Mack becomes Oklahoma State's all-time shot blocker during women's basketball rout of Oklahoma
STILL WATER— Oklahoma State's Ja'Mee As berry made the first basket and the last basket of the second quarter against Oklahoma on Saturday night.
Each a 3- pointer, the first gave the Cowgirls a six-point lead. The last put OSU up by 18.
The rout continued after halftime, culminating in a 91-64 Cowgirl victory over the Sooners at GallagherIba Arena.
In all, Asberry hit six 3-pointers on her way to 22 points to go with five assists and three steals.
“I got open, and I hit `em,” Asberry said with a laugh. She finished 6-of11 from 3-point range and had 13 of her points in the second-quarter run that pushed the game to the brink of a runaway.
Senior forward Natasha Mack had 26 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots — the latter giving her 176 career blocks at OSU to become the school's all-time leader.
“I didn't even know I was that close to the record, to be honest,” Mack said. “So to know I achieved it is pretty awesome.”
More impressively, the junior-college transfer broke the record in less than two full seasons.
“There's been a lot of really good players go through here,” OSU coach Jim Littell said. “Kaylee Jensen, who held the record, I had the privilege to coach for four years.
“Who breaks a school (career) record in a year and 19 games? That is truly amazing that any record is broken in that short period of time. That just tells you how special Mack is.”
The win gave OSU the season sweep over the Sooners, four wins in a row and six in the last eight meetings.
The Cowgirls had five players in double-figures, with Lauren Fields scoring 13 points and Taylen Collins and Neferat ali Notoa adding 10 apiece.
But it was the Cowgirls' defense that made the biggest difference. OU's Madi Williams had 29 points, but no one else had more than nine.
“Very proud of our kids, proud of the way we prepared the last two days,” Littell said. “What we did on the defensive end — we were very concerned about three elite scorers for Oklahoma. Madi Williams is as good as advertised, but we did a good job on Gabby Gregory. Taylor Robertson, we missed some assignments and she makes you pay every time. But really proud of our kids.”
Because of OU's l i mited roster — the Sooners suited up seven players Saturday because of injuries — coach Sherri Coale often used a five-guard lineup that forced OSU to keep more smaller players on the court.
At times, the 6-foot-4 Mack had to defend the Sooners' point guard.
“It was different for us,” Littell said. “The kids really locked in on the practice floor and executed that pretty well.”