‘CENTRAL PIECE’
OU’s Keys expects ‘intense reaction’ in her Bedlam return to OSU
NORMAN — Lexy Keys expects there could be some boos Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s Bedlam, so I think it’s going to be an intense reaction,” Keys said. “Whenever I went there, I absolutely loved the fans, I absolutely loved the community. I thought that was always what made Stillwater so special was that community that they brought to games and that you would interact with.
“I still have those lifelong connections with some of the people in the community and friends. So you always want it to be good, but you know, it’s Bedlam so we’ll see.”
This time, Keys will experience Bedlam from the other side after transferring from Oklahoma State to OU in the offseason.
Keys and the Sooners, fresh off a victory over No. 2 Kansas State, take on the Cowgirls at 4
p.m. Saturday in a game that will be streamed on ESPN+.
After Wednesday’s victory, Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk said Keys was central to the Sooners’ recent resurgence.
OU lost five of its last six non-conference games and was seemingly headed into oblivion.
But the Sooners flipped a switch when Big 12 play began and have won eight of their last nine to move just a half-game out of the conference lead.
In the win over the Wildcats, Keys was 3 of 5 from the floor with 10 points.
But Keys’ defensive presence has been especially meaningful.
“Lexy Keys has really been the central piece,” Baranczyk said. “We’ve talked about that a lot in here. … She has been the difference-maker in the defensive intensity for us. She’s steady, she’s consistent, she just shows up every single day to work and it’s really impressive, and I think it’s been contagious for this team.”
Teammate Skylar Vann said the consistency Keys shows has helped everyone around her improve.
“Lexy’s always played really good defense,” Vann said. “Lexy’s not one to let the ball just kind of be dribbled up. She always adds that pressure and has since the beginning of the season. We’ve had to match her energy on defense and I think that’s what’s got us to this point where we’re able to force turnovers is Lexy setting the tone and we’re now following it, whereas before, early in the season, Lexy was setting the tone but we weren’t following it. “So, I think Lexy’s always done that.” When OU struggled, so did Keys. During the nine-game span from mid-November through December — a stretch where the Sooners were 4-5 — Keys shot just 32.4% and was shooting just 27.7% from beyond the arc.
In OU’s last eight games, Keys is shooting 47.1% overall and 42.1% on 3pointers. She’s also cut down her turnovers slightly.
During the Sooners’ slump. Keys struggled mentally as much as anything.
“I think I put almost too much weight on my shoulders,” Keys said. “I remember me and Jennie having conversations about playing free and playing with a smile on my face. She always tells me that I’m better when I smile when I’m playing. She’s actually right. I’m a helper. I want to give to other people. I want to make people around me better, so whenever we weren’t playing to our full potential, I took it very personally.”
So, Baranczyk told Keys to let go of some of that weight and not worry so much.
The results, for both Keys and the Sooners, have been obvious.
Keys transferred to OU in part to play under Baranczyk’s free-wheeling system that gives players plenty of freedom to make plays.
After some rough moments early in the season, the move is paying off.
Keys grew up around Bedlam, watching stars from both sides come through in intense games.
It was one of the reasons why she chose OSU out of Tahlequah Sequoyah High, and she’s glad she still gets to experience it, this time in the crimson and cream of OU instead of the Cowgirls’ orange and black.
“It’s just a really, really fun atmosphere,” Keys said. “That’s always how it’s going to be, in my opinion, especially with it being the possibility that it’s the last meeting (in Stillwater) and all that.
“I’m excited.”