Manning responds, helps Sooners rally past Cowgirls
NORMAN — Though the Oklahoma women’s basketball team was trailing rival Oklahoma State and struggling mightily in every phase of the game, coach Sherri Coale kept Maddie Manning, her Swiss-army knife, on the sideline for the final five minutes of the first half.
Coale chased Manning’s benching with a strong halftime message, and with a 3-pointer just 57 seconds into the third quarter, it was obvious Manning heard her coach loud and clear.
“I think I get the message when I sit,” Manning said. “I wanted to be out there playing, so I definitely got the message.”
Manning’s two-point first-half performance ballooned to a 20-point outing by the end of the game as she buried 4-of-6 triples in the second half to help No. 20-ranked Oklahoma rally past Oklahoma State 68-62 at Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday afternoon. “We talked about how important it was for Maddie to own the game as a scorer,” Coale said of the halftime talk. “We needed her involved.”
Trailing by nine at halftime, the Sooners (155, 6-2 Big 12) certainly needed Manning to step up in the third and fourth quarters to help them dig out of a hole largely created by a poor secondquarter shooting performance.
OU made just 2-of-15 field goals in the period and finished the first half shooting 23.1 percent. Meanwhile, OSU (12-6, 2-5) knocked down 10-of-14 attempts in the first quarter and wound up with a 53.8 shooting percentage at the break.
While the Sooners still struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the third quarter, they focused on the defensive end to find energy and keep the Cowgirls from controlling the game.
Coale’s team used an effective full-court press for most of the game, forcing OSU to commit 21 turnovers.
“They have one primary ball-handler and
when we got it out of her hands, they were a little sped up, not real sure of what to do next,” Coale said.
“I thought our aggression had a lot to do with that.
“We continued. It wasn’t just a one trap and done. We continued to apply the pressure.”
Stout defense kept OU in the game until the Sooners pulled away with a minute left in the fourth quarter, again thanks to long-range shots from Manning.
With Mandy Coleman fouling out in the second half, OSU had a defensive mismatch on Manning, and she was able to shake free down the stretch.
Manning’s 3-pointer with just more than
minutes remaining pulled the Sooners within a point, and two minutes later, another triple gave OU its first lead since the opening quarter.
“We should’ve made somebody hit a contested layup before we left Maddie Manning,” OSU coach Jim Littell said.
Then, with a minute to go, Gabbi Ortiz drained a 3-pointer, giving Oklahoma a 65-60 lead.
But before the Sooners could truly celebrate their comeback, they raced to their spots for OSU’s inbounds to execute the full-court press that had been so effective for the last three quarters.
Manning assumed her spot guarding the inbound, her outstretched arms obscuring the view of Jentry Holt.
As Holt craned her neck to peer around Manning, she tried to safely inbound the ball. Instead, freshman Chelsea Dungee tipped the ball, deflecting it from its route.
Instead of falling into Cowgirl hands, the ball landed in Manning’s arms for OSU’s last turnover.
A smile broke out across Dungee’s face as Manning dribbled toward the top of the key, just 60 seconds separating the Sooners from a victory that looked anything but guaranteed at halftime.
“I think what’s special is when you can find a way to win when you’re not shooting it particularly well and when your opponent is shooting it particularly well,” Coale said.
“Because those two things can just prove to be a hill you can’t overcome if you’re not mentally engaged, if you don’t have a true belief in what you’re capable of.
“I thought that was tested today, and our response was outstanding.”