Oklahoma
Johnson scores career-high 20, Verhulst dominates, No. 23 Oklahoma women top No. 21 Baylor 84-73
NORMAN, Okla. — Sophomore Kiersten Johnson had a career-high 20 points off the bench, Payton Verhulst had a double-double and No. 23 Oklahoma pulled away from No. 21 Baylor in the fourth quarter to win its ninth straight, 84-73 on Wednesday night.
The Bears scored nine-straight points to pull within 72-68 midway through the fourth but Skylar Vann hit two baskets and Johnson made a layup to quickly push the lead back to 10. Baylor committed three-straight turnovers, which offset a string of six-straight baskets.
The last Baylor basket was a 3-pointer by Jana Van Gytenbeek that made it 80-73 with 2:12 to play but the Bears missed their last three shots.
Verhulst had 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks for the Sooners (18-6, 12-1 Big 12 Conference), who are 4-3 against ranked teams. Nevaeh Tott and Sahara Williams both had 14 points and Vann had 10.
The last time the Sooners were 12-1 in league play was the 2008-09 season when they finished 15-1 and made the Final Four.
Sarah Andrews had 14 points for Baylor (18-6, 7-6), which is 5-3 in top-25 games. Dre’una Edwards and Van Gytenbeek both had 13 points.
Five different players scored when Oklahoma ran off 11-straight points to take at 13-3 lead but Yaya Felder and Edwards combined for nine points to get Baylor back within 13-12. Johnson, whose previous career high was 12, scored Oklahoma’s last 10 points of the first quarter to take a 21-19 lead.
Edwards hit a 3-pointer that put Baylor up 24-21 but the Sooners had a 10-2 run and ended up on top 35-29 at the half.
Oklahoma had a 24-14 rebounding advantage at the break but also had 10 turnovers. The Sooners were 1 of 12 from 3-point range but had 20 points in the paint. Baylor was 4 of 12 from 3 but 7 of 20 inside the arc.
The Sooners found the range from long distance in the third quarter, going 5 of 10 on 3s, and 5 of 10 inside the arc and stretched the lead to 64-51. Baylor only shot 6 of 21 by made 8 of 8 from the foul line.
Oklahoma is at No. 24 West Virginia on Saturday, Texas Tech is at Baylor on Sunday when the Bears will retire former star Brittney Griner’s number.
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Oklahoma
The Spring adds immersive walkthrough to annual Encounter Hope gala in Sand Springs, Oklahoma
TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — A Tulsa-based nonprofit is adding an immersive, walkthrough experience to its annual fundraising gala, aiming to give attendees a closer look at what survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking face — and how support services can help.
The Spring, which provides services to people impacted by domestic violence and human trafficking, will feature the walkthrough as part of Encounter Hope, its annual gala set for April 9 at the Arvest Convention Center.
The experience is designed to guide guests through the story of an abuse survivor across four stages of interaction with The Spring: the inciting incident, the crisis call, time at the emergency crisis shelter, and moving into safety.
“The idea is really to put you in the shoes of the people that we serve every day,” Allison Wells,
The Spring’s events and environments coordinator, said. “It’s easy to throw out stats about violence and trafficking in Oklahoma, throw out our service numbers each year, but these are really peoples’ lives. We want to put our attendees in the mindset of one person, one story. What would you do if you were facing this?”
After the walkthrough, attendees will have the opportunity to assemble move-in kits for The Spring’s shelter guests and write personal notes of encouragement.
The program portion of the evening will include a panel discussion hosted by Karen Larsen, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who anchored Tulsa’s Channel 2 for almost 30 years.
“Tulsa is an incredibly charitable city, and we know that these kinds of gala events aren’t rare here,” Leslie Clingenpeel, The Spring’s CEO, said. “Our goal is to go beyond the model of these fundraising-only type events. More than anything, we want people to understand what we do, to know that we’re here, to know what our frontline advocates are doing every single day. Domestic violence and trafficking are hard to look away from once you’re aware of them. We want to build that awareness to the people of this city.”
Individual tickets and table packages are available for purchase.
Attendees are encouraged to register before April 1 because space is limited.
More details and purchasing information are available at www.thespringok.org/encounterhope.
The Spring is a Tulsa-based nonprofit offering services to those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking.
The organization provides emergency crisis shelter, transitional living, and non-residential services.
More information is available at www.thespringok.org.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next
The Oklahoma State Cowboys men’s basketball bounced back in a big way Tuesday night.
Anthony Roy scored 27 points and Kanye Clary added 23, including seven in overtime, as Oklahoma State defeated the UCF Knights men’s basketball 111-104 in Orlando.
The Cowboys controlled the extra period, finishing overtime on an 11-4 run and outscoring UCF 17-10.
Clary played a major role in closing it out. He hit a key 3-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in overtime to help seal the win.
The victory moves Oklahoma State to 18-12 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12, and gives the Cowboys two wins in their last three games after snapping a five-game losing streak. UCF, now 20-9 (9-8 Big 12), has dropped two straight.
Roy and Clary led a balanced offensive effort. Jaylen Curry and Christian Coleman each added 16 points, while the Cowboys shot 49% from the field (35-of-72) and 80% from the free throw line (32-of-40).
Themus Fulks led UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel added 18.
Late-game drama forces overtime
The final seconds of regulation were chaotic.
With 24 seconds remaining, Isaiah Coleman threw down a dunk to give Oklahoma State a 94-91 lead.
But UCF answered quickly when Chris Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, tying the game at 94-94.
Oklahoma State had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Jaylen Curry missed a shot, and John Bol blocked Roy’s attempt, sending the game to overtime.
Cowboys respond after tough loss
The Cowboys showed resilience after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Cincinnati.
The team traveled directly to Orlando following that defeat and was pushed through two intense practices by head coach Steve Lutz and the coaching staff.
The response was clear.
Led by Roy’s scoring and Clary’s clutch overtime performance, Oklahoma State delivered a gritty win and swept the season series against UCF
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon
YUKON, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma City Police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon Monday night.
The shooting happened near Northwest 10th Street and South Yukon Parkway near the border of Yukon and Oklahoma City.
Police are on the scene, and officials said the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the hip.
OKCPD said they have at least one person in custody.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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