Oklahoma
Iowa State women’s basketball team advances to Big 12 title game with win over Oklahoma
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Iowa State freshman Addy Brown dribbled around the top of the key as the seconds ticked down near the end of the first half Monday against Oklahoma. Brown found an open spot and unleashed a long 3-point shot.
Brown kept her hand skyward long after the ball swished through the net, then pushed it up a little higher to pump up the crowd and ignite the frenzied fan base of Iowa State as the Cyclones rolled into halftime with a 14-point lead.
The basket was as close to a knockout punch as there could have been. No. 4 seed Iowa State never looked back during a 85-68 victory over the top-seeded Sooners in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. The victory moved the defending champion Cyclones into Tuesday’s championship game for the second straight season.
Iowa State, which has won six straight games, had to fight its way through a close call against Baylor in the semifinals on Saturday. Monday’s game was supposed to be just as difficult with the Cyclones taking on the Big 12’s regular-season champion − a team that rolled to a commanding win in Ames on Feb. 10.
But Iowa State had no issues with the 21st-ranked Sooners this time around.
The Cyclones had trouble getting stops and scoring during their first matchup, but they did whatever they wanted in both areas Monday. They even managed to slow down an Oklahoma team that has one of the top scoring offenses in the nation. The Sooners entered Monday’s matchup averaging 77.1 points per game, but couldn’t get going in the league semifinals.
Oklahoma shot 29% (10-for-34) from the floor in the first half, including 2-of-14 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Sooners could not slow down Iowa State. The Cyclones set the tone early by going on a 15-0 run to take a commanding 17-5 lead. Audi Crooks, who finished with 25 points, hit a rare 3-pointer during the run that included five straight makes for Iowa State.
Iowa State closed out the second quarter on a 7-0 run that was capped off by Brown’s 3-pointer to give Iowa State a 38-24 lead at halftime. Iowa State rattled off another big run in the third quarter, going on a 9-0 run to take a 49-26 lead. Even a full-court press by Oklahoma, a move that caused the Cyclones all sorts of problems in their win over Baylor, couldn’t stop Bill Fennelly’s team the rest of the second half.
Brown finished with 16. Emily Ryan had 12 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Cyclones.
What’s next? The Cyclones are likely hoping for K-State
Iowa State will face the winner of Monday’s Texas-Kansas State semifinal at 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2). The Cyclones might be quietly pulling for a Wildcats upset. Texas posed problems for Iowa State in an 81-60 rout on Feb. 17 in Austin. Kansas State, meanwhile, lost twice to Iowa State during the regular season. One of those Cyclone wins was a double-overtime thriller in Ames. The other was a road victory at Kansas State two weeks ago.
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
Oklahoma
‘Field of Flags’ to honor Oklahoma City bombing victims
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Oklahoma Christian University is honoring victims of the Oklahoma City bombing with a special display on campus.
They installed 168 Oklahoma flags at the campus entrance.
Organizers say it is to mark the 31st anniversary of the 1995 attack on the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City and to remember each life lost.
The annual ‘Field of Flags’ tradition transforms the campus.
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The display remains up through April 19, 2026.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Moves up Friday Start Times for Baseball, Softball Games
OU fans hoping to make it to either diamond on Friday will need to get there earlier than expected.
Oklahoma announced on Thursday that its baseball and softball series openers will each begin at 5:30 p.m on Friday.
Game 1 of the No. 14 Sooners’ baseball series against Missouri was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., while the No. 1 softball team’s series opener against No. 8 Arkansas was slated for 7 p.m.
In a pair of releases on OU’s athletic website, the reason given for both time changes was “forecasted inclement weather.” According to the National Weather Service, severe weather is supposed to arrive in Norman and its surrounding areas around 8 p.m.
OU’s other baseball games against the Tigers on Saturday and Sunday will remain at their scheduled times (4 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively). The softball games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday will remain at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
The baseball team’s three-game duel with Mizzou will be OU’s third home series of SEC play. Oklahoma opened conference play by taking two games of three against Texas A&M before dropping two of three to Alabama a few weeks later.
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OU has already played three SEC road series. The Sooners won two games of three at LSU in March before getting swept at Texas a week later. Most recently — last week — Oklahoma won two games against Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Oklahoma (24-12 overall, 7-8 SEC) sits in a five-way tie for ninth place in the SEC standings alongside Mississippi State, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Missouri, on the other hand, has played its way out of contention.
The Tigers come to Norman 20-17 and 3-12. They earned a road series win against Kentucky two weeks ago, but they followed that up with three losses in a row to fellow conference bottom feeder South Carolina last week. Mizzou has been swept three times — by Auburn, Texas A&M and the Gamecocks — since the start of SEC play.
On the softball side, Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 after taking two games of three against former top-ranked squad Texas. The Sooners, though, dropped their third game in Austin before falling to unranked Oklahoma State at Devon Park in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
The Sooners are 40-5 overall and 13-2 in conference play. OU currently sits atop the SEC standings, one game ahead of second-place Alabama.
Arkansas comes into the series at Love’s Field on a heater. The Razorbacks (35-6, 10-5) have won six of their last seven contests. Their only series loss of conference play this year came against Alabama, which is ranked No. 3.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma police set up sting for stolen property
TULSA, Okla. (KOKH) — One person has been arrested after allegedly trying to sell stolen property on Facebook.
On April 10, an officer with the Tulsa Police Department saw a post on Facebook Marketplace for a projector lens that was stolen from the condemned Promenade Mall.
The lens, which is worth $20,000, was listed for just $500.
The officer used a fake Facebook account to message the seller and arranged a trade for the lens in exchange for a minibike.
Earlier this week, 19-year-old Zachery Scrivner met with the officer and was arrested.
According to the police department, Scrivner said he knew the lens was stolen but decided to try to sell it anyway.
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He was arrested on a complaint of knowingly concealing stolen property.
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