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
Oklahoma City police investigating early morning shooting
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Oklahoma City police are investigating an early morning shooting that left one man injured in northeast Oklahoma City.
Around 3 a.m. on Thursday, emergency crews were called to a reported shooting near Kelley and Wilshire Blvd.
Investigators say the shooting occurred between a couple inside the home, adding that the woman shot the man.
However, police say they are trying to determine if the shooting was accidental.
The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
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The woman has been taken into custody for questioning, but it is unknown if she will face charges just yet.
Oklahoma
North Carolina, Oklahoma advance to the Men’s College World Series finals
Oklahoma is just three outs away from steamrolling through the right side of the bracket and knocking out Georgia to reach the championship finals.
To prepare, let’s take a look at what arms we should expect for the Sooners just like we did for the North Carolina earlier.
The Sooners have leaned heavily on their freshmen pitching trio in Cord Rager, Xander Mercurius and Nick Wesloski throughout Omaha. The first two went at least seven innings, while Wesloski tossed 5.2 innings on Wednesday. Even though they used relievers LJ Mercurius and Jackson Cleveland in the first two games, neither pitched more than two innings nor allowed a run.
If LJ, who entered for Wesloski on Wednesday, finishes the game, he will have gone 3.1 innings.
That sets up Oklahoma very well to matchup with UNC, which went 3-0 and also hasn’t used many arms up to this point.
If OU does win, expect Rager, Xander Mercurius and Cleveland to be ready to go. Rager, who hasn’t pitched since their first round game against Alabama on Saturday, June 13, would have a full week of rest.
Oklahoma
Rep. Kevin Hern wins Oklahoma GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, governor’s race heads to runoff
U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern easily won Oklahoma’s GOP nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, and the race for a new governor in the deeply conservative state began with Republicans Gentner Drummond and Mark Mazzei advancing to a runoff.
In a primary that again tested President Donald Trump’s status as Republican Party kingmaker, both Hern and Mazzei carried his endorsement in their bids to win open races for two of Oklahoma’s biggest offices. With nearly all the votes counted, Drummond, the state’s attorney general, was narrowly ahead of Mazzei, a former state senator.
The primary had Republicans picking their preferred successor to outgoing Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and a nominee for the Senate seat once held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in Oklahoma since 1990.
Hern’s most serious potential GOP rivals stayed out of the Senate race after Trump endorsed him even before Mullin was confirmed as a replacement for fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Hern received more than 50% of the primary vote to avoid a runoff.
He struck a somewhat bipartisan tone in speaking with reporters after winning big, touting his experience as a House member working on issues such as trade and energy. He promised to represent conservative principles and “Oklahoma ideologies” in the Senate and noted he already has relationships with senators.
“We have a lot of friends in a lot of different states, including blue states,” Hern said.
READ MORE: Live Results: Oklahoma midterm primaries
Trump endorsed Mazzei last month in a hotly contested race that also had other major candidates, including former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall and Chip Keating, a former state public safety director who is the son of a two-term governor.
Drummond told reporters at his watch party that he had expected a runoff after Trump endorsed Mazzei and suggested that Trump could reconsider his endorsement of Mazzei, saying, “who knows?”
“Mr. Mazzei got a bump, but now he’s got to earn the rest,” Drummond said.
Trump repeated his endorsement of Mazzei on his Truth Social platform on Monday. Mazzei told supporters Tuesday night, “All I can say is, ‘Wow.’
“Eighteen months ago when we started this adventure, no one thought this was possible,” he said. “The political insiders said we had no chance. We started at zero, but who in here actually had faith we could get the job done and get in the runoff? You did.”
Mazzei also boosted his campaign with personal funds — nearly $10.9 million, or almost 95% of the $11.5 million he raised, according to campaign finance reports. Drummond put $2.5 million from his own pocket in raising about $7.2 million. Together, Drummond, Mazzei, Keating and McCall contributed $22.5 million of their own funds to their campaigns, or 72% of their combined fundraising of more than $31 million.
READ MORE: Oklahoma begins choosing a new U.S. senator and governor in crowded primary
The winner of the GOP runoff will face Oklahoma House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, who won the Democratic nomination Tuesday by a wide margin.
In a solidly Republican state, the races for two of Oklahoma’s biggest offices set off a political scramble. To replace Mullin in the Senate through this year, Stitt appointed Republican Alan Armstrong, an energy executive, but state law prohibited him from seeking a full term.
In November, Hern will face the winner of a Democratic runoff between N’Kiyla Thomas, a nurse and community activist, and Jim Priest, an attorney and minister.
The governor’s race is open because Stitt is finishing his second four-year term and cannot serve a third under the state constitution. Trump has seemed eager for him to go.
As head of the National Governors Association, Stitt drew Trump’s ire earlier this year over a dispute over invitations to White House events at the group’s annual meeting. The fallout led to Trump attacking Stitt on social media as a “RINO,” meaning Republican in Name Only.
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