Hook Leads Sooners To Much-Needed Win Over Texas

The Oklahoma women's basketball team desperately needed a win, both to snap a two-game losing streak and keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. Their senior leader, Morgan Hook, wasn't going to let them lose yet another close game.

With leading scorer Aaryn Ellenberg watching from the bench with a concussion, Hook scored three points in the final minute, including a tie-breaking free throw with four seconds left to lead the Sooners to a hard-fought, 64-63 win over archrival Texas.

In a game defined primarily by terrible shooting and poor decision-making, Hook looked like a superstar. Hook finished with a near triple-double, scoring 15 points to go with a career-high nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Her left-handed layup with 43.8 seconds remaining tied the score at 63 and on the ensuing OU possession, drove right to the basket to draw a foul that resulted in the game-winning free throw.

Nneka Enemkpali had a chance to win the game for Texas right at the buzzer. Nekia Jones rebounded Hook's second free throw and passed ahead to Enemkpali who had gotten behind the OU transition defense. However, she took too much time getting to the basket and while her layup attempt was successful, it came well after the buzzer sounded.

Neither team led by more than six points, partly due to the back and forth nature of the game, but mostly due to bad shooting by both teams. Texas barely led that category, shooting 40 percent for the game, while the Sooners shot 38.6 percent.

Enemkpali had 17 points to lead Texas, while Chassidy Fussell had 16 points. Jones had nine points off the bench, all in the second half.

Hook's 15 points were a team-high for OU. Sharane Campbell had 12 points despite being hindered by foul trouble for most of the game. Gioya Carter had 11 points.

The Sooners were able to pull out the win thanks to key contributions from seldom-used players. Ellenberg missed the game with lingering concussion symptoms after running into a hard screen against Oklahoma State on Sunday. With Campbell, Nicole Griffin and Kaylon Williams saddled with foul trouble in the first half, OU coach Sherri Coale turned to Shaya Kellogg and Portia Durrett. The pair combined for 25 minutes for the game and helped the Sooners go into the locker room with a 27-26 lead.

Kellogg didn't score and grabbed only two rebounds, but played excellent defense while in the game. Kellogg entered with the Sooners tied and left with OU down a point right before the half. Durrett finished with seven points and two rebounds of her own.

The Sooners will look to build on the win when they host Kansas Saturday night at Lloyd Noble Center. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.