Feeling Blue: Oklahoma Women Fall In First Round To DePaul

Oklahoma didn't go down without a fight, but the Sooners didn't have enough to advance in the NCAA tournament, falling to DePaul, 104-100. 

Saturday, March 22nd 2014, 5:04 pm

By: News 9


A disappointing season for the Oklahoma women's basketball team added a disappointing and heartbreaking final chapter on Saturday.

The Sooners overcame an 18-point second half deficit, but was unable to hold on against DePaul, as the Blue Demons ended Oklahoma's season with a 104-100 victory in first round NCAA tournament action from Durham, N.C.

The game was a small picture of an inconsistent season that was long on effort, but short on results. OU never stopped fighting, even when it was down by 18 points early in the second half and things looked bleak. Unfortunately for the Sooners, it just wasn't enough.

Megan Rogowski put the Blue Demons up for good with a 3-pointer from the corner with 40 seconds left. The shot, along with two free throws from Rogowski, pushed the DePaul lead to 102-97 with 15.7 seconds left. Aaryn Ellenberg hit a 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left to cut the lead to two points, but Chanise Jenkins hit two more free throws with six seconds left to ice the game.

Ellenberg ended her Oklahoma career in style, scoring 36 points and hitting seven 3-pointers, 26 of those coming in the second half. Sharane Campbell scored 22 points and 10 rebounds while Kaylon Williams had 12 poitns and nine rebounds before fouling out with 1:45 remaining in the game.

Seniors Morgan Hook and Portia Durrett each had 11 points for OU. The lone senior to not score was Nicole Griffin, who didn't even start against DePaul, sitting behind Williams instead. Griffin played just five minutes and missed the only shot she took.

Six DePaul players scored in double figures, scoring all but two of DePaul's 104 points. Rogowski led the way with 24 points while Jenkins had 21. Brittany Hrynko had 19 points while Jessica January had 14 points off the bench.

The Sooners had a hard time staying in front of DePaul, as the Blue Demons shot 53.7 percent from the field for the game, including a strong 11-of-23 showing from 3-point range.

The first half began as a back-and-forth affair, with a jumper from Ellenberg tying the score at 20 with 11:03 to go in the first half. From there, the Sooners went cold, while the Blue Demons opened up a big lead with a 30-14 run to close the half. OU was hanging around before DePaul went on a 9-0 burst in the final 44 seconds, capped by Jenkins bucket and the foul with 1.5 seconds left to put DePaul up, 50-34.

Jenkins hit a layup 13 seconds into the second half to put the DePaul lead at 52-34. Then Ellenberg and the Sooners took over.

Ellenberg, along with Campbell (20 second half points) and Durrett (nine points after halftime) were the leaders as OU ripped off a 32-13 run over a seven-minute stretch to take a 78-77 lead with 8:51 remaining. Ellenberg, in addition to several 3-pointers, had two steals and breakaway layups. Durrett played terrific post defense, flummoxing the DePaul offense that had shot 57.6 percent in the first half.

Two Campbell free throws plus a layup from Campbell pushed the lead to 84-79 with 6:35 left. Not to be outdone, DePaul responded with a 12-2 run of their own to take a 91-86 lead with 4:24 left. Ellenberg tied the game with 1:20 left after she was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. After a Hrynko layup, Durrett tied the game at 97 with 47 seconds left before Rogowski's heroics.

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