WACO, Texas (AP) — Liz Scott had another late game-winning shot for No. 18 Oklahoma after the Sooners’ late arrival at ninth-ranked Baylor.
Scott made a layup with 6 seconds left, the second game in a row her last shot beat a Top 10 team, as the Sooners won 78-77 on Wednesday night.
After a timeout, Baylor got one more shot but Jordan Lewis missed on a drive to the basket.
Madi Williams had 20 points and the assist on the game-winner by Scott as the Sooners (19-3, 8-2 Big 12) remained tied with No. 11 Iowa State for the lead in the conference standings. Taylor Robertson scored 14 points.
Sarah Andrews had 23 points for the Bears (15-5, 5-3), who had won five in a row since their loss at Oklahoma on Jan. 12.
The Sooners had planned to fly to Waco, but a late plane cancellation led to them instead traveling by bus about 270 miles down Interstate 35 from Norman, Oklahoma, on a day with deteriorating weather conditions in advance of a rare winter storm in Texas and rush-hour traffic in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk said the team was unable to travel Tuesday because of weather in the Norman area, and was supposed to fly on game day before finding out about 1:30 p.m. — 5 1/2 hours before the original scheduled start — the flight was unavailable.
“The first the first thing I want to say is, just thank you to Baylor for working with us. This was a day that was unplanned, kind of unimaginable from a travel standpoint,” Baranczyk said. “They didn’t have to work with us the way that they did. … It was very, very classy.”
After the tip had already been pushed back 30 minutes to 7:30 p.m., Oklahoma didn’t arrive to the arena until about arrived at the arena about 7:15 p.m., and the game started around 7:45 p.m.
“We warmed up on the bus. We stopped and pulled over and got bags off under the bus, taped ankles, warmed up, did all that,” Baranczyk said.
NaLyssa Smith had her 14th double-double this season for the Bears with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Ja’Mee Asberry had 15 points.
Scott’s running bank shot with 4.1 seconds left was the difference Saturday in Oklahoma’s 65-63 win at then-No. 9 Texas on Saturday.
Her final shot at Baylor was the 12th lead change in a game that was also tied 10 times.
After their late arrival Wednesday, Oklahoma jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but had turnovers on four of its first six possessions. The Bears pushed out to a 23-12 lead after a span of nearly six minutes when they made eight of nine field goals — from a 3 by Asberry to a layup by Andrews.
But Baylor missed its last 10 shots over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half, and needed two free throws from Sarah Andrews in the final second for a 38-38 tie at the break.
“Today was a weird day,” Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. “We were supposed to play the game at 7 o’clock. It was supposed to be family night. We were supposed to be honoring our players’ families, who worked to get here in this weather to be here for this game. But we prioritized Oklahoma’s players’ health and safety over everything. And I just hope that favor’s returned in the future.”
Collen said Baylor officials were getting updates every 20 minutes or so, and that the Sooners had said they would arrive at 6:30, and then it got pushed back to 7 p.m.
“It was exhausting. It was hard to prepare the right way,” Collen said. “That’s not why we lost the game. We have to play better. I got to get more out of them.”
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma: Before their win Saturday over Texas, the Sooners hadn’t won a game over a Top 10 team since 2017. Now they have won two in a row, and now have consecutive wins over Baylor for the first time since 2010.
Baylor: The Bears have five losses in the regular season for the first time since 2009-10 when they finished 27-10 after making the NCAA Final Four in Brittany Griner’s freshman season.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma: Hosts West Virginia on Saturday.
Baylor: Plays No. 13 Texas twice in three days, at home Friday in the makeup of a game postponed Jan. 9 because of COVID-19 protocols, and then Sunday in Austin.
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