OU Basketball: Oklahoma Takes Down TCU

Senior Skylar Vann had another big night as the Sooners held off the Horned Frogs for their seventh win in a row.

Skylar Vann stayed hot and Oklahoma stayed on top of the Big 12 Conference in a 72-55 victory over TCU on Wednesday at Lloyd Noble Center.

Vann scored 17 points — she’s been in double figures 15 straight games and has surpassed 20 in five of her last seven — as OU surged to a double-digit lead to start the fourth quarter and then played efficiently down the stretch.

Sahara Williams scored nine of OU’s first 11 points in the fourth — she didn’t score in the first three quarters but heated up late — and the Sooners built their lead to 15 on Payton Verhulst’s transition 3-pointer, then to 18 (68-50) on Beatrice Culliton’s fast break conventional three-point play.

OU improved to 16-6 overall and 10-1 in Big 12 Conference play and held on to sole possession of first place in the league standings, while TCU fell to 15-7 and 2-9.

OU won its seventh in a row and for the 10th time in 11 games.

Oklahoma is 10-1 in conference play for the first time since the 2008-09 team started 12-0 en route to a conference title (15-1) and Final Four appearance.

OU continued to play with great efficiency all night, with 22 assists on 27 field goals and a shooting percentage of almost 50 percent (xx-of-xx). The Sooners also converted 16 TCU turnovers into 16 points.

Vann was 7-of-12 from the field (2-of-2 from 3-point range) with three assists and three steals. Verhulst finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting with six rebounds and three steals. Kierston Johnson had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners.

The Sooners take the floor again on Saturday when they meet Iowa State in a 6 p.m. tipoff in Ames.