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    OU Basketball: Oklahoma Tops TCU in Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals

    The Sooners won their first matchup in the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday, defeating TCU to move on to the semifinals.

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    Oklahoma Sooners
    Oklahoma Sooners

    In its first game of the Big 12 Tournament, No. 1-seed Oklahoma knocked of ninth-seeded TCU 69-53 behind 17 points from freshman forward Sahara Williams.

    With the win, Jennie Baranczyk and company move on to the next round of the conference tournament in Kansas City where they will meet Iowa State at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 11.

    In an ugly start to the contest, the Sooners and Horned Frogs went a combined 4-of-15 to begin the first quarter. Midway through the opening frame, OU led 7-6.

    Coming out of a media timeout, sophomore forward Kiersten Johnson hit a layup to extend Oklahoma's lead. Baranczyk's team ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run to head into the second period with ahead 16-6. 

    After two consecutive triples by senior guard Lexy Keys, the Sooners advantage swelled to 16 with seven minutes left until halftime. The former Oklahoma State standout started the contest 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.

    After TCU began to find its rhythm on offense, the Horned Frogs cut OU's lead to eight with just over three minutes left in the second quarter. 

    The Sooners ended the first half going 0-for-5 from the field and failing to score in the final three minutes of the second quarter. Despite its offense going cold, Oklahoma was up 30-24 at the break. 

    OU opened the second half with a quick 5-0 run, taking a 35-24 lead 40 seconds into the third quarter. After a free throw from Payton Verhulst and layups from Williams and Nevaeh Tot, the Sooners advantage grew to 40-27 just a few moments later.

    Aided by a foul from Oklahoma, TCU embarked on a swift 8-0 run that brought the score to 40-35. After a hot start to the third quarter, OU went on a three minute scoring drought that allowed the Horned Frogs to get back in the game.

    TCU scored again to pull within three, but a triple from Williams extended the Sooners' lead to 43-37. 

    With 30 seconds left in the quarter, senior forward Skylar Vann knocked down her second field goal of the game to put OU ahead 49-42. Senior guard Aubrey Joens knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Oklahoma a 10-point advantage heading into the final frame. 

    Ahead 57-47, Keys finished a layup and Vann connected on a 3-pointer shortly after to grow the Sooners' lead to 62-47 with just under seven minutes left in the contest.

    After a Williams layup with three minutes left, Oklahoma's lead was up to 14. The basket gave the freshman forward 13 of her 17 points in the second half.

    OU held the Horned Frogs scoreless in the game's final three minutes and 58 seconds to come out on top 69-53. Baranczyk's team shot an impressive 42% from beyond the arc in the quarterfinal matchup.

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