Oklahoma saw a 12-point halftime lead disappear en route to a 61-59 loss to Louisville Sunday.
The Sooners jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the opening minutes in St. Louis. Ashley and Courtney Paris combined to score eight of the 16 points as Whitney Hand made a three to cap the run. The early run allowed the Sooners to go into the locker room leading 34-22.
The Cardinals (34-4) started the second half with a run of there own. Louisville opened the second half on a 15-1 scoring run. Oklahoma made only seven field goals in the second half, there first coming over seven minutes into the period.
Although the Sooners shot only 26 percent in the second half, they were in the game until the very end. After a missed Louisville free throw with seven seconds remaining, Nyeshia Stevenson's 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer. Oklahoma shot 19 percent from beyond the arc.
"In my head, it was going in," Stevenson said to reporters after the game. "I knew I was wide open. I was confident every second."
The loss marks the end of a magnificent career for Courtney Paris. Paris, who promised to pay back her scholarship to OU if they didn't win a championship, said that she is good for it.
"I do make good on the guarantee," said Paris to reporters. "Not today, though. Obviously, I don't have $64,000 waiting, but I do make good on it."
Louisville will play the winner of UConn and Stanford for the national championship Tuesday night.
Courtney Paris
Courtesy: Soonersports.com
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