STILLWATER, OKLA. — It wasn't hard to figure out the difference between No. 4 Oklahoma and Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma had Stacey Dales.
"It just came down to Stacey Dales saying they were not going to lose the ballgame," Oklahoma State coach Dick Halterman said after Dales scored a career-high 29 points in the Sooners' 66-58 victory. "She took the game over."
Dales scored 17 in the second half to help the Sooners (17-2, 7-1 Big 12) rally. They trailed 29-27 at halftime and 36-32 with 15:34 remaining. But the Sooners rebounded from a rugged first half that saw them shoot just 31 percent from the field and miss all eight 3-point attempts.
They also committed 12 turnovers, while managing just two assists.
"I give them a bunch of credit on how they came into the game and how they approached us," Dales said of Oklahoma State (11-10, 3-5). "I thought they did a great job scouting what we do."
With leading scorers LaNeishea Caufield and Caton Hill struggling with foul problems, Dales keyed the comeback. She had five points during a 17-3 second-half run, including a key 3-pointer from the corner, as the Sooners surged ahead 44-33.
Oklahoma State pulled even at 46 on a three-point play by Tari Cummings. But Dales converted a three-point play of her own to put the Sooners ahead to stay.
Caufield, Oklahoma's leading scorer at 19.9 points per game, was held to two points in the first half and finished with nine. Hill scored just two points and went 0-for-10 from the floor, but did grab 11 rebounds.
"The strength of our team all year is that we have a lot of different weapons," Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. "We've been riding Caufield hard and heavy since the beginning of the season. "
No. 1 Connecticut 59,
No. 23 Virginia Tech 50
Blacksburg, Va. Asjha Jones scored 19 points and Diana Taurasi hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute Tuesday night as No. 1 Connecticut withstood a scare and defeated No. 23 Virginia Tech.
The Huskies (23-0, 9-0 Big East) scored 11 of the last 13 points after the Hokies (15-5, 6-3) pulled even at 48 with 3:10 left. Virginia Tech lost its third straight game and first at home this season.
In front of a roaring crowd of 6,069 fans, the Hokies held Connecticut to its lowest point total of the season, more than 30 below its average.
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