Dec. 5—Saturday afternoon at Lloyd Noble Center, firstyear coach Jennie Baranczyk’s Oklahoma women offered a familiar story.

Yet again, they faced another team that might be pretty good and yet again, they whacked that team like nobody’s business.

Topping their fourth straight opponent since taking their lone loss to then-No. 9 Oregon in the Bahamas, the Sooners knocked Mississippi State out early and then kept pounding the Bulldogs to the buzzer, prevailing 94-63.

Since beginning the season with a two-point victory at South Dakota, the rest of OU’s wins have come by no less than 12 points, with an average margin of 19.9.

A 31-point spread, this one was the best of the bunch and, though it may have looked a whole lot like the others, a new defensive development may have set it apart.

“We guarded together ... We [made] sure that it’s one against five,” Sooner guard Ana Llanusa said. “That’s what coach Jennie says all the time, one of their offensive players against five of us.”

To watch it was to see the Sooners move well laterally, not get lazy, help and make the Bulldogs work.

That defensive effort led poor Mississippi State shooting: 36.8 percent (25 of 68) from the floor and 22.9 percent (8 of 35) from 3-point land.

It meant, too, that the Sooners didn’t foul much, only sending the Bulldogs to the free-throw line eight times.

OU (7-1) kept it going pretty much the whole game.

“We were able to separate every quarter, and I think we were able to separate out of every time out,” Baranczyk said.

Offensively, OU continued the trend of spreading the wealth.

Taylor Robertson led everybody with 22 points, Ana Llanusa finished with 21 and four steals and Madi Williams cashed her third double-double of the season, 13 points and 11 rebounds.

OU also got 10 points and four assists from Kelbie Washington, nine points and seven rebounds from Skylar Vann and nine points from Liz Scott.

Down 23-11 early, Mississippi State closed within 27-21 by the end of the first quarter, yet OU was about to run away for good behind a barrage of 3-pointers from Robertson.

The first three of Robertson’s four second-quarter long balls were part of an 18-3 Sooner run that made a tightish 27-23 contest a 45-26 runaway 4:21 before the half.

The Sooners slowed ever so slightly, yet three free throws from Williams and a layup from Scott over the second quarter’s last 1:04 put them on top 55-33 by intermission.

OU committed 18 turnovers, some of them carelessly playing a little too carefree. Yet, when taking care of the ball, the Sooners made the game look abundantly easy.

“I think it’s just every day in practice, the belief everyone has in us, and then we’re able to replicate that and put it into each other,” Robertson said. “Just trusting that we can all play and ... building that day by day, and you’re seeing what that looks like now.” The Sooners shot a healthy

The Sooners shot a healthy 50.8 percent (33 of 65) from the floor and 40 percent (10 of 25) from 3-point land, while converting 18 of 21 from the free-throw line.

Mississippi State (6-2) received 21 points and seven rebounds from Anastasia Hayes, 14 points Rickea Jackson and 12 from Jerkaila Jordan.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over 21 times, 11 of them Sooner steals.

“This,” said Baranczyk, “is just a really fun team win.”