Plum scores 38 as UW women race past Oklahoma 108-82

SEATTLE (AP) — Kelsey Plum scored 38 points, adding another record to her career resume, and No. 3 seed Washington raced past No. 6 seed Oklahoma 108-82 on Monday night to earn a berth in NCAA Tournament regional semifinals.

The Huskies (29-5) are going to the Sweet 16 in consecutive years for the first time in school history, thanks to an offensive showcase against the Sooners where Plum didn't do it alone.

Plum passed another Jackie Stiles' record to become the all-time single-season scoring leader, having already topped Stiles' all-time career scoring mark last month. Plum now has 1,080 points this season.

But she found others and her teammates regularly hit big shots after Plum drew attention, with a career-high 11 assists. Washington had four players in double figures all with at least 16 points.

Gioya Carter led Oklahoma (23-10) with 17 points, but the Sooners simply couldn't keep up with Washington's offensive efficiency.

Aarion McDonald got Washington's complementary players going early with 13 points in the first quarter, and finished with 18. Natalie Romeo had 20 and Chantel Osahor did her usual bit of everything with 16 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Washington will face No. 2 seed Mississippi State in the Oklahoma City Regional semifinals on Friday.



After a dynamic first half by both teams, Washington separated in the third quarter, but not before both teams had a little fun.

During the review of a flagrant foul in the opening moments of the second half both benches engaged in a dance off much to the delight of the crowd. But the attention quickly turned back to the game with Plum knocking down a 3 to pull even with Stiles' for the most points in a single-season.

Three minutes later, Plum scored on a driving layup for the 1,064th point of the season passing yet another record held by Stiles. Plum added a bounce-pass assist to Katie Collier and scored on another drive and Washington had its biggest lead at 69-55 with 5:30 left in the third quarter. The Huskies then closed the quarter on a 15-4 run and led by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter.

Both teams put on an offensive showcase in the first half. They were a combined 34 of 66 shooting, including 17 made 3-pointers and Oklahoma didn't let Washington run away until late in the half. Peyton Little's 3-pointer with 7:42 left in the half gave Oklahoma a 31-30 lead, only to see Washington respond with a 13-0 run capped by Romeo's 3 from the wing.

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma: The Sooners had zero inside presence after Vionise Pierre-Louis picked up two fouls in the first 5 ½ minutes of the game and spent most of the first half on the bench. Pierre-Louis didn't score until the 7:56 mark of the third quarter and finished with just six points. Pierre-Louis nearly had a triple-double in the first-round win over Gonzaga with 17 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks.

Washington: After making 12 total 3-pointers in their previous two games, the Huskies hit 18 3s in the victory, one off the school record.

UP NEXT

Washington will face Mississippi State on Friday in the regional semifinals.