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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Oklahoma may have been down 17
points to defending national champion Purdue, but the Sooners were
far from out.
LaNeishea Caufield scored 26 points -- 16 in the second half -- as
Oklahoma took its first lead of the game with 63 seconds left and
beat Purdue 76-74 in the second round of the women's NCAA East
Regional.
"They never lost faith," Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale of the team she turned into winners after going 5-22 in 1997. "They never doubted they would win."
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Monday, March 20
Oklahoma guard Stacey Dales was the one who set the tone against Purdue. When
Phylesha Whaley, who was held to just 11 points, was struggling to get the ball inside,
Dales took over offensively and defensively.
Dales, a sophomore who finished with 16 points, sat on that left hand of Katie Douglas
and prevented Purdue's junior from going to her strong side. It was Dales who really set
the tone for this win.
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No. 18 Oklahoma (25-7) trailed from the start until Caufield hit
two free throws with 1:03 left to put the Sooners ahead 73-72.
Purdue (23-8) had two chances to regain the lead and one to tie it
in the final seconds.
Purdue's Katie Douglas, the Big Ten player of the year who had
just 4 points, missed on a drive and was called for a foul with
41.4 seconds remaining. Stacey Dales hit two free throws and on the
next trip down the court, and a 3-point attempt by Douglas bounced
off the front of the rim.
"We did not value each possession in the last five minutes,"
Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "Oklahoma did a great job
converting and we did not do a very good job of executing."
Camille Cooper, who had a career-high 34 points, then grabbed
the rebound but stepped out of bounds. Dales, who scored 16 points,
made one of two free throws with 21 seconds remaining.
Cooper missed two free throws with 9.9 seconds left and then
scored a basket with just over a second to play.
"Oklahoma came out and played with a lot of composure," Cooper
said. "They never got rattled. It was hard to watch those final
few minutes. You have to credit them with playing hard and with a
lot of composure."
|  | | Sooner LaNeishea Caufield, left, is a player to watch in Saturday's UConn-Oklahoma matchup in the East. |
Oklahoma was down 59-46 with 11:05 to go. A 13-2 run brought the
Sooners back into the game with Jadrea Seeley capping the run by
hitting a 3-pointer with 7:06 to go. It made the score 61-59 as
Purdue was going more than four minutes without a field goal.
Purdue pulled ahead 68-62 on a three-point play by Shinika Parks
with 5:18 to go, but Oklahoma wouldn't quit.
Cooper's previous high was 26 points. Parks scored 17 of a
career-best 22 points in the first half.
"I didn't dream that she'd have 17 points in the first half.
Our second-half adjustment was to not let her go right," Coale
said. "We did a much better job of that in the second half."
Oklahoma, seeded fifth, will play top-seeded Connecticut in a
semifinal game Saturday in Richmond, Va.
The loss ended a seven-game NCAA Tournament winning streak on
its homecourt for Purdue. The Boilermakers built a 42-25 lead in
the first half and held a 44-32 lead at the break.
"We can all talk about how Katie played, but it is about five
people on the court," Curry said. "It's not about one person,
Katie has done a lot for this program."
Phyleisha Whaley, the Big 12 player of the year who became
Oklahoma's career-scoring leader on Saturday, had 11 points.
"We kept playing because we had nothing to lose. You play hard
or you go home," Whaley said. "I'm just proud to have been a part
of building this program. This victory shows we can win without a
lot of points from me."
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ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
Oklahoma NCAA Team Report
Purdue NCAA Team Report
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Phylesha Whaley gets the no-look pass from Stacey Dales.
avi: 646 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jadrea Seeley hits a fadeaway jumper.
avi: 733 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
LaNeishea Caufield hits the runner off the no-look pass from Dales.
avi: 645 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Camille Cooper dominates the low post.
avi: 568 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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