“Tonight she made the incredible decision to just jump and go for it,” said OU head coach Sherri Coale. “And she got it. She got it. And that, in a nutshell, is why we do what we do.”
Undoubtedly, that’s just what she did, pouring in 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting, and fellow senior and forward Joanna McFarland added 13 points of her own as part of a pair of seniors and five starters finishing in double figures in OU’s final home game of the 2012-13 season.
”I’m gonna say I made a decision before the game,” Hartman said. “You know, I didn’t want to wait until the end of this just to be like, ‘Oh, it’s over.’ But, I mean, I made a decision before the game. I chose to jump off the edge or the cliff, you can say. But it’s just a decision you make before.”
Guard Aaryn Ellenberg, as she’s done so often, led all scorers in the contest with 22, while guard Morgan Hook and forward Nicole Griffin each managed 13.
The Sooners took control late in the first half of a game that featured five ties and eight lead changes and had a 39-35 edge at intermission.
They never trailed again after the 1:28 mark of the first frame when Hartman converted a jumper.
Kansas, who trailed by double digits several times in the second half, tried to make it interesting down the stretch after cutting the deficit to just four points twice.
But, first, McFarland responded with a critical three; then, after Kansas guard Markisha Hawkins busted a trey of her own to trim it back to four, Ellenberg connected on another to move it back out to seven.
”Some big threes is how we spread it to 10 points,” Coale said. “But I thought it was an outstanding women’s basketball game.”
The Jayhawks never truly threatened again.
Four finished in double figures for the visitors, including center Carolyn Davis, who led the way with 18.
Guards Monica Engelman, Angel Goodrich and Hawkins added 16, 15 and 11, respectively.
The Sooners (20-9, 10-7 Big 12) conclude the regular season with a 7 p.m. CT contest Monday at Texas Tech.
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