Norman, Okla. - Keasha Cannon-Johnson scored 15 points and Katie Morse added 13 points, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Nebraska women's basketball team from dropping its Big 12 Conference opener with a 70-51 loss at No. 15 Oklahoma on Wednesday night in front of 4,251 fans at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The Huskers, who had their eight-game winning streak snapped with the loss, slipped to 10-2 overall on the season, while Oklahoma improved to 11-1 on the year.
Nebraska coach Connie Yori said the Huskers' 23 turnovers, and Oklahoma's ability to convert those turnovers into 26 points was the difference in the game.
"Oklahoma played some very good denial defense, and we didn't handle it very well," Yori said. "The thing that hurt us the most was that we turned it over and gave up easy baskets in transition."
Nebraska got off to a solid start by taking an 8-4 lead early in the game, and the Huskers carried their last lead of the night on Kiera Hardy's three-pointer to make it 11-10 with 12:47 left in the first half. But the Sooners used an 8-0 run to create some separation and then led by double figures late in the first half before the Huskers finished the half strong to trail 32-24 at intermission. NU was able to hang close despite committing 16 first-half turnovers.
The Huskers trailed by just nine points at 45-36 with 13:05 left and by 10 points at 53-43 with 7:35 remaining in the game, but the Sooners used an 11-3 spurt over the next three minutes to extend their advantage to 18 points and seal the win.
Maria Villarroel led four Sooners in double figures with a game-high 19 points, while adding four steals, and Dionnah Jackson added 11 points and team highs with seven rebounds, six assists and six steals.
Oklahoma outscored Nebraska 40-16 in the paint and outrebounded NU 37-33 on the night, marking the first time this season that the Huskers were beaten on the boards. Nebraska was held to just 35.8 percent (19-53) shooting from the field, while Oklahoma hit 45.9 percent (28-61) of its shots from the field. The Huskers hit 4-of-11 three-pointers and 9-of-12 free throws, while OU hit just 3-of-12 three-pointers and connected on 11-of-14 free throws.
The Huskers return to action Saturday, Jan. 10, when they play host to Iowa State at the Devaney Center at 7:05 p.m.