LeeLee Bell Posts First Double-Double as No. 21 Oklahoma Routs Morgan State 95-38 in Home Opener

NORMAN, Okla. The welcome-home party at Lloyd Noble Center was over before most of the crowd had settled in. Oklahoma scored 28 points in the first quarter, never trailed and never let the game get within shouting distance, beating Morgan State 95-38 on Sunday, Nov. 8, in its home opener.

Freshman LeeLee Bell led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds, the first double-double of her college career, and added four steals for good measure. Sa'Myah Smith came off the bench and scored 18 points on 8 of 9 shooting. The No. 21 Sooners did it without Aaliyah Chavez, who missed the game with an illness, according to the Associated Press.

Here is the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab), the official Oklahoma box score (opens in a new tab) and Oklahoma's recap (opens in a new tab).

Twenty-eight in ten minutes

Oklahoma played the opening quarter like a team that had spent a week hearing about its win in Paris and wanted to show the home folks what they missed. The Sooners led 28-11 after one, and the gap came from everywhere: offensive rebounds, run-outs off turnovers and a steady line of layups.

Morgan State, which had lost 92-38 at Oklahoma State two days earlier, simply could not get organized against the pressure. The Lady Bears turned it over 24 times in the game, and Oklahoma turned those mistakes into 31 points. Every empty Morgan State trip seemed to end with a Sooner sprinting the other way.

There was no drama in the box score's game flow, either. The official stats list zero lead changes and zero ties. Oklahoma scored first and stayed in front for all 40 minutes.

A quiet second, then the hammer

If there was a lull, it came in the second quarter. Oklahoma won the period only 14-10 and went to the locker room ahead 42-21. Morgan State, which had been run over in the first 10 minutes, at least kept pace for a stretch and made Oklahoma earn its points.

Whatever was said at halftime worked. Oklahoma opened the second half with a 28-9 third quarter, pushing the lead to 70-30 by the final break. The Sooners kept their foot down in the fourth, outscoring Morgan State 25-8, and closed the game on a 22-4 run to finish with their largest lead of the day at the final horn.

Morgan State made just 12 of 51 shots, 24 percent, and went 3 of 22 from 3-point range. Simran Williams led the visitors with nine points on 4 of 11 shooting. Chardae Rumph, who played a team-high 26 minutes, took seven 3s and made one.

LeeLee Bell keeps arriving

Bell is two games into her college career and has already given Oklahoma two different reasons to be excited. Her debut came in a 91-79 win over a ranked North Carolina team in Paris. Her home debut was a lesson in finding production even when the jumper is not falling.

Bell made 6 of 15 shots and only 1 of 5 from deep. She still scored 20 points, because she lived at the free throw line, where she made 7 of 8, and because she attacked the glass. Six of her 12 rebounds came on the offensive end, and her four steals fed the transition game that broke this one open. She did all of it in 23 minutes.

That is what makes the freshman so useful in a lineup that will soon get Chavez back. Bell does not need plays called for her to fill a stat sheet. She can rebound out of her position, defend passing lanes and get to the line, which is the profile of a player who keeps scoring on nights when the offense sputters.

The bench did the rest

The most efficient player on the floor was Smith. Oklahoma's top reserve made 8 of 9 field goals, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots in 21 minutes. Most of her work came close to the basket, and that fit the theme of the afternoon. Oklahoma outscored Morgan State 46-12 in the paint.

Sina Höllerl gave the Sooners the outside threat they lacked elsewhere, scoring 13 points and making 3 of 6 from 3. Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu barely looked for her shot, going 2 for 2, but pulled down 11 rebounds, nine on the defensive end, and handed out three assists in 15 minutes. Jordan Speiser added six points on two 3s, Vienna Murray hit a 3 and Daffa Cissoko got two minutes late.

Add it up and Oklahoma's bench outscored Morgan State's 46-18, the same 46 points the Sooners piled up in the paint. It is the kind of depth number that matters more in February than in November, but it is still the clearest sign of what this roster can do on nights when the starters are not carrying the full load.

The starters were tidy as well. Keziah Lofton ran the offense with seven assists and no turnovers. Brooklyn Stewart made 4 of 6 shots for eight points and added seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Sahara Williams scored nine. Caya Smith contributed four points, five rebounds and four assists, though she also had five of Oklahoma's 18 turnovers.

The numbers that tell the story

Rebounding: 58 to 23. Oklahoma grabbed 25 offensive boards, more than Morgan State's total on both ends, and those misses became 29 second-chance points against six for the Lady Bears.

Transition: 27 fast-break points to five. Oklahoma's 11 steals and Morgan State's 24 turnovers kept the game in the open floor, and the Sooners rarely had to grind out a half-court possession.

Ball movement: 25 assists on 35 made field goals. Oklahoma shot 51 percent overall.

The one soft spot was shooting from distance and at the line. The Sooners made only 8 of 30 from 3, 27 percent, and 17 of 28 free throws, 61 percent. Against an opponent this overmatched, that hardly registered. Against the stronger teams on the schedule, it will be the first thing film sessions point at.

What it means for Oklahoma

The scoreboard was never in doubt, but the afternoon still answered a couple of real questions. Oklahoma showed it can win big without Chavez on the floor, and it showed that its depth is not just a talking point. Eleven Sooners played, ten scored and the reserves alone scored more than Morgan State did.

The win made Oklahoma 2-0, following that 91-79 victory over No. 12 North Carolina in Paris. It also extended the program's winning streak against unranked opponents to 33 games, according to the AP. The poll that came out the next day rewarded the start, moving Oklahoma up seven spots to No. 14 in the latest women's AP Top 25.

Morgan State fell to 1-3 at the end of a difficult road swing through Oklahoma that included back to back losses to ranked teams. The Lady Bears visit UMBC on Friday, Nov. 13.

Oklahoma stays home for a long stretch. The Sooners host San Jose State on Tuesday, Nov. 10, Oral Roberts on Friday, Nov. 13, and Southern on Sunday, Nov. 15, before heading to Jacksonville to face Virginia on Nov. 23.

The takeaway

Games like this are about habits more than results, and Oklahoma's habits were the right ones. It defended the ball, ran when it got stops, crashed the glass on every miss and shared the ball. The freshman starter produced, the bench produced and nobody needed to play heavy minutes, with no Sooner logging more than 23.

The harder tests are coming in December and SEC play. For one Sunday in Norman, though, Oklahoma gave its home fans exactly the kind of opener it wanted: a fast start, a young player taking another step and a scoreboard that stopped being interesting before halftime.

Sources: ESPN box score, Oklahoma Athletics official box score, Associated Press.

Photo: OU Photo/University of Oklahoma.