LEXINGTON, Ky. — Oklahoma's goal to start the NCAA Tournament strong culminated in the Sooners having a block party at Purdue's expense.
Peyton Little scored 20 points, Maddie Manning added 12 and No. 6 seed Oklahoma blocked 13 shots to shut down 11th-seeded Purdue 61-45 for a first-round victory on Saturday.
The Sooners' double-digit block total set a school record for the NCAA Tournament and was their highest since rejecting 10 against Baylor on Feb. 21, 2009; they fell just two short of matching their 15 blocks against Texas on March 7, 2007. Vionise Pierre-Louis' career-high seven blocks led the way for Oklahoma, while Kaylon Williams (eight points) and Manning had three each.