Sooners roll past Pitt into regional finals

OKLAHOMA CITY – Freshman Whitney Hand is doing all she can to bring Oklahoma that national title that Courtney Paris guaranteed.

Hand set new career-highs with 22 points and eight rebounds, and the top-seeded Sooners rolled to a 70-59 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday night to reach the regional finals of the NCAA tournament for only the second time in school history.

Oklahoma (31-5) put the game away with a 20-2 second-half surge that included a wild, right-handed scoop shot by Hand that bounded its way into the basket. The Sooners were hardly bothered by foul trouble that kept Paris off the court much of the game, getting double-digit scoring from all five starters.

Shavonte Zellous scored 18 points on 7-for-20 shooting to lead Pitt, which lost in the round of 16 for the second straight year.

The Panthers went 23 for 74 from the field – including a 1-for-12 stretch to start the second half.

Oklahoma, which made its only other regional final appearance in 2002 on its way to the national championship game, advances to face sixth-seeded Purdue (25-10) on Tuesday night.

Danielle Robinson and Nyeshia Stevenson scored 10 apiece for the Sooners.