As her team broke the huddle from a timeout about three minutes into the third quarter, Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale had a sense of unease.
The Sooners had fought through a blistering-hot shooting start from Texas Tech to stay in their first-round game of the Big 12 Tournament.
But coming out of the timeout, Coale’s worst fears were confirmed as things crumbled for Oklahoma, its season ending with a 104-84 blowout loss Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
“They wanted so badly to win and advance here and to play beyond the first day here and when we missed a couple of easy shots I felt it really — you could just cut it with a knife,” Coale said.