Oklahoma women's basketball: Nicole Griffin's offseason work pays off, leads Sooners to exhibition victory

“If she's too tired to get there in four seconds, then someone else will,” Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said.

Griffin, who was voted by teammates as the Most Improved Player in the offseason, dedicated a serious amount of time working on getting the ball in a position to score. She tied it all together Thursday night to lead the Sooners 118-53 exhibition win against Oklahoma Christian at Lloyd Noble Center.

The team's junior center finished with 23 points. She went 8-for-9 from the field and 7-for-8 from the line. Griffin added three rebounds, one assist and one block.

Griffin sparked a worried team that was coming off a lackluster intrasquad scrimmage.

“This was like a breath of fresh air,” Griffin said about the team's play Thursday night before 3,077 fans.

While Griffin was the star of the starters, Coale praised the improvement she saw since the team's unbeaten exhibition series through Australia during the summer. Coale and guard Morgan Hook also loved what they saw from the freshmen.

“They don't quit,” Hook said.

During the second half, freshman Nicole Kornet tossed the ball blindly over her head to open Oklahoma arms after she was surrounded by defenders.