OKLAHOMA CITY — Before Oklahoma’s highly-anticipated matchup with UCLA in the Women’s College World Series on Saturday, Patty Gasso had a conversation with Kelly Maxwell.

The fifth-year senior, who’s been the Sooners’ ace pitcher all season, hadn’t thrown at her best in the postseason. That includes Thursday, when she got the start against Duke before she was pulled in the third inning.

However, there was no hesitation for Gasso to put Maxwell right back in the circle against the Bruins. But before she did, Gasso felt it necessary to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her pitcher.

What happened just a few hours later?

“Kelly decided to throw one of the best games of her life today,” Gasso said.

That was the case, and it was absolutely pivotal in the Sooners’ 1-0 win over the Bruins, propelling them to the WCWS semifinals.

Maxwell was immediately in a groove against the Bruins. She struck out six batters through the first three innings, with one of those coming in the top of the third when the Bruins had two base runners.

Even as Nicole May warmed up in the bullpen, the Sooners rode Maxwell’s hot hand. By the seventh inning, with the Sooners clinging to their one-run lead, Gasso left Maxwell in.

The result? Maxwell retired the side in order with one strikeout and two grounds out, putting the finishing touches on a performance that included a season-high 11 strikeouts while only surrendering two hits.

It was a Maxwell performance the Sooners have come to expect. But for Gasso, it meant more than that.

“What stood out is her response, without question,” Gasso said. “She has been going through a lot. She's been through a lot. This was a big game for her. It was really getting it off of her. It's been hanging on her since she got here. It's been hard to watch her not be able to break through. There's so many negatives coming. It just is. It's everywhere. The conversation was really faith-based, just hand it over to the Lord and let Him guide you, just be free.

“She has not pitched free. That's what's been going on. So to see her do that today, (it's) something I'll never forget.”

It was particularly impressive given the Bruins’ recent performances. The Bruins had recorded at least five runs and at least eight hits in five of their last six games, and they had averaged 7.6 runs per game during their nation's-best 14-game winning streak coming into the day.

But Maxwell completely stifled them, and that includes Maya Brady. The standout hitter, who came into the contest with a batting average of .436, went 0 for four at the plate, and Maxwell struck her out three times.

“God is good,” Maxwell said. “I just want to say that I had an eye-opening conversation with coach this morning. I just put it all out there today.

“(The conversation) was definitely faith-oriented, giving (GOD) all the power in Him, to go out there and be free, play free. I think we had a good game plan, (OU pitching coach Jennifer Rocha, just being able to mix speeds, trusting my team behind my back.”

Maxwell’s performance was really needed on a day when offense was hard to come by. The Sooners' offense generated just four hits, and the Bruins' pitching duo of Kaitlyn Terry and Taylor Tinsley struck out five OU batters. The highlight of the day came from UCLA centerfielder Sharlize Palacios, who robbed Kasidi Pickering of a surefire two-run home run in the third inning.

The good news for the Sooners? Right before that, they got a clutch leadoff home run from Tiare Jennings. The senior hit the homer on the first pitch of the third inning.

"I knew I was just going to be confident in myself," Jennings said. "... (I knew) I've just got to get this party started. Just hit the ball hard. Don't try to hit it out or nothing.

"Kelly was dealing, our team was fighting on defense. Today was just a dogfight. Continuing to hit the ball hard was the only thing I was thinking of."

In Thursday's 9-1 win over Duke, it was the offense that led the way. Against UCLA, it was the Maxwell and the Sooners' defense that won the battle.

"We've been doing that throughout the season at times," Gasso said. "When your offense has been a little stale, our defense will come up and make big plays. Our pitchers will make big competitive pitches. Today our defense did a really nice job. UCLA was also hitting the ball pretty hard both sides. They robbed one from Pickering with a great play. We were just kind of going back and forth.

Defense is important. If you have two of three, you're lucky if you're going to beat UCLA with two of three. Fortunately we got that big hit. But there were moments when I felt like we were putting good swings on, and they were making good plays early in the game. I don't know. Felt like two heavyweights going back and forth...This is one of those good old-fashioned pitching duels. It's fun but it's, like, gut-wrenching."

The Sooners advance to Monday's WCWS semifinal at 11 a.m.

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