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Oklahoma's pursuit of a fifth consecutive Women's College World Series title came to an end Monday in a dramatic 3-2 defeat at the hands of Texas Tech. The Red Raiders walked it off in the bottom of the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly to hand the Sooners their second loss of the tournament and dash their hopes of making a run through the losers bracket all the way to the national championship.

Texas Tech, with star pitcher and major NIL investment NiJaree Canady in the circle, snapped a 37-game losing streak to Oklahoma and clinched a spot in the championship series with Texas in the process. 

TTU is now the first program in WCWS history to reach the championship series in its debut trip to Oklahoma City since, coincidentally, the Sooners did so in 2000.

Canady cruised through six shutout innings and nearly finished out the complete game shutout. But the Sooners, with their dynasty on the line, wouldn't go down quietly. They were down to their final strike when No. 9 hitter Abigale Dayton improbably launched a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the seventh to level the score at two. 

Dayton's clutch blast -- just her third homer of the season -- kept the Sooners' season alive, but only briefly. In the bottom of the seventh, the Red Raiders got a single from Mihyia Davis and a double from Hailey Toney, setting up the game-winning sacrifice fly from Lauren Allred, scoring Davis. 

Canady, who transferred from Stanford, surrendered just five hits and earned the win to remain unbeaten at the WCWS. The two-time All-American fanned eight Sooners and allowed one walk on 106 pitches.

It will be an all-Lone Star State championship series when Texas Tech meets Texas for a shot at its first national title. Texas knocked off Tennessee earlier Monday to earn a spot in the championship series for the third time in four seasons. The Longhorns fell to Oklahoma in both 2022 and 2024. 

Game 1 of the best-of-three series gets underway at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park.