For the final time of the 2024-25 season, the Oklahoma women’s basketball team stepped onto the court to face its opponent.
On Saturday, the Sooners competed in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history against the Connecticut Huskies.
In the first half of the game, Oklahoma kept up with UConn, taking the lead at the end of the first half with a score of 36-32. In the second quarter, the Sooners held UConn’s top shooter, redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers, to zero points, contributing to the advantage. When leading at the half and winning, Oklahoma is 22-1, while UConn trailing at the half and winning is 1-2.
However, once the second half started, Bueckers took over on the court.
In the last 20 minutes of the game, Bueckers alone put up 29 points and was the top scorer for the Huskies in both halves. In the second half of the game, Bueckers singlehandedly outplayed Oklahoma, making 12 of 16 shot attempts in comparison to OU’s seven of 28. Against the Sooners, Bueckers posted a career-high 40 points, grabbed six rebounds and had one assist.
“Coming off those screens, knocking down those shots, finding ways to score, they did a good job of that in that third quarter,” said junior center Raegan Beers. “Offensively, sometimes, we got stuck here and there.”
Despite team struggles, senior guard Payton Verhulst put up 16 points against the Huskies, leading the team from within the three-point range as well, making four of nine attempts.
“Obviously, Payton did a great job of trying to keep us in it. I feel like she did," Beers said. "She didn’t stop moving. She always wanted the ball. She always wanted to make something.”
Unfortunately, the guard's efforts were not enough for the Sooners to advance in its first Sweet 16 berth under head coach Jennie Baranczyk and first since 2013.
However, it still served as one of many accomplishments in Baranczyk's time at OU.
During her time at OU, Baranczyk has finished every season with 23 or more wins, having only one double-digit losing season in 2023-24 with 10 loses. Baranczyk has won 101 games as head coach at OU, completing the achievement the fastest out of head coaches in the program’s history. She was able to reach 100 wins in just 130 games. Baranczyk’s 100th win was when the Sooners defeated Florida Gulf Coast 81-58 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Looking to next season, Oklahoma will lose five seniors — redshirt senior center/forward Liz Scott, redshirt senior guards Lexy Keys, Nevaeh Tot and Aubrey Joens, and redshirt senior forward Skylar Vann. The five seniors will graduate from the university and move on.
“Those five women have stayed convicted, and what’s really challenging about it is I don’t like to use the word ‘roles,’ but that’s the easiest word to resonate,” said Baranczyk. “Their roles changed over time, and they had to adapt, and they had to pour into younger players, and they had to pour into people that transferred into our program. And they did.
“And they stayed, and they loved harder even when it was hard. When you have a senior class like that, great things tend to happen.”
Despite losing five key seniors for the Sooners next season, Verhulst, who received a waiver to return for her fifth and final season at OU, Beers, sophomore forward Sahara Williams and freshman guard Zya Vann are all eligible to return to Oklahoma next season. The Sooners will also welcome five-star guard and No. 1 recruit Aalyiah Chavez, four-star guard Keziah Lofton and four-star forward Brooklyn Stewart.
The Sooner returnees and incoming freshman have the opportunity to have a lasting impact for the next Oklahoma women’s basketball season.
This story was edited by Josh McDaniel.
